Oh So Beautiful Paper

Eleanor from Oh Louise! sent over these bright and colorful tropics-inspired invitations that she designed for what she thought was an engagement party, but turned out to be a surprise wedding!  How fun!  So let’s get to the full story from Eleanor, and be sure to check below for photos from the big party!

From Eleanor: My brother-in-law Mark & his fiancée Ashley were originally planning to have a destination wedding in Jamaica or Turks & Caicos, but pretty quickly they realized a destination wedding would be more difficult and expensive than they had imagined.  Mark and Ashley told us that they’d decided to get married by themselves on their “honeymoon.”

We were a little sad to not see them wed, but wanted to respect Mark and Ashley’s choice.  A little while later, Ashley asked if I would create the invitations for an engagement party they were planning for the weekend before they would depart.

I was happy to do it and worked with Ashley to create a custom invitation and thank you cards with  bright colors – oranges, pinks, and reds – and a floral design that had a tropical feel.

The night of the party, Mark and Ashley looked happy and content as all of their friends and family celebrated them in the beautiful backyard of a gorgeous home in Dallas.  After a couple hours of celebrating, we gathered around the pool for what we thought would be a toast to the engaged couple.

To our surprise, music began playing and Mark and Ashley came walking out of the house and into the backyard dressed in wedding attire!  They were beaming with excitement, not only because they were about to get married, but they had pulled off  their secret wedding and totally surprised each and every one of us!

It was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful night & I was so excited when I realized I had not just made Mark and Ashley’s engagement party invitation, but their wedding invitation!

A huge congratulations to Mark and Ashley, and thanks to Eleanor for sharing the lovely invitations and story behind this surprise wedding!

{image credits: invitation photos by Oh Louise!, wedding photos by Katie Norris}

1. Leisha says:

   04/20/2011 at 4:24 PM

   What was the name of the venue in Dallas?
2. Lacey says:

   07/27/2010 at 11:57 AM

   I love her short, white wedding dress! Where did she get it (or what’s the designer’s name)?
3. Michael and Anna Costa says:

   07/25/2010 at 8:38 AM

   Ain’t this idea the cutest?! Thanks for posting this!
4. Eleanor (Oh Louise!) says:

   07/22/2010 at 4:35 PM

   Hazel – so cool that you and your husband did the same thing! it is such a great idea… which i would have thought of it!

   Aly – it really was an amazing night…and the photographer did a wonderful job of capturing all of the love and surprise! also, thanks for linking on your blog!!
5. Aly says:

   07/22/2010 at 3:05 PM

   What a wonderful story. It looks like they were surrounded by family and friends and their love for each other really shows through in the pictures. How great that you were a part of this, and I love the invites! I loved the story so much I had to share it on my blog. Thank you for sharing.
6. Hazel says:

   07/21/2010 at 2:01 PM

   I love seeing other couples’ surprise weddings!! My husband and I did the same thing. We sent out invitations to our “engagement party” and surprised everyone. It was amazing! And recommended for tight budgets, like ours was! http://twoweasinapod.blogspot.com/2009/07/surprise.html
7. rachel says:

   07/21/2010 at 1:23 PM

   I LOVE surprise weddings! Thanks for sharing this beautiful one.
8. Jeannine says:

   07/21/2010 at 1:18 PM

   I love this idea — engagement party to surprise wedding!
9. Tara
   Twitter: ephemeraINC
   says:

   07/21/2010 at 11:14 AM

   What a fun idea! Her dress is fantastic too…