Surprise! I Do!

Another week has passed, and it's Feel Good Friday once again. I thought I'd tell you about a bride who really surprised me with a neat idea, and let me tell you, after 15+ years, that doesn't happen all that often!

As I've mentioned before, I love weddings, and I love to chat with my brides while we're in the dressing room about the details of their big day. So here I am on the day in question chatting with a bride, let's call her Erica, about her wedding. She describes to me the food, the reception site, the centerpieces. Everything she describes sounds beautiful. I ask her about her colors for the wedding, and whether she is having bridesmaids that will be wearing that color, and she tells me that she has one bridesmaid who will not be wearing the color she has chosen for her flowers and invitations, but will be wearing something of her own choosing.

Okay, I think, not unheard of for a bride to let her bridesmaids pick out whatever they want. But usually this is the case in a very informal wedding, not a formal reception such as she has described.

She finds a dress and looks just beautiful in it - it is all over lace, strapless, beaded with pearls and sequins, with just a hint of a train. As we are measuring her and doing her paperwork to order her dress, she asks me about our privacy policy.

Hmm. We DO have a privacy policy, actually. It is our policy never to reveal which dress a bride is wearing to anyone else unless she has given us permission. (I get a lot of referrals from my brides, and if their friend asks me, "Can I see the dress she bought?" I will never show them. I will however, make sure they don't get the same dress!) But when it comes to our privacy policy, no one has ever asked me if we have one. This piques my interest! Is she concerned that someone in her group will try to peak at her special gown before the big day?

It's not that, she explains. She and her fiance have been dating for over ten years, and are very excited to finally tie the knot in front of all their family and friends at this quaint inn by the water. They are expecting a group of about sixty guests or so. Some of them will be traveling from across the country to be there. The only catch is, they think they are attending a birthday party for the groom, the wedding is a complete surprise for everyone! After dinner, just before the dancing starts, Erica will quickly change into her dress while the groom moves to the dance floor and the DJ begins to play the wedding march. An officiant will appear as Erica enters the room in her dress, holding a bouquet and she and her fiance will be joined in holy matrimony in front of their amazed guests!

She is wanting to make sure I know to keep the secret, don't accidentally mention her name to anyone, don't call the house and leave a message in case someone hears it. No one knows they're getting married, she says, and besides her and her fiance, I am the first person she has told.

"Then let me be the first to congratulate you!" and I hugged her. Her smile revealed her pleasure at finally letting her joyous secret be shared.