One of the key issues with planning surprise wedding is to know how to get your guest living outside your state and those living outside the country to attend.
It is easier to get such guests to attend the wedding when they know what your plans are than when you disguise your wedding under a less important event.
How you handle rolling everyone in while planning surprise wedding depends on their personality and what you know very well about them. If you believe that sending a cautiously worded invitation that suggests there is a full-size proclamation to be made at the party that could minimally be enough.
You could incorporate a hand-written memo with the invitation articulating how much their attendance would mean to you and your partner.
In the worst case scenario of planning surprise wedding, if the hints are declining or going flat and you actually want them there, you may want to break the news to them but let them know that they have to keep it secret and never let anyone else know about it until the time it is going to be publicly declared.
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Plan the big disclosure
You may want to disclose as soon as they arrive that they are in fact attending your wedding and begin with a bang.
Or you may decide to allow the excitement build up and slips away to get changed and return dressed up in your wedding attire and make the announcement of the ceremony when you and your partner are both set to start.
In venues that have a lot of rooms, you could arrange one room as you would an ordinary function and the other as your dream wedding setting and when it is the right time, you could surprise your guests by ushering them in from one room to the other.
Being on time
If you plan to start the event with the wedding ceremony, ensure you let your guests know it is essential for them to arrive on time. So, it is better to let them know that you would be starting off at an exact time by using the word prompt.
Also, try to specify on your invitations if you want a dress code to be followed. If you are going for a casual affair at the beach, shorts and thongs may be suitable, but if you want a classier event, tell your guests that you’d love to celebrate your “30th” birthday as a semi-formal event.
Planning surprise wedding: Hire coordinators
Your coordinators may be your bestie or anyone you have told the secret plan, but you will also require an undersized team on the ground to engage in minor tasks like pause the music, holding the drinks at the bar and signaling the wedding ceremony.
It is better to let the wedding celebrant make the announcement for you. You can as well engender a great surprise among your guests by making the pronouncement yourself when you and your spouse walk out for the first time.
Planning surprised wedding: Be prepared to forgo some formalities
If you are a traditionalist, a surprise wedding is probably not for you. While you can still have your first dance and the cake, you will probably be hard-pressed to get people to do an on-the-spot speech.
Also, you could try including something delicious and reminiscent of traditional wedding food by having something like mini desserts and champagne cocktails, or a light buffet that guests can visit throughout the event.
Don’t be tempted let the cat out of the bag!
Planning surprise wedding, whether small or big and irrespective of the style is a super exhilarating time and there may be situations where you are bursting to tell your mom or cousin what you are doing.
You will miss out on the payoff of seeing their surprise and excitement when you make the announcement, and this is what a sneaky wedding is all about.
