Pop the Questions with Halley Kate

We sat down with creator Halley Kate (AKA @halleykate)—2026 Zola bride planning an intimate, untraditional celebration that’s soon-to-be TikTok's most talked about event. Halley is teaming up with Zola for our series "Pop the Questions" to talk about her planning process thus far. In this Q&A, Halley reveals why she’s skipping the aisle entirely, how her beloved dachshunds are making the guest list, and a secret fashion twist for her elopement party that nobody knows yet.

So...are you having a wedding?

Truthfully, I don't know. I can't answer that question either. Me and my fiancé, Reed, are getting married at the courthouse on one day, just the two of us. Literally nobody else is coming. And then the following day, we're going to have what we're calling an "elopement party" for about 50 of our friends and family in the backyard at our house in Sag Harbor.

I'm pretty much having the reception of a wedding in my backyard. I'm calling it an "elopement party" because there is no walking down an aisle or anything like that, and no one will be in attendance for us actually getting married.

Describe your elopement party in 3 words.

Coastal, chic, fun.

How did you use Zola for your elopement party?

We did do a wedding website because it is very hard to get everybody to RSVP and keep track of all of that, so it's made it so much easier.

These are my invites. I am obsessed with the flowers all over them. I think they're giving very Hamptons with the hydrangeas. If you like them, you can also get them on Zola!

What is the best part about your elopement party?

I love that I am the venue and that I can do whatever I want in my backyard.

Will you be including the dogs?

Definitely photos. I already have a vision in my head and I just know my photographer is going to deliver. I think we're going to do outfits for them. We'll see... stay tuned, but I think it's going to be really good.

Will you be posting content about your wedding?

Similar to how Jaz did, I'll probably post pretty real-time just so everyone can feel like they're there as well.

What traditions are you keeping?

Wearing a white dress on the day I get married. One is vintage and then one is upcycled out of other fabrics and being custom-made into a dress, which I think is really cool.

I actually bought my dress that I'm going to wear when I get married before I was even engaged. I just saw it at a vintage market and I was like, "I need that, that is Halley Kate Core."

What traditions are you tossing?

No cake, no dances, and also we're not doing a seated dinner.

Did you see your engagement coming?

I figured we were just going to kind of choose to get engaged in the spring and call it a day. One thing that should tell you I didn't know I was getting engaged is my outfit choice. I don't know if that's going to be like a "timeless outfit" that I'm going to look back on forever and love, but I do think it's iconic. So I'm not mad about it, but I probably wouldn't have chose that if I saw it coming.

What’s ONE detail about your elopement party nobody knows yet?

I'm wearing a color on the day of my party, and everyone is wearing white.

Rapid Fire Round!

• Buffet or sit-down? Can I say neither? Like passed bites.
• Dinner party or dance party? Dinner.
• Candles or string lights? Elegant candles.
• Indoors or outdoors? Most of the time, outdoors.
• Wedding speeches or no speeches? Very short wedding speeches. I think Reed and my dad will say something quickly.

Honeymoon Vibes...

• Tropical or metropolitan? I think a good mix of both. Something to do, but don't want to just sit around all day.
• Go with the flow or planned out? Go with the flow.
• Summer or fall? Early fall, I think.