A couple who married in a cemetery on what was supposedly the unluckiest day of the year said the day was “pretty perfect.”

Hannah and Mathew Parfitt, from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, were married on Friday 13 October last year in a room previously used to lower coffins before cremation.

Hannah, dressed in a black evening gown, and Mathew, who wore a red tie covered in skulls, said their vows by candlelight with drawn curtains.

“We actually wanted to get married on Halloween, but it rains so hard every year on Halloween,” said Hannah, 27.

“Then when we looked it up, it happened to be Friday the 13th and we were getting married in October, so it seemed pretty perfect.”

The couple chose Arnos Vale in Bristol as their venue, a Victorian cemetery that is also approved as a wedding venue.

Hannah said one of the rooms they used was where a pallbearer “lowered the coffins before cremation… obviously they don’t use that room anymore.”

“We didn’t get married on the actual graves because that would be disrespectful,” she said.

When asked why they chose a cemetery, Hannah said, “I’ve always liked them. I just find them very peaceful.”

And what about the choice of the supposedly unluckiest day of the year?

“We haven’t had any bad luck yet, have we?” said Mathew.

“No, we’re doing pretty well,” Hannah said. “We recently got a new house, so things are going well.”

Samantha Buca, an alternative wedding dress designer who designed Hannah’s dress, said black wedding dresses are most popular in the fall because many people get married around Halloween.

“But I just made a black dress for someone who got married in Ibiza, so there’s no right or wrong in weddings anymore,” she said.

Samantha said she doesn’t really believe in the superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th.

“(But) I tend to encourage people not to make an appointment to look at wedding dresses or to pick up their dresses on Friday the 13th because that obviously has a negative connotation,” she added.

The exact origin of this superstition is unknown.

Both the number 13 and Friday are considered unlucky days – and the combination of these two gives the day its reputation.

It is believed that the reason for the unlucky number 13 can be found in the Bible.

Judas, who betrayed Jesus, is said to have been the 13th guest at the Last Supper.

Friday has been considered the unlucky day of the week for hundreds of years.

In his famous 14th-century Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer said, “And on a Friday all this misfortune happened.”

In Britain, Friday was formerly known as Hangman’s Day because it was the day on which people sentenced to death were usually hanged.

Additional reporting by Erin Lister