A New Jersey bride got the ultimate Broadway surprise on her wedding day when her groom and friends pulled off a show-stopping performance inspired by one of her favorite musicals.
Lori Travers, a kindergarten teacher at Coles Elementary School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, married Gabe Weiss at Preakness Hills Country Club in Wayne, New Jersey.
During the reception, Weiss surprised Travers with a performance from Les Misérables, enlisting members of their wedding party and friends to bring the Broadway-inspired moment to life.
A video of the surprise captured Travers’ emotional reaction and has since gone viral.
The performance was especially meaningful for Travers, a longtime theater lover who has performed in community theater and uses theater techniques to teach her students.
“Les Miserables has been one of my favorite shows ever since my dad took me to see it and bought us sixth row tickets,” Travers said.
Travers said the surprise stemmed from a comment she once made to Weiss about how special it would be to have a performance like it at their wedding.
“To have my fiancée hear that ONE TIME I off the cuff mention ‘it would be amazing if that happened at our wedding’ and make it happen just reaffirms that he’s the perfect person for me,” Travers said.
Weiss, who has been singing since he was a child, said pulling off the surprise required plenty of planning behind the scenes.
“I feel like we accomplished the impossible in such a short amount of time. Without our Best Man Zach Love, none of this would’ve worked. It was like pulling off the greatest heist,” Weiss said.
Love, the couple’s best man, choreographed the performance, which featured friends who share the couple’s love of theater.
“To know that everyone said YES to doing it also shows how loved we are,” Weiss added.