Bride-to-be Mary-Cathrin McCarthy thought she was going to take bridal photos when she put on her dress and headed out to her wedding venue on Saturday. But her groom had other plans -- he surprised her with an actual wedding!
Brandon Cassata told the "Today" show Wednesday that he and McCarthy had a wedding date set for November 2013. But he said he wanted to make sure certain family members would be able to attend the wedding, as well as reduce McCarthy's wedding-planning stress, so he decided to move up the date -- without telling McCarthy.
“I watched the show ‘Bridezillas,’ and I was like, ‘Uh, no, not for me,’” Cassata said.
With the support of McCarthy's family, Cassata finished planning the wedding (McCarthy had already chosen a dress and a venue) and told all of their guests the new date. He revealed the surprise in a pre-recorded video, which McCarthy watched on an iPad in the car on the way to the venue.
“There’s going to be a lot of surprises today for you. And I just want you to know that I’m right there by your side,” he said in the video. “So I’ve decided, let’s get married today!”
Their guests saw the entire surprise unfold via a live video feed that they watched from the wedding venue, and greeted the bride with cheers and applause. Although McCarthy said she could hardly process what was happening when she arrived at the wedding, she thought the surprise was "perfect."
“I was so overwhelmed with love,” she said. “I looked in his eyes and everything just melted in my body. I was just so thrilled.”
Watch the video above for more on McCarthy's wedding surprise.
Although 71 percent of "Today" show viewers agreed that they would NOT want a surprise wedding, many brides have tied the knot at weddings they weren't anticipating. In 2011, one woman went to a retirement party that turned out to be her own wedding, and on Christmas Eve, a volunteer firefighter surprised his girlfriend, a fellow firefighter, with a midnight wedding at the local fire station.
Click through the slideshow below to see some of our favorite wedding moments.
