Olivia & Andrew, Pennsylvania Surprise Wedding

When I received Olivia's first (somewhat secretive) email, my heart skipped a beat. "Please tell me you aren't busy..." the email started. My mind immediately jumped to "oh my goodness she's getting married, wait is she engaged? Is she getting MARRIED??" I couldn't be sure, but much to my delight,  I was right. However, there was so much more to the story!

 I met the couple a few days later to talk about the big day. The wedding was going to be a SURPRISE! They would invite the guests to their engagement party, only to surprise them with the actual wedding! Every detail that they mentioned sounded absolutely perfect, and in five months time, (and after an extremely fun engagement session) they put together an absolutely amazing celebration of their love. 

It started on Thursday night, when Andrew & Olivia were officially married at the Egner Memorial Chapel at Muhlenberg College. Witnessed by only a handful of family and friends, they became husband and wife in an intimate ceremony.

The following Saturday at the gorgeous home of Olivia's Godmother, the real surprise took place. They spent the afternoon preparing, and by the time every started arriving, the stage was perfectly set. The guests were shuttled in from a nearby hotel and quickly started buzzing about how gorgeous the party was. Someone standing near me exclaimed "They should just get married right now, this is too perfect".  I thought for a moment that she might have  known, but once the secret was revealed her reaction made it clear that she had not. Once everyone was on site, Olivia's mom made the important announcement; The bad news was that there wasn't going to be an engagement party. The good news was that there was going to be a WEDDING!! You could hear the excitement throughout the crowd, there were cheers and happy tears. And in the dark, the surprised guests made their way to the beautifully set ceremony site.

The ceremony itself was very laid back and personal. The vows were written by the couple, and made it hard to keep a dry eye. As a group we all laughed, cried and witnessed one of the most beautiful ceremonies ever.

The excitement continued into the night, along with the joy and surprise shared by everyone involved.

Thank you so much for letting me in on the secret. I am so happy we could be there to capture these moments for you. I hope in years to come that they remind you of all these precious moments of this amazing journey that the two of you have begun. 

P.S. Bring on the babies! (I absolutely imagined Andrew's head lifting and him exclaiming "babies?!?" in excitement, while I was typing that). :) 

Part One: Thursday

Part Two: Saturday

Andrew made this gorgeous box for Olivia. He incorporated many different kinds of wood and engraved her (maiden) initials onto the lid (there apparently was some discussion that had to be made about her giving up her last name). The letter he wrote her was so very sweet, and we had to laugh that he wrote "husband" after he signed the letter; you know, just incase another Andrew gave her an extremely sweet gift on their wedding day. :) 

 The couple has a bit of a sweet tooth, so yes, those ARE gummy bears!

 Rachel K. shot this wedding with me, and did an amazing job. The next two images are two of my favorites of hers, I love the different angle she shot while I was doing the others! 

 I love her tattoo!

Olivia's amazing Godmother, wonderful host, and officiant for the celebration.

  Olivia's gift to Andrew was this beautiful watch. 

Olivia's last peek out before the guests started arriving. 

 SURPRISE!!

Another great example of why I love having a second shooter! I was able to capture the view of Olivia and her dad from behind, while Rachel caught them from the front at the same moment!

The Details:
Catering: Joe Caputo
Videography: Bar None
Cake: Pittston Bakery
DJ: The Best of Times
Flowers: Phoebe Flowers
Wedding Planner: MCR Productions