Bride and Groom Have Wedding Guests Vote to Decide Their New Last Name: 'Reveal Was Hilarious!' (Exclusive)
Jasmine Moodie and Elle Upshall got married on July 13, 2024
The couple asked their 60 wedding guests to vote on what their new last name should be, Upshall-Moodie versus Moodie-Upshall. The winning surname, Upshall-Moodie, was dramatically announced during the wedding ceremony
"It was surreal to finally know who we were entering the next chapter of our lives as," Jasmine tells PEOPLEOne couple had a life-changing request for their wedding guests.
Before they were the Upshall-Moodies, they were Jasmine Moodie and Elle Upshall. When the United Kingdom-based couple of nearly 10 years sent out their invitations for their July 13, 2024, wedding at The Red Barn, Norfolk, they added an extra note in their RSVP.
"We asked for the usual response, dietary requirements and then the surprise surname vote!" Elle tells PEOPLE.
It would be entirely up to the couple's 60 guests to determine their new hyphenated last name, with the nominees being the Upshall-Moodies and Moodie-Upshalls. A few "fringe voters" wanted "the Mupshalls," but the suggestion didn't make the final cut.
"We're both really attached to our family name, it's part of our identity so we always struggled with the concept of one of us losing that," Jasmine explains. "As a queer couple too, it often feels like there's traditions in marriage that don't fit our story — taking the 'man's' surname has no relevance in our relationship, so we knew we had the freedom to do something differently!"
That's when the pair landed on having a double-barrel surname. Because they "couldn't decide between the two options," they thought they'd "have some fun with it" by giving "the power to our people."
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From the start, the couple knew that they wanted their wedding to not only be about them, but also about their closest friends and family.
"We started incorporating elements of the day that would surprise and include our loved ones," Elle shares. "That's when we had the idea that we could get them to vote for our surnames — it doesn't get more involved than that!"
Wanting their new last name to be a "surprise" on the big day, Jasmine and Elle worked with Louise Gather from Kickass Gatherings to send out the RSVPs. The humanist wedding celebrant made sure votes were collected "blindly" in order to maintain secrecy.
"This way, we had NO idea what way the vote would swing, and when she pronounced us as wives we'd get the surprise gift from all of our guests — a new surname!" Jasmine says.
Wedding guests debated "for months" on which surname option was best. Some guests kept their votes "very secretive" while others "needed to talk it through." A handful of guests were so torn that they didn't vote until just a few days before the wedding.
"Funnily enough, the Upshalls were mostly team Moodie-Upshall and the Moodies were cheering for the Upshall-Moodies!" Elle says.
The wedding photography and videography team, Steff and Ells at Rebel Love Club, captured footage of the shocking reveal, which they described in the caption of their viral TikTok post as being "closer than Brexit."
During the "personal, funny and joyful" ceremony, Gather dramatically pulled the printed results from a gold envelope. When she announced that the winner —with 29 votes to 24 — was the Upshall-Moodies, "the whole barn erupted with cheers!"
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"It was super special seeing everyone react after all the anticipation. And of course, seeing each other react to our new name!" Jasmine says. "I remember just laughing so much — both of our names are pretty unique and weird, so either combination has a fun sound to it. It was surreal to finally know who we were entering the next chapter of our lives as."
As their guests applauded, Jasmine and Elle raised both their arms up before sharing a kiss and repeating their new last name out loud.
"No matter what they'd voted, everyone got behind the new name in that moment!" Elle recalls.
Jasmine adds, "It felt like a joyful way to include their voice in our future — and the vote reveal was hilarious! We're so happy! We couldn't imagine it any other way."
Read the original article on People
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