In events we love a good reveal. This can be from opening the doors for guests to see a beautifully set room right up to driving a tractor through a parted drape under a 30′ screen (which was certainly one of my top three reveals).

My favourite reveal however brought a groom to tears, then smiles.

I once did a wedding for an ex-pat British groom and his Australian bride. It was shaping up to be a complete disaster – his father had headed back to the UK in a huff after an argument and his best man was a late withdrawal after the birth of his child.

The bride steps in to save the day.

Not to let a little drama hijack her day, the bride contacts me in secret to request we surprise her groom with a live Skype call from England by the best man. The only problem? No internet on a venue surrounded by water.

Via the magic of 3G in the tropics we were ably to rally, complete the test call and perform the reveal during speeches. I stayed to make sure the call worked and was truly touched by the grooms reaction – first tears, then a very big smile.

So rewarding was the result that I “forgot” to send a bill for the additional equipment.

SB