Caitlin and Matt’s Surprise Wedding

Caitlin and Matt met on Tinder.  She was getting tired of it and was really not into being on there anymore, but when she saw Matt had a daughter like her, she figured she would give it one more shot.  They met at Starbucks in Red Bank briefly and then a few days later decided to go on their first date.  They spent the day in Sea Bright, walking on the beach and driving around Rumson, looking at all the beautiful homes in the area.  After that day, they were together all the time. 

They dated a little over three years when they got engaged.  Matt proposed in the house Caitlin grew up in, just before they were heading to Christmas Eve mass.  It was just the two of them there.  Caitlin’s family knew he was going to proposed because he had already talked to her parents and siblings to ask for their blessing.  It was a family tradition to go to dinner after church.  Everyone enjoyed celebrating their engagement over the holiday.

I met Caitlin through a mutual friend.  When she was telling me their wedding plans and how the wedding was a surprise to the guests I was so excited to be a part of it.  In all my years of shooting weddings I had never done a surprise wedding before!  Caitlin told all the guests they were going to a surprise birthday party for Matt.  Only a few family members knew it was an actual wedding.

We discussed doing a first look and some family photos before going to the restaurant.  We met at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park.  There was a pretty bad storm happening that day, so we had to keep all of the portraits indoors.  Luckily, Convention Hall is full of amazing places to shoot and stay out of the rain.   Caitlin and Matt had the cutest first look.  They had their daughters cover Matt’s eyes until she walked up to him.  It was really sweet!

The ceremony and reception were at a great restaurant, Cross and Orange, in Asbury Park. Caitlin and Matt used to go on weekly dates there, so it was the perfect place to have their ceremony. All the guests were pleasantly surprised to see the announcement on their plate instead of the dinner menu!  After the ceremony, Caitlin thanked everyone for coming and told them they had yet another surprise.  She was pregnant with their soon to be third little girl!!! The day was so beautiful and perfect, rain and all! I was so happy to be there to document it for them. Below is a few of my favorite photos from the day.

-Robin

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