Wedding planning takes time. But usually not six years.
For realtor Nicole Arnett and fiancé Daniel, decisions for the big day were too difficult so they ended up delaying their wedding.
Nicole, from British Columbia, Canada, got sick of waiting around and so decided to surprise Daniel with an impromptu ceremony.
After the long wait, Nicole made the executive decision to have the shotgun wedding during a New Year’s Day beach party.
The 40-year-old had said yes to Daniel in 2014 after an intimate proposal at their home with Daniel’s grandmother’s wedding ring.
Since they agreed to tie the knot, the couple – who have a child – had trouble deciding exactly how they wanted to execute their big day.
After several unsuccessful attempts to secure the details, Nicole came up with an idea to surprise Daniel in December 2019.
Her plan was to disguise their ceremony as the typical New Year’s Day party she and Daniel hosted every year.
It also happened to be close to Nicole’s birthday so all the celebrations rolled into one.
Thanks to the help from friends and family who would be attending the party, Nicole was able to arrange the ceremony within two weeks.
The cost of the whole affair wasn’t too bad, costing them $3,000 (£2,295) – all without giving anything away to the unsuspecting groom.
Nicole explained: ‘We talked about so many different ideas and for one reason or another it never felt quite right when we got down to confirming it, or something happened and we pivoted away from the idea.
‘We realised we didn’t actually want a wedding, which is why we put it off; we just wanted to be married to each other which were two very different things in our mind.
‘I thought [the beach wedding] would be a nice surprise and really special.
‘We just wanted to keep it really simple and unique to us so that was how I came up with: one, the surprise and two, making it a part of our favourite day of the year anyway, which felt very special and intimate.’
‘I never for a second worried that Daniel wouldn’t love this or be up for it.’
Though Nicole planned the wedding, she didn’t have to cover all the costs.
She told Daniel that the expenses were going on plans for the party, such as a caterer as Nicole didn’t feel up to cooking on her birthday.
And while many people wouldn’t compromise on their wedding dress, Nicole was content with an old dress from a friend’s wedding.
Their friends’ children became the flower kids, their own son was the ring bearer and two pals sang to the couple and played the guitar before the ceremony.
With 35 guests gathered on Bonnie Brook beach, Nicole finally revealed to Daniel that their party had a hidden motive.
She said: ‘I got up and said how happy I was that everyone was there and that I had a long to-do list this year for resolutions, and there was something that Daniel and I had been meaning to do for a long time but we’d never got around to, which was get married.
‘He’d been filming me, and he just dropped his phone and he’s just staring at me with his mouth hanging open.’
He had to quickly get over the surprise and get dressed.
After saying their vows, the couple jumped into the water.
Nicole added: ‘Daniel said it couldn’t have been more perfect or more us, which I agree with.
‘He said he couldn’t have ever planned a better event or dreamt of anything more fun.
‘I think the honeymoon will be a collaborative effort – we’ll plan it together this time.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/29/girlfriend-surprises-fiance-of-six-years-with-wedding-on-the-beach-12145351/
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