Antakly Projects had already interviewed both of them: Lorien Gabel, co-founder of pingg.com, the online invitation platform, and artist Jessica Lichtenstein of Girl5. We knew who they were. We did not know what they were about to do.
The pair had been together for years, both famously commitment-phobic, perfectly happy remaining what Lorien called a "commitment-phobic committed couple." Then Jessica said the sentence that became the plan: "The only way you could get me to show up at my own wedding is if I didn't know it was a wedding."
So they eloped to the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas with a three-person film crew made up of close friends: directors, camera operators, editors. They got married surrounded by sand, wind, rusted cans, and the golden hour light you can see in this photograph. They kept it completely secret for three weeks.
Then they invited 200 of their closest friends to what everyone was told was a combined 30th and 40th birthday party in New York, using Lorien's own platform to send the invitation. The day of the party, they screened the film: a David Lynch meets Oliver Stone scripted movie, with the surprise ending, footage of their actual ceremony. The room erupted. The couple who had not cried at their own wedding were brought to tears by their friends' reactions.