As if a wedding wasn't reason enough to celebrate, how about adding in a pregnancy reveal too? That's exactly what Margarita and Edward Hanratty did on their special day, when they surprised their guests with a baby announcement and a gender reveal all in one day.
The couple discovered that they were expecting in November, just two months before tying the knot on January 7, 2024. So when Edward Hanratty stood up to make a speech in front of all their wedding guests, it only felt right that they should give everyone even more reason to cheer by pulling an ultrasound out of his pocket and announcing that they were expecting.
Margarita, who was 13 weeks pregnant when she walked down the aisle, couldn't have been happier with the reveal, as she told Newsweek that "it was truly a miracle" how things worked out. "We thought, what better time to announce it at the wedding to all of our closest friends and family?" she continued.
But just in case their guests weren't speechless enough after that huge announcement, it turned out that their wedding cake also had a fun twist. When the happy couple, from Florida, cut into the stunning white cake, the sponge inside was bright pink and it was in fact a gender reveal cake—just to add even more surprises to their momentous day.
Margarita continued: "My now husband wrote a speech and had the baby's ultrasound in his jacket, and we told everyone baby Hanratty is due in July 2024. We also received the baby's gender two days before the wedding, so we thought that having a little cake reveal would be amazing and using the wine glasses allowed everyone to see the color. The idea for the reveal was super last minute, but it worked out perfectly.
"There were lots of tears and screaming because it was such a shock to everyone. You can't plan those things to happen perfectly, but we are just super lucky."
It may come as no surprise that weddings are among the most popular events that people are happy to attend, only behind birthday parties. According to a poll by YouGov, 86 percent of people have attended a wedding at some point, and they were viewed favorably by 79 percent of respondents. Baby showers and gender reveals were still seen positively, but somewhat less so than weddings and other events.
Baby showers ranked lower than graduation parties, family reunions, retirement parties, and anniversaries, with 68 percent of people either liking or loving them. Meanwhile, gender reveals were viewed positively by 63 percent of people, ranking much lower down.
The Social Media Response
The couple had been planning their wedding for 18 months, and though getting pregnant before their nuptials wasn't part of the plan, Margarita couldn't have been happier. There's certainly no wedding blues for them now, as these newlyweds have even more exciting prospects on the horizon to be excited about.
After turning their wedding into a pregnancy and gender reveal all rolled into one, Margarita couldn't wait to share the footage on TikTok (@maggsye). The video of Edward pulling out the ultrasound during his speech has been viewed over 3.2 million times, gaining more than 377,500 likes in a week. While the clip of their wedding cake-turned-gender reveal also went viral, with 560,800 views and 29,000 likes so far.
"The response has been just amazing. We have received so much love from all over the world and well wishes to our baby girl," Margarita told Newsweek. "We just want to add that this wasn't something we planned, but we are so grateful, and this baby is a miracle for us. We couldn't be happier that this happened so quickly, and we just couldn't wait to share it with the world."
With over 370 comments on the pregnancy announcement video, many TikTok users have praised the couple for giving their guests a wedding they'll never forget. One comment reads: "that's kinda smart to do all of that in one."
Another person joked: "An all-inclusive wedding: vows, baby, and gender reveal!"
"I'm crying, this is so beautiful," wrote another TikTok user.
Do you have any amazing weddings videos or pictures you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alyce Collins is a Newsweek Life and Trends reporter based in Birmingham, U.K. with a focus on trending topics that ... Read more
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