Surprise! The Bride was Pregnant

Ever wondered what surprises lurk beneath those winter wedding parkas? Let's wraps up the "We Listen and Don't Judge" series with a heartwarming tale of unexpected revelations and thoughtful timing. 

This episode features a seemingly straightforward winter elopement that took a surprising turn when the bride removed her heavy coat after the ceremony to reveal a beautiful baby bump. The quick-to-plan, private ceremony suddenly made perfect sense—the couple wanted to announce both their marriage and pregnancy to family during Christmas gatherings, presenting their loved ones with the complete picture rather than facing questions about timing.

I reflect on how pregnancy often influences wedding plans, sharing stories of couples who reschedule ceremonies, plan strategic elopements, or even orchestrate surprise weddings at gender reveal parties to navigate family expectations. Remember -  "first babies come whenever, but second babies take nine months"!

Have you experienced unexpected moments at weddings? Share your thoughts and subscribe to The Wedding Where with Officiating by Amanda for more heartwarming, sometimes surprising, and always authentic wedding stories!

Chapters

• 0:04 Welcome to Wedding Wear Surprise
• 0:22 No Judgment June Series Wrap-up
• 1:28 The Surprise Pregnancy Elopement
• 4:56 Weddings and Unexpected Surprises
• 9:32 Podcast Closing and Contact Information

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome to the Wedding Wear with officiating by Amanda. The Wedding Wear Surprise the bride was pregnant. The bride was pregnant. Hey everyone, amanda here and welcoming you back to the Wedding Wear. We are wrapping up our we Listen and Don't Judge series.

Speaker 1: 0:37

I think last time I called it the no Judgment June. We love that no Judgment June series with this episode. If you find this one fun, please go back to the last couple. We've got some real interesting ones from the groom having a black eye, the mother of the bride being drunk, the father of the groom going on a long, long winded speech at the reception and the couple that was already married to other people. So please note that these were not all one wedding. They were separate weddings. I think if they had all been one wedding that would have just been far too much for me. I don't think I would have been able to not judge. So this week's story is short and sweet and quite literally surprising. So it's the wedding where the bride was pregnant, but I didn't know that until right after the ceremony. So a lot of times a couple is pregnant or planning to be, or recently found out that they were by the time of their wedding and they let me know they either want a line included in the speech or they have just had a baby, so they certainly want more than one line changed in the speech.

Speaker 1: 2:02

I in fact had a bride once. I'd been booked like a year and a half in advance and we got to like two months out and I hadn't heard anything from her and I emailed and said, hey, what's going on? She's like oh my gosh, I knew we forgot somebody. I'm like what do you mean? Forgot somebody? And she's like I'm pregnant, I'm due the week of the wedding. We've moved the wedding out another year and a half Awesome. She's like I totally forgot to tell you Like we changed the venue, we changed the DJ, like we've done a lot of stuff. You good with this date now, a year and a half in advance. I'm like yes, I am, let's move it. So a lot of times I get filled in, which is really awesome and really cool. It's not needed, it's not required at all, but there's some really cute touches that can be done.

Speaker 1: 2:47

If I know about a pregnancy, so I didn't obviously know about this one the couple found me online and it was very quick and very clear. They need to elope, just going to be the two of them and me. No photographer, no one zoomed in, nothing like that. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I was reached out, I think, like the week of Thanksgiving. So we had to work really fast. We booked fast, we worked fast and we did a chilly winter day outdoors. It was just me and the couple, and did I mention it was cold? So big, puffy, michelin man, marshmallow guy, parkas, big parkas. They had their own vows. They had the ceremony recorded.

Speaker 1: 3:41

A lot of times for quick elopement. I don't really have that. A couple kind of just wants to say I do and a few pictures. They don't really do it recorded because maybe they've got something bigger going on down the line, a bigger ceremony, something more formal, not a problem. And after the ceremony they were like were like hey, can you just take a few pictures? I'm like, yes, of course it's you, me and the trees here. Friend, I will gladly take some pictures for you.

Speaker 1: 4:14

And I grabbed the camera that they wanted me to use and I'm doing the transitioning. You know, I'm looking down, clicking buttons to make sure I've got the right lighting and the zoom and all that jazz. And as I'm prepping, the bride took off her parka, coat. And when I looked up, well, there it is A big, beautiful round like a basketball baby bump, beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And it clicked. I went oh, I understand no judgment over here, just understanding the timing, the rush, the winter date.

Speaker 1: 4:56

It turns out that they were not going to be seeing their family at Thanksgiving but they would for Christmas, and so they wanted to have all of these pieces kind of brought together for Christmas of we got married, we are pregnant, we are happy and not have anybody question. Well, wait, when exactly did you get married? When exactly? Or you do just kind of let it be as it is and really good for them. They were really happy with the pictures. They're happy that they're going to be able to show their child someday that like, look, there you are. And they just wanted the moment to be theirs, without any sort of judgment or pressure, without anyone saying you you know you shouldn't get married just because you're pregnant, or someone encouraging you to do it far earlier in a pregnancy when you might not be feeling up to it. It's just what they wanted and kind of having everything in place for when they would next see their family members was very important to them.

Speaker 1: 6:07

Surprises at weddings happen more than I thought that they would, and maybe that's because I'm a planner and in my realm not a lot happens with surprise. But there have been really surprising elements in a lot of weddings that I've been a part of, either for the couple, for the families or for myself, and I have found over the last 11 years is that pregnancy is one of many reasons that people will do an elopement or move up a wedding, move back a wedding, do something quietly for just the couple and a party leader. I actually had a couple that their family had some really deep thoughts about them expecting but not being married. They were engaged but the family was very like, oh, a child born out of wedlock. And so the couple worked with me to plan a surprise wedding to be done at the gender reveal party so that it would kind of pacify everybody and really really kind of cool. You don't have to, it's your life. You do not have to take anyone else into account or what families think or feel. But if you want to, there's ways that we can do that and take care of that, and I, with this wedding, I certainly laughed a little bit.

Speaker 1: 7:36

I was remembering of a saying of first babies come whenever, but second babies take nine months, and that's just life, and I'm sure that that might be a little bit more of how they explain it to their family or to some people. It was very common in the olden days, you know, to cover up that there was a little bit of premarital fun going on, was that? Oh yes, first babies, they can be born after four or five months, but wait, that's not a problem. First babies come whenever. It's second kids, third kids, fourth kids, all future kids Once you are married and established. They all take nine months. Yep, they have to, they have to cook that long. And so as I took pictures of this beautiful bride and her husband, I started thinking like, okay, they'll go for Christmas, they'll talk with their family, and she maybe, maybe, had three more months left. So someone's like, wait, okay, if you guys got married sometime in the fall, fall before we saw you for the holiday, that still would only put the kid at like seven months. I mean, somebody's going to do math they all do but it just reminded me of the saying that first babies come whenever and all the rest take nine months.

Speaker 1: 9:01

What else I like having some of these little themes throughout a couple of episodes. Are there other themes you'd want me to do Like you want me to do a whole one into unity ceremonies and talk about a different one each time? Do you want me to dive on into vows and just be talking about the good, the best, the ugly, the worst? Let me know through comments or emails what you would like to see, because I could definitely do something up for July and August. Until next time, this has been Amanda.

Speaker 1: 9:35

Thank you for listening to the Wedding Wear with Officiating by Amanda. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and found some inspiration or insight for your own special day. This podcast is hosted on Buzzsprout and can be found on all major platforms. If you haven't already, please subscribe, like, comment and share to help us reach even more listeners who might laugh a little at the wedding wear. For the links referenced in the show, visit Linktree at Officiating by Amanda. You can also follow the business on Facebook, weddingwire and the Knot to stay up to date on everything going on. If you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast, just send an email to theweddingwirepodcast at gmailcom and if you're ready to inquire about officiating services for your own big day. You can reach me at officiatingbyamanda at gmailcom. Thank you so much for tuning in.