Sunshine Coast and Noosa ‘Surprise’Weddings

I have had the pleasure recently at officiating at no less than 8 surprise Sunshine Coast Weddings! Some disguised as milestone birthday parties, another as a house warming where the couple had also just purchased and moved into their new home(considering the rigmarole that goes with this feat, it is not surprising that planning a wedding as well may have just been all too much!) Lastly, one disguised as an engagement party by a couple who had been together a long time and in essence, just wanted to have one giant celebration....one with a surprise element thrown in. But before going any further, let’s clear up any possible legal misinterpretations of the word ‘surprise’ as far as matrimony in Australia is concerned.

All of the other above scenarios are completely fine and heaps of fun if they can be successfully pulled off. The Attorney-General, who is responsible for the performance and conduct of marriage celebrants in Australia, defines ‘Surprise weddings’ a little differently: They involve one of the parties to the marriage being ‘surprised’, either at or shortly before the ceremony. The most popular scenario involves one member of a couple wishing to ‘surprise’ the other party by organising the marriage without their knowledge and then presenting them with the complete ceremony as a romantic gesture. This is categorically not acceptable practice because it would place undue pressure on the ‘surprised’ person to agree to the arrangement at the time the surprise was revealed. This could place in doubt the validity of the marriage under the Marriage Act 1961.

So, as long as this is not the intent of one half of the couple, surprise weddings are particularly special and will be talked about for years to come by the guests who have come to the party/housewarming/engagement.....sorry, it was actually a wedding!

Generally couples will be seeking a simpler style of occasion, maybe the intense planning of a elaborate large wedding and trying to please countless well meaning family members just all was too overwhelming so they may bail and opt instead for a lower key more understated but very meaningful elopement style event that they can have exactly as they wish, while most importantly, preserving the true meaning of what they are actually doing and saving money at the same time!

They are definitely gaining in popularity as a form of extreme party idea when the couple are engaged anyway and decide to combine the reasons for celebration into an intense energy ultra-party!“It was fast, suspenseful and exciting,” the bride said. “The shock in the room made for more of an interesting affair.”- at Lauren Pienkowski and Corey Chavers’s engagement party turned wedding in Syracuse, New York.

It certainly takes willpower to be able to keep the secret until the day and at times it will be difficult. Along the way there may be countless opportunities that tempt the secret to be divulged, having a close friend in on it with you is fairly important to be able to bounce ideas with and to assist you in resisting the urge to blurt it out when your overwhelming excitement about the forthcoming nuptials maybe just gets too much! You definitely need this confidant to help you to decide what to  wear, how to have your hair, fielding ideas and plans and you may also be able to delegate a few tasks to ease the burden of planning a once in a lifetime event such as this. Keeping your vision of the look on your guests faces at the big reveal will assist you to maintain the charade until the day!

Whatever the reason written on the invitation, it absolutely must be compelling enough to ensure that nearest and dearest family and friends will accept and turn up to the occasion! It would be heartbreaking if a guest didn’t turn up because it clashed with their favourite night of TV, only later to discover they had missed a marriage!

Good Luck with planning your surprise wedding what better place to do it than at one of the many glorious wedding locations in Noosa and the Sunshine Coast.

Until next time, xx Philippa