🧟 Happy Halloween Eve! Leash your demons.

🌧️ Today's weather: Slight chance of rain, with a high in the mid-70s.

🎵 Sounds like: "Weekend in Texas"

🎉 Happy birthday to our Axios Dallas member Robert Woyach.

🎃😴 Situational awareness: Enjoy some tricks on Saturday, then treat yourself to an extra hour of sleep as daylight saving time ends at 2am Sunday.

Today's newsletter is 976 scary words — a 3.5-minute read.

Couples are thinking far beyond "chicken or beef" as they turn weddings into highly personalized, multiday experiences for their guests, according to a new report from The Knot.

Why it matters: Nearly 1 in 3 weddings now spans at least three days, with couples devoting more time and money to making guests feel entertained and cared for, per the wedding planning platform.

Zoom in: Dallas wedding weekends now often stretch from a bridal brunch a day or two before the wedding to a farewell brunch the day after, with welcome parties and tightly planned after-parties in between, wedding planner KC Cloud tells Axios.

Between the lines: The receptions themselves are getting more over-the-top, too.

• Couples want guests to have "tangible moments" they haven't seen before. It's "almost more like the Moulin Rouge — 'Are you entertained yet?'" Cloud says.
• Think performers in silver bodysuits and disco-ball helmets on the dance floor, or servers wearing hoop skirts lined with champagne flutes for guests to grab.

Favors are getting personal, too:

• 🪡 Stitch stations: Embroiderers personalize bandanas and scarves with guests' names during cocktail hour, Cloud says.
• 🔥 Branded keepsakes: At Fort Worth's Hotel Drover, guests can get leather luggage tags branded with their initials.
• 🎨 Portrait favors: Watercolor artists paint guests in their black-tie attire.

More trends local planners are seeing:

• 🏨 Hotels are back: Big hotel weddings at spots like Hotel Swexan and Fort Worth's Bowie House are in demand for their food and service, Cloud says.
• 🛋️ Living-room vibes: Couples want lamps, soft seating and unique candleholders that make a space feel "curated rather than simply decorated," per Gathered Events owner Brittney Samford.
• 💐 Fewer, bigger florals: Couples are choosing statement installations over covering every surface, she says.

Reality check: That wedding weekend can add up.

• The average spending on wedding vendors rose 8.5% through May compared to the same time last year, partly driven by inflation and tariffs, Bank of America Institute data shows.

The bottom line: Couples are making weddings more personal — for themselves and their guests.

This breast cancer awareness month, there's (modestly) good news and bad news: Breast cancer mortality has fallen nationally over the past decade, but where women are most likely to die from the disease hasn't changed much.

Why it matters: Breast cancer death rates remain disproportionately high in lower-income states, particularly across the Southeast, David Radley, a senior scientist at the Commonwealth Fund, tells Axios.

By the numbers: The U.S. recorded 18.7 breast cancer deaths per 100,000 women in 2024, according to the latest CDC data. (Fewer than 1% of breast cancers in the U.S. occur in men, per the American Cancer Society.)

• Texas recorded nearly 3,300 breast cancer deaths that year, or 18.8 per 100,000 women.

Zoom in: Texas requires insurers to cover 3-D mammograms for women starting at age 35.

Friction point: Many Texans struggle to get any health care coverage.

• Texas hasn't expanded Medicaid, leaving an estimated 726,000 adults in the "coverage gap," earning too much for Medicaid and too little for marketplace subsidies, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated in 2024.

Between the lines: More mammograms alone won't close the gap.

• Black women have relatively high breast cancer screening rates but are more likely to die from the disease than white women, the Commonwealth Fund's recent report finds.
• Long delays between an abnormal screening and follow-up care can give cancer more time to progress.
• Lack of insurance, high deductibles, and difficulty accessing specialists may help explain the disparities, particularly for rural and lower-income women, Radley says.

🦇 Arlington's AT&T Stadium is the most haunted sports arena in the U.S., according to a list compiled by The Sports Geek. (Dallas Observer)

💸 A $69 caviar burger on the menu at Pablo Pete's will haunt your wallet. (Dallas Observer)

🚆 TEXRail started construction on a $270 million extension that will connect Fort Worth's Medical District to downtown Fort Worth and DFW Airport. (WFAA)

🤠 Texas is getting older but remains one of the youngest states in the U.S., according to new Census Bureau data. (DMN)

North Texas has its share of spooky stories and creepy places, and an equally impressive lineup of Halloween-themed drinks.

Why it matters: Because ghouls deserve a toast, too.

State of sips: Pop-ups, parties and specialty cocktails are plentiful across the metro area ahead of the big day on Saturday.

👯 Catbird is transforming for a rooftop costume bash.

• 5pm-midnight, Friday and Saturday.

🎃 Marriott Dallas Uptown is throwing a free Y'alloween block party.

• 7-11pm Friday.

🧟‍♂️ Calabrian Piazza is hosting a Zombie Ball.

• 7-11pm Saturday.

⚫️ Nickel City FTW brings back Black Lagoon.

• Through Saturday.

Zoom out: If you're more interested in the booze than the boos, restaurants and bars are serving Halloween-themed cocktails through October.

• The Lounge at Assembly Icehouse is serving Witches Brew ($15), Black Death ($18), Vampire's Kiss ($13) and The Gourd Father ($14), a pumpkin-spice Old Fashioned.
• The Yard has a vodka-spiked cold brew called the S'mortuary ($15), along with the whisky-infused Bobby for Apples Old Fashioned ($15), the gin-inspired Night Crawler ($13) and The Grave Digger ($13), made with chocolate and vanilla vodka.

One more pop-up

This newsletter was edited by Bob Gee.

Our picks:

💃 Naheed is out.

🪄 Megan is dressing as a witch for Halloween.

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