The Ultimate surprise!

Two of the coolest friends we have made since arriving to Australia recently got engaged. Due to the drama that usually follows planning a wedding, they opted out of that and plan on eloping. They had recently decided to do this in Vanuatu, a group of tropical islands near Fiji.

That being said, they decided to throw an engagement party before they ran off and got hitched. We were excited to hear that we were invited to this fun affair and quickly RSVP'd YES! We were instructed to arrive at 5:00 sharp as dinner would be served at 5:30. Adam and I thought that seemed early but thought nothing else of it.

So this past weekend we got all dressed up and headed to the historic district of The Rocks to a great restaurant called The Italian Village. Elma & Max, the soon-to-be-runaway bride and groom, rented out the whole top floor. It was beautiful! They stood at the entrance and greeted all their friends and family as they arrived.

Max & Elma

While waiting for dinner to begin, wine, beer, and champagne were offered by the waitstaff. There were also at least two bottles of whiskey on each table. This would not be a mellow night. Soon everyone began sitting down and Max stood at the front of the room to make a quick announcement. He told everyone that he and Elma had a little surprise for everyone. There were whispers all around the room.

All of a sudden, two double doors in the back opened, some music started pumping, and out came Elma in a full-on gown!!! SURPRISE WE'RE GETTING MARRIED, Max said.

 

Bride and Groom

Everyone's jaw dropped. No one -- not friends or family -- had any idea this was coming! We all thought we were going to an engagement party but really it a wedding and the trip to Vanuatu was for their honeymoon! It was such an amazing night. Lots of eating, drinking, dancing and celebrating.

We also had the most amazing view of the Sydney Opera House from the room and turns out the wedding coincided with Vivid Sydney Festival of Lights, not to mistaken for the Jewish festival of lights. Max joked that he arranged this little show as part of the wedding celebration.

The Vivid festival is a two week event in Sydney's CBD, where light shows are project onto the Opera House and other buildings all night long. It might sound lame but it's pretty cool. On top of that there is a fire show -- not to be confused with fireworks, they literally just blast fire into the air -- on the hour every hour from 7pm-midnight

What a great night with great people! Congrats again to the wonderful newly wed couple Max & Elma!