As a wedding photographer, Elizabeth Hasier wanted an unconventional wedding of her own.
In July, she surprised guests at her housewarming party and got married in her living room. Despite some drawbacks, Hasier said the hyper-local festivities, which cost her $3,500, “just felt right.”
Having worked as a wedding photographer for six years, 27-year-old Elizabeth Hasier knew she didn’t want a traditional wedding. After all, it would almost feel like going to work,” she told Insider.
Hasier and her husband, Holden, who’ve been together for eight years, initially toyed with getting married in Colombia, where his extended family resides. But it proved too pricey a prospect, especially as the couple had just purchased their first condo in Philadelphia in December.
Spitballing one day in February on the way home from a wedding (Holden is also a photographer and often accompanies her to work, Hasier said), the idea hit and stuck: What if they turned their long-in-the-works housewarming party, scheduled for July 29, into their surprise wedding?
Friends sobbed in disbelief after the true purpose of the night was revealed.
“Something that is stressful about weddings is all of the expectations guests bring,” Hasier told Insider. “You’re just putting all of your taste on display for a hundred people and hoping they like it.” In opting for a more homespun affair, the two “got to truly pull one over on people,” she said.
Hasier shared a recap of the event on TikTok last week, nabbing 750,000 views and an enthusiastic response from commenters. “NOW THATS HOW YOU WARM UP A HOME,” a top commenter wrote, responding to the chorus of cheers from Hasier’s friends upon realizing they were attending an even more special affair.
“I just hoped to tell everyone you don’t have to do anything on your wedding,” she said. “You can do whatever you want.”
While the event was ultimately a total surprise to 45 friends and family members, the couple did bring a few allies into the fold: Their friend Brandon would serve as the officiant, and Hasier’s best friend, Laura, helped organize in an unpaid capacity. (The couple also warned their immediate families about a month in advance.)
“The only professional that we hired was a photographer,” Hasier said. “She had to give an Oscar-winning performance to all my friends.”
At around 7 pm — as seen in their viral TikTok — the nervous couple stood atop a shed on their roof deck, ostensibly to make a toast, and broke the news to her guests.
“We didn’t want to wait ’til then,” she’s heard saying in the video, describing their initial wedding plans, “so we’re actually going to get married right now.”
On the day of, Laura got to work readying the living room with flowers and candles while the couple changed together upstairs. Hasier said the 25-minute ceremony was “the heart of the day” and her highest priority. They exchanged vows in the living room after their TikTok-famous greyhound, Paul, strolled down the aisle.
“It had been raining, and then during our ceremony, the sun came out, and it was magical,” Hasier said. “Everyone was just sobbing.”
For the afterparty, the group went to a nearby speakeasy Hasier said she rented for $300. They brought Domino’s pizza, a cake made by a local baker (which she procured in a trade for a photography work), and Mario Kart. Aside from a lengthy Domino’s order, the couple prioritized local vendors.
Hasier said it was important to work with local vendors — including her bouquet, which she got from a neighborhood flower shop the morning of the wedding. “To have an event that’s an homage to our little village in Philly just felt right to us,” she said.
All told, the wedding cost $3,500, she said, which is still far below the national average (of $30,000 in 2022, according to The Knot).
Hasier has zero regrets about having a more low-key event, as it focused more on her community.
In hindsight, Hasier has zero regrets about her big day — though the hardest part was that not everyone could attend, including friends and extended family who live out of town. It was also anxiety-inducing to keep such a big secret.
But even without a bachelorette party or the day-long lead-up that lends the “main character moment that weddings give you,” Hasier said, she loved that her wedding was focused on community.
“I feel like we did this for our community as much as we did it for ourselves,” she said. “We were, like, if you come to this housewarming party, you will be rewarded with this really emotional night.”
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