I first met Niki and Dom last february, for their daughter's Valentines day photos. I just fell in love with this family right away. Not only was their daughter breath-takinly beautiful, and happy (a photographers dream to work with!) but Niki and Dom were SUPER sweet. Niki was so down to earth and easy to talk to, and Dom was just as easy to get along with! The amount of love this family all had for each other was SO easy to see!! During our Valentines day session, they talked about buying their first home together, and just how excited they were. Over the next few months I followed their journey via FB, I watched as they moved from their apartment, and into their beautiful new home, and I could not have been happier for them!!
Fast forward a few months, and I get a message from Niki asking me what I was doing July 26th. I told her my day was wide open, to which she replied that they were having a BBQ, that I was invited... and OH by the way THEY WERE GETTING MARRIED that day and wanted me to photograph it.... oh, and one more thing NO ONE KNOWS! Wait, Hold the phone!!! NO ONE KNOWS?!?!? A SURPRISE WEDDING!! To say I was excited... and honored was an understatement!! (and just a tad jealous, when I was planning my wedding, a surprise/secret wedding was something I spent more time that I would like to admit fantasying about, but I couldn't get my husband on board lol.) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE weddings, but between planning my own, and being in many weddings, I know that weddings can get out of hand very easily, and it is SO easy for drama to start and the focus to shift from what is important (the bride and grooms love and commitment) to trying making every one else and their mother happy. Niki and Dom's surprise weddings was EXACTLY what a wedding should be. No drama, all love. The day was truly about two people who are head over heals in love with each other, and the people they love there to whiteness it.
So how did they do it? The invited their closest friends and family over for a BBQ, and as I stated earlier, they just bought a (beautiful) new home, so their guests were very eager to come check it out!! The BBQ started just like any other BBQ, great food, drinks, kids laughing and playing. Then when dinner was ready, and their guests were eating, Niki and Dom snuck inside to get changed for their big day. Dom came outside and made an announcement that they were very grateful that everyone could be there for their BBQ, but they weren't there just for a BBQ, they were there to see a wedding!!! A few people said they had an "idea it was going to happen" but most people were genuinely shocked... and SO happy!!!
I could go on and on about the day, I still have goosebumps thinking about it, but I will let you take a look at Niki and Dom's SURPRISE weddings!!!
The big announcement!!
Thank you Niki and Dom for letting me capture this beautiful day!! I hope to be able to capture more of your milestones in the future :)
