Surprise We Do
A surprise wedding!
Thursday 12th February 2009
Our engagement party guests were waiting downstairs as, in the hotel room, I put the finishing touches to my outfit. There was a knock at the door, and I opened it to see my dad, David Doonan, 55, standing there in his kilt. The look of confusion on his face was priceless as he gawped at my white and red wedding dress.
'Will you give me away?' I asked.
Suddenly, the confusion vanished and tears welled in his eyes.
'You're the most beautiful bride I've ever seen,' he whispered.
'Don't,' I gulped, fanning my face. 'I'll ruin my make-up.'
I know it sounds weird that it was my wedding day and my own dad didn't know I was getting married.
But that was the whole point.Dad didn't know. And neither did the 80 guests waiting downstairs. I'd been with my boyfriend, David Stevenson, 27, since we were 19, and he'd proposed in Mallorca last July. We'd decided to wait a year to give us time to save up for the wedding and, in the meantime, have an engagement party. But nine days after we'd got home, David had emerged from the shower with a strange look on his face.
'I've had an idea,' he'd grinned. 'How do you feel about swapping the Engagement banners for Just Married ones?'
'You mean get married at the party?'
I'd gasped. 'That's a great idea. We'd save loads of money.'
So that was that. Our engagement party had turned into our wedding. We'd booked a room at The Erskine Bridge Hotel for Friday 21 November and told friends and family. With three months to go, I'd gone dress shopping on my own and fallen in love with the first dress I'd tried on. I knew we'd need some help, so we'd let David's parents and my mum, Elizabeth, 60, in on the secret. I'd wanted Dad and my brother, Raymond, 32, to wear their kilts,
so we'd told them it was a Scottish-themed do. And seeing as we'd already asked David's sisters, Danielle, 14, and Louise, 12, to be bridesmaids, along with my sister, Sharon, 26, I'd dragged them to an 'early' fitting and bought the dresses.
Sharon's duties would be briefing the photographer and helping me dress, so I'd had to let her in on our plans a few days before the big day. And now, it had finally arrived.We'd turned up at the hotel for the engagement party as planned, me in a flowery dress and David in his kilt, and spent half-an-hour mingling. Then, at 8.15, I'd vanished with the bridesmaids and Mum. Half-an-hour later, I'd told David to send Dad up, and here he was, proudly wiping away the tears as he led me down the hotel corridor. My stomach flipped as I thought about David gathering the guests and making the announcement we'd planned: 'Michelle's disappeared and won't tell me why so, I'm sorry, but it looks like the engagement party's off.'
I imagined the ripple of gasps echoing round the room before David spoke again…
'But we'd love it if you'd join us in the function room for our wedding.'
Suddenly, I heard a huge cheer and everyone rushed to the function room, where a harpist was playing.Then I arrived outside the door. David went in first with his parents, John, 68, and Anne, 50, followed by our bridesmaids, then me and my mum and dad.The hotel had set up a red carpet and decorated the chairs in red and white as a surprise and, as I walked to the front, the look of amazement on our guests' faces was just brilliant.
David and I had written our own vows and my voice shook as I said mine. When the ceremony was over, we went back into the other room, where the staff had put up Just Married banners. Then, it was time for the speeches.
'I'm so proud of my girl and couldn't wish for a better son-in-law,' Dad beamed.
Half the bridal party joined us for our first dance, From This Moment by Shania Twain. Then finally, we tucked into the buffet. Before we knew it, it was midnight, and David and I were heading up to our room. 'I've had exactly the wedding I wanted,' I smiled.
'Me too,' he grinned. 'And it cost less than £5,000!'
In all the rush, we hadn't had much time for photos. So, a week later, Mum booked a photographer as a present and the bridal party put their outfits back on for a shoot.
Married life's great. But I'm not sure anyone will trust invitations from my husband and me for a while!