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7 Tips That’ll Help You Plan a Stellar Surprise Wedding

Want to make your big day even more amazing? Skip the save-the-dates and fancy invitations and turn your wedding into one epic surprise party.

Purple Tree Wedding Photography

If you’ve ever planned a surprise party you know how tricky it can be. Pulling the wool over all of your friends and relatives eyes is no walk in the park, especially for an event as big as your wedding. Before you panic and call the whole thing off, it’s definitely not impossible. Follow this guide and you’ll have no problem making your surprise nuptials a success.

Here are a few tips that’ll help you plan a stellar surprise wedding.

Make your engagement short and sweet
The longer you have to wait, the more tempted you’ll be to tell people. Try to host your events a couple of months after your engagement instead of playing the waiting game. Seriously, nobody will see it coming if you tie the knot within a matter of weeks.

Only tell your inner circle
Ok, so your wedding won’t be a surprise to absolutely everyone. You’re going to have to tell a handful of people what you’re up to so that you can guarantee their attendance and maybe get a little bit of help along the way. Make sure your nearest and dearest know not to spread the word to any other guests IRL or on social media, and, if one of your siblings or a potential bridesmaid is known for their loose lips, it’s probably best to tell them at the last second.

Hire a planner
Keeping everything organized and under wraps is no easy feat. Seriously, if you start missing your weekly spin class or stop showing up to your bestie brunches, your friends will probably get a bit suspicious. So, hire a planner to help you stay sane. They can take the reins when times get tough so that you can go back to your regularly programmed social life.

DIY your own diversion
Now, it’s gonna be difficult to get so many people to a venue without them figuring out what’s up. So, what should you do? Create a fake event to cover your tracks, obvi. If you or your partner’s birthday is approaching or a holiday is on the horizon, say that that’s the purpose for your party. Remember, you want to make the event sound big and important, especially if you expect people to fly in for it.

Embrace the lack of opinions
Oftentimes couples will get stressed because there are too many cooks in the kitchen (AKA friends and family members offering up their unsolicited opinions). So, take advantage of this to plan your dream wedding. You won’t be tempted to bend for anyone because no one will know!

Get your vendors in on the surprise
Let everyone from your planner to your pastry chef know that your wedding is top secret. I know, this sounds pretty unnecessary, but you’d be surprised how much vendors post about their work on social media. You don’t want one of your guests stumbling upon your cake while scrolling through Instagram’s discover page, do you? If you’re really scared about someone leaking info, include a clause about keeping everything under wraps in their contract (it’s not a weird request, I promise).

Be prepared for a few less-than-impressed guests
Not everyone loves surprises. Some of your guests may be upset that you didn’t let them know about your wedding beforehand. I mean, everyone wants the chance to help a bride choose her gown or to party it up at a bachelor or bachelorette bash, right? Don’t let any of your salty friends bring you down on your big day, after a bit of revelry and a few cocktails there will be zero hard feelings.

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