“Surprise…” the word
escaped the bride with childlike uncertainty.
The room was silent. We were all
waiting for her mom to respond but none of us knew what that response would
look like. You see, the bride’s mother
had never seen her in her wedding dress.
She hadn’t even seen a picture of her in it. When she walked in the door, there was her
only daughter standing in her wedding gown.
She gasped and froze in place as the tears streamed down her face. Her
mom nervously took a few steps closer, then the bride broke the news that the
wedding was taking place later that day and not months from then. “Oh, is it?!”After
about a minute, she walked over to the bride and hugged her as they both cried.
Not only was her mom in shock, but I was too because I couldn’t believe how
perfectly this moment played out.
The entire day was full
of moments like this. When her
bridesmaids walked in the door, some of them gasped and cried because the bride
was so beautiful. The groomsmen played it cool but they were all surprised. One
of the greatest moments was when the traditional wedding march began to play
and the groom walked in with his daughters. The guests all teared up.
Surprise weddings are
the new trend and here are some tips to make yours a success:
1.
Get your story together. In order to keep the questions to a minimum
and cut down the confusion, you and your fiancé have to be on the same page
about your story. Yes, there will be
some lying that you’ll have to do but it’ll all be worth it in the end. This
particular couple told all of their friends that they would be getting married
in June. They invited everyone to an engagement party which was the actual
wedding. When her bridesmaids asked questions, she gave a vague answer and eventually
they stopped asking.
2.
Prepare your bridal party. I told the bride to tell her bridesmaids that
they’ll be having a photo shoot before the engagement party so that they would
have their hair done. This was key to
the day because we didn’t have time for everyone to get their hair done after
the surprise. Personally, I would be
upset if I showed up thinking that it was going to just be an engagement party
but it was really a wedding that I was in.
Since
all of the groomsmen were coming in from out of town, I had them order their
suits from a store that had locations nationwide. The groom explained that it would be easier
to pick their suits up in town when they arrived instead of travelling with
them. It all worked!
3.
Be prepared for some backlash. Some people will feel left out. They will let
you know how they felt as soon as the festivities are over. They’ll tell you
that they should have been a bigger part of the day. Listen, people will feel
this way whether your wedding is a surprise or not. You just have to be ok with some hurt
feelings.
4.
Hire a wedding planner. I’ve given this advice many times before but
I can’t stress how hiring a wedding planner is imperative to the success of
your surprise wedding. I’ve had weddings that were so logistically taxing but
this one took the cake.
5.
Chose one friend to tell and one friend
only. During my first conversation with
the bride, she said numerous times, “I’ve wanted to elope since I was in the 4th
grade…” Meaning, “I really don’t care about having a wedding.” Luckily, her groom wasn’t ok with eloping. I
suggested that they have a surprise wedding because I wanted the bride to be
excited about this day and by adding the extra element of the surprise, I
figured that would be all that she needed.
I told her that she was allowed to tell one person only. Keeping a secret for seven months from your
closest girlfriends is pretty excruciating so I allowed her to tell her maid of
honor.
Having
the maid of honor in on the secret made handling the bridesmaids a piece of
cake. I suggested that we collect the dresses and have them hanging in the
hotel room when they arrived to maximize the surprise. I was able to communicate with her and find
out what the bridesmaids were saying behind the scenes and put out fires
through her.
6.
Have fun with the idea. My clients decided to film all of their
vendor meetings so that they could have the whole experience on film. There are
memories while planning that are often forgotten, which is unfortunate but this
couple has them for a lifetime.
Listen up, guys, no
matter how many weddings your guests will collectively attend throughout the
years, yours will be the one that keeps them talking.
You can check out their wedding video trailer below!
Vendors:
Venue: Ventanas
Photography: Catherine Ritchie Park of My Life Photography
Videography: Eric Blanks Media
Flowers: Brides and Blooms
Cake: Cakes by LaMeeka
Chairs: Sweet Seats
Planning & Décor: My Simply Perfect Events
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