how am i supposed to keep my surprise wedding a surprise when a celebrant rocks up?

Surprise weddings are such fun!  I've never had a problem 'blending in' with guests as a 'friend of the family'.  You need to find a celebrant who is subtle but confident and outgoing so they mix well but still keep your secret.  They also need to dress suitably for your party/event (NOT as an official looking Celebrant!).  Depending on what you plan for your celebration and who (if anyone) is in on the secret plans, the celebrant can either arrive with the guests or slip in virtually unnoticed at an arranged time.  One piece of advice is to make sure your guests haven't been there for too long celebrating before the celebrant and your surprise is announced.  Alcohol fueled guests may not be ideal for the ceremony you have planned!  Also, you want to relax sooner, rather than later, so get the ceremony happening earlyish so that you can enjoy the celebrations with your guests.  Coincidently I just shared a post on my FB page about Surprise Weddings!
I hope all your planning comes to a beautiful end with a fabulous ceremony and celebration!

I have done lots of these and I pretend to be a cousin from the UK or a fellow worker at Bunnings

I am happy to send you a kit which will help you plan your wedding day

Mario - Treasured Ceremonies

Hello, congrats on having a surprise wedding. I think they are fantastic. Discuss with your Celebrant how you want to make your entrance and what can be done so that the attention is not on the Celebrant. I quite often help the DJ or MC and then setting up another PA system doesn't seem out of place. Your Celebrant might be able to set up in another room and then all the guests are ushered in at the appropriate time. Surprise weddings are such fun, I hope you have a wonderful time and really surprise your guests.

The trick is to choose someone who's good at acting - or 'playing'!

I've been all sorts of characters, from a tour guide to 'mum's friend from patchwork', to the agent who 'sold them the house' to even Mary Christmas on Christmas Day! Think creatively, hide the Register beforehand or even pretend it's a gift!

Good luck!

In the past, I have shown up as close to the ceremony time as possible and just starting setting up my PA system - I think that everyone believes I am just another guest or part of the entertainment, so no-one has ever really paid attention to what I am doing.  Can I also suggest that if you organise the guests to be there about 2-3 hours before the celebrant is due to arrive?  That way, the guests usually have relaxed and had a couple of drinks (and generally well established with talking to others), so I find I can slip in very easily without getting too much attention!

Ensure the celebrant knows exactly how you plan your surprise wedding to go. Is it being disguised as another sort of celebration?e.g. engagement party, birthday party; do the other guests know the celebrant is a celebrant? Sometimes people put two and two together if the intendended celebrant isn't a close friend, and would have no reason to be there.  Would they normally come with their partner if they were invited to another celebration? If the celebrant can turn up at the last moment before the wedding, then usually the surprise works, or make sure if the celebrant has to be there earlier, that any paperwork is effectively hidden until the appropriate moment. Hope this is useful, have managed a few successfully, all with different techniques.

What a great question! I am a bit different to other Celebrants as I like to hide in plain view! I have done so many Surprise Weddings (my speciality) and I am always amazed at how, when they find out I am the Celebrant, they often get as much of a surprise as when the announcement is made! I like to come really early (and sneak in my gear) so when everyone arrives, I am 'part of the furniture'. I am very hands on and I am usually a waitress/bargirl/photographer/DJ. I have participated in many weddings, where I have served food (and drinks) for up to 3 hours before the announcement is made.. or alternately as I have a professional camera and taking photos is my hobby, I take photos of the guests all night until the announcement is made and then give them to you (who can ever get enough photos?) and then often after the ceremony I still assist with taking more photos or finishing to get the food out! I have done over 100 surprise weddings and I have never had any guest have any idea who I really am (I often get changed just before the ceremony so I really blend in!) I would love to talk to you about your plans and what we could come up with! :) Anything is possible! :)  

An experienced celebrant will help you with this dilema. Walking through the venue details and meeting your bridesmaids first is a start. Or any long lost Aunt is a ruse.

Hi there,

Normally, when I'm the celebrant at the surprise wedding there are 3 ways that I have used over the years.

1.I turn up as someone who has lived interstate for a long time and was an old school buddy and we have reconnected over the past few months. 

The other thing we have done is if there is someone that is in the loop about the wedding I'm a friend of theirs.

The other alternative is for the celebrant to turn up near the time of the ceremony and to be one of the staff at the venue that has worked well too.

Best wishes for your special day, Lianne

Surprise weddings can be tricky however if you find the right celebrant you will be able to work it out together.

I've done a surprise wedding where I pretended to be the bride's  cousin.  There were only a few realtives invited and the bride's  parents were in on the surprise. Perhaps you could find a celebrant who you can pass off as a relative, old school friend or a  work colleague from the past.

Alternatively, the celebrant could arrive at the ceremony time,. Their arrival reveals the moment of suprise.