Thursday, November 13, 2008

Surprise Wedding

In August I had the pleasure of participating in a surprise wedding! The couple was engaged, but most of their family and friends had no idea when the wedding would take place. The bride invited them to a surprise birthday party for the groom at a local restaurant. The decorations were black and silver - nothing that hinted of a wedding celebration. The groom pretended to be surprised when he walked in, but soon it was the guests who were surprised when I announced that a wedding was about to take place.

This is a great idea for a couple who wants a casual, low-key wedding. The groom wore a suit and the bride wore a black cocktail dress. The best man and maid-of-honor were among the few who knew about the wedding beforehand. The ceremony that I created for them on two-weeks notice was brief, but humorous and meaningful.

This is the way I described their relationship: "Things couldn’t help but be a little crazy in a home where the man is the outdoors type, whose favorite hobby is ice fishing, and the woman is a shop-aholic! Stephanie confesses that she has never, and will never, go fishing in the middle of the winter, but Steve has watched QVC with her for hours, while she has shopped for just the right purse. Now that is what I call True Love! These two have totally opposite personalities, but they balance each other perfectly, and they share a common goal - to have a happy, healthy family."

There was a lot of laughter and some tears during the ceremony as the guests realized they were actually witnessing a wedding, not just a birthday party - and it was a lot more memorable!