He contacted us with the best idea ever, a surprise wedding! We spent months going over the details and hoping she wouldn’t catch on. He’d thought of everything and pulled off the surprise of a lifetime, her dream wedding.
It all began with an email request to Kaylene to be a model for a styled shoot we were supposedly doing. She resisted at first, but agreed to do it because she is just that sweet. It was even scheduled for her anniversary, but she wanted to help us out and said yes. We picked her up and whisked her to Samila’s Boutique where she thought we were choosing a dress for our styled shoot. We all kept asking for her opinion and in true Kaylene-sweet form she kept telling us to choose whatever and that her opinion didn’t matter (when actually it really did!). Finally, we were down to choosing between two dresses when Yasmin, the owner, suggested one final dress we had missed. Kaylene came out twirling, with the biggest grin on her face and we knew it was the one! All of us pretended it was the perfect fit for the styled shoot (and it was the most gorgeous dress) and the dress was hemmed on the spot while Kaylene picked out jewelry and pinned up her hair. She said she loved the whole experience because she’d never been wedding dress shopping!
See, she was already married to Sean, but 5 years ago it made perfect sense for them to elope to Vegas to get married. As the years passed, she had regrets about not having their family and friends (and their children) involved and missing out on the little things in a traditional wedding like a first dance, dress shopping, and having more photos of the day. Little did she know that Sean had been taking notes all along and had planned everything she had wished they’d done!
As we drove Kaylene to the venue, we explained that a wedding would be happening later that evening so she could just ignore the set up. In fact we’d be using it for the shoot! As we parked I (Marissa) made a comment about needing to check in with the florist and dashed ahead to let Sean and the guests know she’d arrived. Erik walked Kaylene part way and then turned to her and said, “ok” and ran away (we couldn’t think of another way to get out of the photos and also not ruin the surprise). A very confused Kaylene walked until she saw a crowd of people and thought we’d messed up our timing so she stopped in her tracks! She said to the staff nearby, “I think there’s a wedding happening and I’m not the bride!” but they encouraged her to keep walking. As Erik & I waved her forward she turned the corner to see Sean waiting, dressed up, with a bouquet in hand and her face went from confused, to realization, to being completely blown-away. In fact, she was so overwhelmed that she yelled out, fell to the ground (in a very princess-like way) and cried until Sean reached her to help her up. She was completely overwhelmed by the moment…and it was perfect.
Sean wiped away her tears, handed her a bouquet, and whispered as he led her to their ceremony, the one she’d imagined. He’d thought of all the small things, like adding to her existing ring, writing vows for himself and her (which was quite hilarious and probably something all couples should do for each other), having their children be the wedding party, and orchestrating about 100 guests who somehow all kept up the surprise! Their perfect ceremony was followed by so many hugs, a still shocked bride, and an evening full of good food and dancing, just what Kaylene had wanted.
Kaylene, we’re so sorry to have lied to you so much that day, but hopefully it was all worth it! You made a gorgeous bride and we’re so happy you got the wedding of your dreams. Sean, thank you for trusting us with such a giant ask. It was an honor and honestly one of the best things we’ve ever witnessed! Congratulations you two! ~Erik & Marissa
Kaylene thought the vows Sean wrote for her were quite hilarious (and also brought her to tears).
Thank you to everyone who helped pull off this amazing surprise!
Venue- Craven Farm
Dress- Samila Boutique
Catering- Della Terra 425
Drinks- Uptown Wine & Beer Bar
DJ- Scott Dulin
Videographer- Pixel Dust Production
Photographer- Ciccarelli Photography
Cupcakes- Life is Sweet 3 Sisters Catering
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