A bride pranked her husband-to-be by sending her brother to meet him for their wedding pictures – gown and all.
An ill-fitting dress, a stubbly chin, and a person you definitely didn’t propose to aren’t really the words you would use to describe the ideal bride reveal, but they are ones you can use for an excellent prank.
Heidi Zherelyev plotted with her brother Eric Dodds to prank her fiancé on the day when he was supposed to see her in a wedding dress for the first time.
Rather than Heidi appearing as a radiant bride in a white dress, husband Val turned around to find Eric showing off his figure in a gown.
Eric spoke about his delight when hearing the plan, describing how he even wore girl’s perfume to really solidify the role.
He said:
I found out about this plan a few hours before the ceremony and I thought it was such a great idea.
I love my sister and would do anything for her and I love my brother-in-law. She picked such a good guy.
He loves goofy things and I love goofy things so it was exactly what he needed.
He was such a sweaty mess I knew it would be a good way to calm his jitters.
I really got into the role. I put on girl’s perfume and deodorant to get into character.
When he turned around it was hilarious. We messed around and had a little photo shoot of our own
The pranksters didn’t give too much away though, as Eric actually wore an old dress belonging to one of Heidi’s friends.
That was probably a good idea, just in case Val was scarred by the image of Eric in the actual dress. It could have ruined the couple’s big day.
The pair had originally eloped in San Diego in 2013, but wanted to make up for the fact that their friends and family had missed the wedding, so planned another event this year.
Heidi apparently knew Val would be nervous appearing in front of all their guests, and so came up with the plan to help him worry less.
Val said the prank helped him feel much less nervous going forward.
He said:
When I saw Eric in his dress, it took me a few moments to process it.
It definitely made all my nerves go out the window.
It was so funny and it set a precedent for the whole day.
Heidi revealed that the prank had been in the works for a while.
The bride explained:
My friend and I came up with the idea about five months before the wedding.
Chelsea had her old wedding dress we could use and I knew my brother would be on board.
He has known Val for about ten years now and they are like brothers at this point.
I was watching everything from the window of the bridal suite. I was trying so hard to be quiet but I couldn’t. It was just too funny. I’m so glad we have it all caught all in photos.
The couple seemed to have an excellent day after the prank had been pulled off. Congratulations Val and Heidi!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.