Teresa thought she was headed to a night at the ballet with her husband and close friends… Little did she know that MONTHS earlier, her daughter -Chelsea- contacted me to be the photographer and to help her pull off one of the greatest surprises of her mom’s life! Since this beautiful bride, Teresa, didn’t really get a chance at a wedding to marry her groom, Ken, when they were younger, her daughters and Ken wanted to pull it all together and even fly in her family and friends for the best wedding vow renewal she could have dreamt up herself. 
I think one of my FAVORITE details of the day, is that Chelsea was “helping” her mom choose a dress to wear to the upcoming “ballet event” (the cover story for the wedding celebration evening) during the time leading up to the surprise. She had a bunch of dresses shipped to her moms house to try on, but she had ONLY chosen dresses that came in white AS WELL as the colored options she shipped to her mom. When her mom chose her favorite gown in maroon, Chelsea ALSO ordered it in white so that it would be waiting for the bride with her flowers, her something borrowed, old and blue, at the hotel where she would come right after dinner (her husband told her he had “forgotten the tickets to the ballet, so they had to go back to the hotel”) to change before they drove her over to her ceremony!
Our bride still had no idea WHY a photographer was there taking photos, or what was even happening until she got up to the hotel room, saw the gown and then was handed the invitation that had gone out to guests.
Teresa actually didn’t even know WHO would be at the ceremony or where it was until she was walking down the aisle right after she gets out of the car to see the full scope of the set up at Ray’s Boat House. It included a full ceremony, reception dinner and dance floor with so many people that flew in and gathered from around the area to be a part of it all!
Florals: Katie Delorme Florals
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Rays Boat House
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