Guests showed up for an engagement party — but when a video showed the couple reading vows, the crowd gasped
Engagement party breaks into gasps as couple reveals video of their secret wedding
Noah and Maya Lockyer invited their closest friends and family to attend their engagement party. However, as the guests arrived, the couple announced their marriage through a surprising video. Jade Clift (@jadecliftphoto), their wedding videographer, who had kept the secret for a while, posted the video on Instagram in June 2025.
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Noah and Maya's love story is one in a million — something straight out of a fairytale. They met at a time when Maya was going through significant hardship. As a child, she was devastated to lose people she loved, and so she made a promise to herself to never get close to anyone else. But everything changed when Maya met Noah. From the very beginning, she maintained an honest relationship with him and shared everything about her situation. In her wedding vows, Maya mentioned how Noah believed in her and gave her the strength she had been searching for a long time. Noah and Maya married in an intimate ceremony and kept it a secret for about 8 months until their 'fake' engagement party. As the guests watched the couple dressed in their wedding outfits, reciting vows, they were shocked — but their hearts were full of overflowing emotions for the newlyweds. "I had to keep it under wraps until the big reveal for 8 months! Their elopement was intimate, emotional, and full of love (and yes, I teared up at the vows)," Jade, the wedding videographer, confessed.
Today, when most weddings have sadly become all about flashy pictures, extravagant celebrations, and insanely expensive outfits, Noah and Maya chose a different path. Although lavish weddings can be breathtaking, nothing really compares to the warmth of a small, intimate ceremony. And surprisingly, more Millennials understand this more than anyone else. Yes, that's right! The Knot Real Weddings Study reported a survey by The Tylt that found 70% of respondents preferred small weddings over large affairs. This totally makes sense, considering the escalating wedding expenses. It was also found that the national average cost of a wedding has dropped from an all-time high of $35,329 in 2016 to $33,391 in 2017. Moreover, the study estimated that the average head count showed a similar decrease from 141 guests in 2016 to 136 in 2017.
As Jade shared the video, it went viral in no time, receiving over 2 million views on the platform. People loved how the couple surprised their guests, and absolutely adored the wedding video. For instance, @xxchicestxx commented, "This is the best thing ever! I love this, and this is all that matters — just you and your partner. Congratulations!" @rachel.jeffries__ confessed, "Me sitting on my couch with no connection to these people but absolutely BAWLING."
Echoing the sentiments, @imogencorman said, "You guys are the most amazing people; you two deserve all the happiness." @its.sasha.hair said, "I don't know who you are, but I'm in tears. Ten years married here, and it's the best work ever. It's worth it with the right one." @tegsgooding commented, "Oh my God! This is such a beautiful love story! How lovely that you got to be a part of this, Jade.
You can follow Jade Clift (@jadecliftphoto) on Instagram for more wedding content.
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