I’ve seen a massive influx of surprise weddings hit my celebrant books over the last 12 months and I absolutely love delivering them. The party vibe is high, emotions are huge, guests are shocked and they are also pumped as hell to witness your marriage!

If your engagement party is turning into a surprise wedding, you’ll want to make sure your guests are actually surprised, and here are my top tips for making the biggest impact!

CHOOSE YOUR SURPRISE WEDDING VENUE WISELY

When selecting your venue be mindful that if you are holding your surprise wedding at a well known wedding venue then your guests minds might automatically jump to “oooohhh I wonder if this is a surprise wedding?”. This might not phase you, but it’s something to consider. We’ve got some pretty epic Tasmanian venues in our directory that would be perfect for a surprise wedding.

PICK AN AMAZING TASMANIAN MARRIAGE CELEBRANT

You want the vibes to be high and your surprise perfectly executed. A great celebrant will do this with ease. You’ll find over 50 Tasmanian Celebrants on our website.

HAVE A CLEAR PLAN OF HOW THE SURPRISE IS HAPPENING AND ENSURE YOUR VENDORS BRIEFED
What time are you getting changed?
Are you walking down an “aisle”?
Where are you standing during your ceremony?
How is your celebrant introducing the surprise, or how are you introducing your surprise?
What’s happening after the ceremony?

CONSIDER HOW YOUR LOVED ONES WILL REACT

I’m not telling you not to have a surprise wedding because your MIL will have a meltdown, but just consider how family might react to not being in on the surprise. All loved ones that I’ve seen have been absolutely stoked - but it’s something to think about.

INVOLVE YOUR LOVED ONES IN THE CEREMONY

Ask your mums to be your witnesses or have your best mates come forward with the rings. Your celebrant can give you some ideas, and can also tell all of the loved ones involved what’s required of them (at the right time of course).

AND FINALLY, DON’T TELL A SOUL

Do we need to go into this?

SO HERE’S A REAL LIFE SURPRISE WEDDING FOR YOU!

Alannah and Ned turned their engagement celebration into one hell of a surprise wedding at Narryna in Battery Point earlier this year.

The first couple of hours saw their guests mingling at their garden party, but little did they know that behind an unassuming wooden door, was the most stunning private courtyard set for Alannah and Ned’s ceremony.

Within the house at Narryna there was plenty of space for Alannah to change her dress, and for Ned to bring his family in for photos. We also snuck in a quick brief with the A team (Alivia Rose Photography, Tie The Knot Socials and Emma Rose Weddings) to make sure we were ready to roll.