There is no feeling quite like the moment when guests realise to their complete surprise, they are about to witness a surprise wedding.
Having performed many surprise weddings, along with the guests we still goose bumps when the surprise is revealed.
As well as the instant excitement and crazy good vibes, opting for a surprise wedding is also a great way to get married without having any expectations or input from guests, so it tends to be a stress-free process with minimal nerves.
Catie and Michael decided to surprise their guests by turning their engagement party in to a surprise wedding in the most wonderful way at Brisbane’s Cliffs Cafe.
It was an honour to be the Celebrant for this surprise wedding in Brisbane, witnessing guests gasp, cheer and hearing their applause as they realised they were actually there to witness and celebrate the couples wedding with them.
I was so happy to receive the following feedback from the happy newlyweds.
“Hi Jamie, we have just returned from our honeymoon and are settling back into the rhythm of normal life and we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all your help and enthusiasm.
You have been so informative, guiding us through the process including scripting, ceremony and legalities. You took time to get to know us that evening at your house and explored what we wanted to get out of the ceremony. We were really happy with the tailored script you provided which suited us so perfectly as a couple.
Planning a surprise wedding was a little out of the box so we appreciated your helpful suggestions, as someone who had been there and done it before.
We were ecstatic at how the night turned out; the surprise went off spectacularly. Honestly we spent so much time thinking about the logistics of the ‘surprise’, that we weren’t really prepared for how emotional and exciting it would be for all our friends and family.
People were blown away and have said it took them days to come down from the romantic high!
Thank you for being so flexible on the day with our non-traditional plans. We have just left a 5-star review and a summary of the above.
Thank you also for kindly providing the information for changing my last name and explaining this process so well.
Thanks again and the best of luck in your future endeavors.”
Catie & Michael
The happy couple secretly got ready together in their hotel room, followed by their photo shoot with the talented Steve from Vellum Studios before joining their guests at their engagement party turned surprise wedding at Cliffs Cafe in Kangaroo Pt.
Photographers Tips for surprise weddings
Steve Thomas from Vellum Studios shares his photography tips for surprise weddings:
” I was really excited to be part of Catherine and Michael’s surprise wedding. It was fantastic to see the shock and happiness on everyone’s faces when Catherine emerged with her Dad and proceeded to walk down the aisle. From a Photographers point of view it was quite a challenge as I had to stay hidden and unnoticed until the very moment the surprise had been sprung, then race into action to capture all the reactions and tears!
To couples thinking about a surprise wedding, allocate some time in the afternoon (before the surprise ceremony) for the two of you and the photographer to get some location portraits done. As usually after the ceremony it would be dark and you would want to maximise the time you have with your guests.”
As the Celebrant, we typically work out a ‘cover story’ for us, which can range from posing as part of the band (if we need to sneak to our PA System in), to posing as a staff member of the venue, or in this case we agreed that my guise, if anyone asked, was that I was a neighbour of the couples.
The décor was designed to work for both an engagement party and a surprise wedding so the glowing word LOVE was used as the ceremony backdrop.
Congratulations to the happy newlyweds and thank you for choosing Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants to be a part of your amazing surprise wedding.
If you are planning a surprise wedding and looking for a Celebrant that can fit in inconspicuously with your guests, while having the experience to coordinate pulling off an amazing surprise wedding, we would love to hear from you.
Hear more surprise wedding stories on the Brisbane Celebrants blog.
Contact Brisbane City Celebrants to confirm availability for your special day.