It all started with a bbq...

We had a get together this weekend with my family and my brother's fiance Maggie's parents and sisters. It was suppose to be an opportunity for the two families to better get to know each other as well as to announce the official date of the wedding. So after ten minutes of people talking in our backyard, Maggie gathers us all together to make an announcement. We all knew the announcement but it was more of a way to let everyone know that a date, time, and place had been picked.

Maggie's words exactly - "Welcome everybody, Im glad you could all make it. So as you know we are all here for Matt and I's announcement of our wedding. We have picked a place and its gonna take place on Nov. 3. After four years, we finally are gonna make it official. But thats not the only annoucement we have. This is not just a normal barbeque. This is actually our wedding. We are going to get married today, right now, in this backyard. The officiate is on her way here and in just a few minutes we're getting married. We tricked you."

And with that, my brother comes out with a bag with a video camera and the rings. At this point everyone is just looking at each other in total disbelief and shock. I was standing next to Nicole and Rach (Rach came for the weekend and what a weekend she picked to come, haha..oh, she now can be booked as a wedding photographer just so everyone knows) and we all just looked at each other with these expressions of "this has to be a joke." My sister and I still are in shock about it, since it feels like it didnt really happen. The entire time i kept looking over to see if my mom was ok and oddly enough she was okay. She cried but she cries at all weddings (real or on tv) so of course she would cry at her son's. Within ten minutes my brother was married. It was and is so surreal. They really did trick us.

I'm extremely happy for the two of them. Matt has been with Maggie for about six or seven years so its great that they are finally married. They were getting so tired of people asking them all the time "so when's the wedding? why havent you gotten married yet?" and because of that they decided to get married without anyone knowing ahead of time. It was exactly what they wanted since they didnt want a church wedding to begin with and they are very private. So next time you have a barbeque, be prepared. You never know whats gonna happen.