If you’ve decided that you want to take your love to the next level, but you don’t want to follow the tired old tradition of sending out engagement cards, why not throw an “engagement party,” and surprise your families and friends with a full-scale wedding? Here’s how you can make it work, without anyone spilling the beans.
Keep it to yourselves. Yes, your officiant needs to know… and your vendors… and anyone who’s going to have to wear a gown or tux. But to the rest of the world, it’s just an engagement party.
Say it without saying it. Send out your party invitations with a promise that you’ll be making a special announcement. And tell everyone to be on time, so they don’t miss that big announcement. The “announcement,” of course, will be your wedding. Set up your room with dinner tables, not rows of chairs. Then you can have your DJ ask people to take their seats for dinner and a few speeches, and surprise them by starting your ceremony.
Arrive fashionably late. About 20 minutes should do. Show up in your party clothes, make some quick rounds, then alert your DJ that you’re going to disappear and get into your ceremony clothes. When you’re dressed and ready, have someone cue your DJ to start your processional music, and let the surprise unfold.
Personalize your invitations. Let each important guest know that you’re especially excited to share your good fortune with him or her; don’t give away the secret, but make each guest feel uniquely important. A handwritten note will carry more weight than a pre-printed card.
Hire a planner. When you’re planning a regular wedding, you may be able to handle most of the details yourselves; but when it’s a surprise wedding, you need someone who knows all the in’s and out’s of springing the big surprise for maximum effect. The timing will work best with an expert at the helm. Your planner will tell the bartender when to shut the bar for the ceremony, and help share your vital information with your DJ and photographer.
Here’s a surprise wedding Fourth Estate Audio helped one couple pull off without a hitch. And for good measure, it was planned from the other side of the country. Keeping your plans close to the vest, and hiring experience professional vendors, can make your surprise wedding one of the greatest days of your lives.
© Fourth Estate Audio, 2017 – Jay Congdon is president of Fourth Estate Audio, a professional Chicago DJ and Chicago Wedding DJ company.
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