Yep, you read that title right, A SURPRISE!! Ali + Luke were planning on a June 20, 2020 wedding, but in the early stages of COVID-19, decided to reschedule to November. I was planning on photographing their new November wedding date when all of a sudden I received an email from Ali on JUNE 18th! 48 hours before they got married! The email went a little something like, “Hey Tarah, TOTALLY ok if you are not available, but we are getting lunch at our original venue on Saturday to celebrate our would-have-been wedding and we were joking around with the idea of surprising everyone and just getting married and now I think we are going to do that, are you available?” I was gearing up for a surprise Wisconsin elopement!

In true Tarah fashion I responded with a big, “HECK YEA LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN.”

And so we did, or rather they did Ali’s uncle got ordained online 48 hours prior, her 3 best friends helped set up a tablescape at the winery to make it feel more like a wedding, and EVERYONE WAS SURPRISED.

The best part? The guests thought they were surprising Ali + Luke with a fun celebration lunch becuase Ali’s friends made sure they all came, but Ali + Luke were actually surprising them back. It was one of those “they don’t know that we know they know” situations for all my Friends fans out there! 😉

Little by little their families arrives with big smiles and a “surprise, I am here” look on their faces. Ali + Luke watched a video that their guests made them and then they did it..

They stood up to thank everyone for the special “surprise” video and said, “WOW, thank you all so much for that surprise, but we are actually going to surprise you because we are getting marries RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

Then this happened..

It was the COOLEST spur of the moment elopement and all their family were so thrilled! It felt so true to them and was so intimate and heartfelt! We spent the day drinking wine, eating pizza, and walking around the gorgeous ground of Vino In The Valley! I hope you enjoy these images as much as I do!

Hair: Rachel Werner – Social Hair Co

Makeup: Katie Lynch – Social Hair Co

Jumpsuit: Club Monaco

Venue: Vino in the Valley