Real Wedding: Surprise Ceremony at Staple and Fancy

Slideshow: Meet the West Seattle couple who ditched sweet anticipation for all-out surprise when they through the ultimate curveball wedding at Staple & Fancy.

WWW: Tell us about the moment you decided to throw a surprise celebration.
Meg: We planned on the surprise all along, and just used an elopement plan as a cover story to make the lack of final wedding plans more plausible and also to keep suspicious friends off our trail.
WWW: Why Staple & Fancy?
Meg: We LOVE Ethan and Angela’s restaurants (our first date was at Tavolata) and they are friends of ours.

WWW: Tell us about the moment you decided to throw a surprise celebration.
Meg: We planned on the surprise all along, and just used an elopement plan as a cover story to make the lack of final wedding plans more plausible and also to keep suspicious friends off our trail.
WWW: Why Staple & Fancy?
Meg: We LOVE Ethan and Angela’s restaurants (our first date was at Tavolata) and they are friends of ours.

(Meg slips out of the party to do a wardrobe change in the stairwell.)

WWW: What did you give up by having a surprise wedding?
Meg: We really don’t feel that we missed out on anything — however our plan did not allow us to have the traditional wedding lead-up (showers, bachelor/bachelorette parties, dress shopping, and fittings with friends and family). But we knew we wouldn’t be able to have any of those things if we did it this way, and both of us felt that was a small sacrifice to make.

Dress: Laundry by Shelli Segal at Nordstrom’s Wedding Suite

(Meg slips out of the party to do a wardrobe change in the stairwell.)

WWW: What did you give up by having a surprise wedding?
Meg: We really don’t feel that we missed out on anything — however our plan did not allow us to have the traditional wedding lead-up (showers, bachelor/bachelorette parties, dress shopping, and fittings with friends and family). But we knew we wouldn’t be able to have any of those things if we did it this way, and both of us felt that was a small sacrifice to make.

Dress: Laundry by Shelli Segal at Nordstrom’s Wedding Suite

WWW: How many people knew about the plan in advance?
Meg: Very few: The staff at the restaurant, the photographer, the best man, one of the bridesmaids (the other had no idea!), the officiant, and one close friend.

WWW: How many people knew about the plan in advance?
Meg: Very few: The staff at the restaurant, the photographer, the best man, one of the bridesmaids (the other had no idea!), the officiant, and one close friend.

WWW: What things did you have to keep in mind as you were hiring vendors for a surprise ceremony?
Meg: We kept it simple. Sean Hoyt is a friend and we love his work so that was an easy choice. We only had bridal flowers done and didn’t want anything fancy so we stayed with the floral department at our local Metropolitan Market. Discretion was important; we needed to be able trust people with the secret.

Rings and jewelery: Green Lake Jewelry Works and Turgeon Raine

WWW: What things did you have to keep in mind as you were hiring vendors for a surprise ceremony?
Meg: We kept it simple. Sean Hoyt is a friend and we love his work so that was an easy choice. We only had bridal flowers done and didn’t want anything fancy so we stayed with the floral department at our local Metropolitan Market. Discretion was important; we needed to be able trust people with the secret.

Rings and jewelery: Green Lake Jewelry Works and Turgeon Raine

WWW: What was your favorite moment of the evening?
Meg: For Will the best moment was when everyone realized what was happening (the transition from engagement party to wedding ceremony). I was hiding in the back hallway so I missed the crowd’s reaction.

Groom’s formal wear: Dolce & Gabbana at Mario’s

WWW: What was your favorite moment of the evening?
Meg: For Will the best moment was when everyone realized what was happening (the transition from engagement party to wedding ceremony). I was hiding in the back hallway so I missed the crowd’s reaction.

Groom’s formal wear: Dolce & Gabbana at Mario’s

Meg (con’t): The moment that I enjoyed most was when I raised my head and saw my groom (I had walked into the room with my head down and paused for a few seconds before I looked up and started down the aisle).

Meg (con’t): The moment that I enjoyed most was when I raised my head and saw my groom (I had walked into the room with my head down and paused for a few seconds before I looked up and started down the aisle).

(The couple has a moment to themselves after all that excitement.)

WWW: What were the benefits of going about your wedding in this way?
Meg: EXTREME FUN!!!!!!!!!! We wanted a low stress, intimate event that no one, including ourselves, would feel overwhelmed by. The idea of doing something different was a goal from the start and we were able to accomplish and enjoy it all. And the looks on our friends and family’s faces are something we’ll remember forever.

(The couple has a moment to themselves after all that excitement.)

WWW: What were the benefits of going about your wedding in this way?
Meg: EXTREME FUN!!!!!!!!!! We wanted a low stress, intimate event that no one, including ourselves, would feel overwhelmed by. The idea of doing something different was a goal from the start and we were able to accomplish and enjoy it all. And the looks on our friends and family’s faces are something we’ll remember forever.

Meg and Will honeymooned in Kauai following the big event. We wish them a very happy and surprise-filled ever-after.

Meg and Will honeymooned in Kauai following the big event. We wish them a very happy and surprise-filled ever-after.

WWW: Any regrets? Anything you’d do differently?
Meg: No… it was perfect.

WWW: Any regrets? Anything you’d do differently?
Meg: No… it was perfect.