SURPRISE!

Last night I had the absolute pleasure of participating in an unforgettable surprise. A good friend of mine Melissa and her husband Matt celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary by having what Melissa thought was a simple dinner at Lombardo's restaurant. 

Little did Melissa know, but her incredible husband Matt had a little more in mind. When Matt and Melissa were originally married, as with many weddings, a few things weren't "perfect." The choice of whom to married however, certainly wasn't one of them!

In a single day, Matt managed to pull off the surprise of a lifetime by arranging to renew their vows at dinner. Not only did Matt manage to pull this off but incorporated a lot of fun into the surprise thanks to the incredibly accommodating folks at Lombardo's.

Matt began dinner by mentioning "introducing" that he'd love to renew their vows if only there were a ring. As luck would have it... there was the original best man with a new ring. The incredible Mike George of MSG jewelers not only managed to provide Matt with the new ring but also built it to compliment her present one.

Then if only they'd had a photographer because Melissa, now a photographer herself (shhh... she works for another studio and NO.. other photographers aren't my only customers) wasn't happy with her original pictures. I was more than happy to make my good friend Melissa cry by stepping into the room only to be followed by the... " now, if only we had a" ... minister Bob Barker.  A real minister... not the game show host. 

We followed a wonderful dinner by a rather chilly trip to the nearby City Garden for some fun late night pictures. Apparently Melissa and Matt's original photographer wouldn't go outside for pictures because it was cold and icy. It was cold last night too... but we warmed up after the session and from the look on Melissa's face... I'm guessing that later things got downright steamy!

The experience was wonderful and I'm thrilled to have been a part of it. Matt gets the kudos but I know that Matt is appreciative of all the vendors involved which is why I've named them. Matt honestly did this not only in a day but actually within a few hours. If it hadn't been for everyone involved it couldn't have happened. 

Good job Matt, both for making Melissa one happy girl and for setting the bar a ridiculously high for the rest of us guys! 

CONGRATULATIONS to both of you!