Like diamonds, sweats are forever. An Arizona groom named Ean Goldberg was in for quite the surprise during the first look session on his wedding day, and it’s all due to the bride, who walked out in sweats instead of typical wedding day attire.
Oftentimes (like, nearly always), couples opt to look their best during the first look session, an intimate moment before the ceremony documented by the wedding photographer. This particular bride, however, intentionally pranked her fiancé by dressing… down. Way down.
For the special moment, the bride, Erin Goldberg, slipped into a shirt from Walmart—an oversized top imprinted with a cat that she’s had since she was 17—and gray sweatpants. The outfit was completed by a pair of casual white sneakers. “I thought it would be really funny for Ean to turn around, expecting this huge moment of me looking gorgeous in my dress with my makeup and hair done,” she told Yahoo, “only to turn around and see me in one of my typically embarrassing casual outfits.”
Arizona-based photographer Molly McElenney documented the amazing few seconds that have since gone viral across Instagram.
“This is the story of the BEST first look I’ve ever witnessed,” the photographer wrote on Instagram. “A few weeks ago, Erin reached out to me to adjust the timeline because she wanted to do a ‘fake’ first look. I had no clue what she meant by that, but soon described to me this GORGEOUS cat shirt and 10 year old sweat pants and I knew this had to be done! Ean thought he was going to see his bride in her stunning gown (which I will absolutely be posting about later), only to turn around and see this glorious outfit. It was amazing. SO AMAZING. And so hilarious, so I had to share this story and these hysterical photos with you all. Enjoy! And congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg!”
The bride’s funny gesture helped make the couple’s wedding day more enjoyable. “We will remember how much pressure it took off the rest of the wedding day process having started off with that hysterical, laughing moment that just the two of us shared,” Erin told Yahoo. “It was a lot easier to relax and take more serious (and incredible) first-look photos when we were more comfortable.”
The groom added to the outlet, “Even in her cat shirt, sweatpants, and stupid slip-on shoes, she still looked drop-dead gorgeous.”
