A beloved principal fought back tears of happiness and appreciation when teachers, pupils, and her fiancé surprised her with an on-campus wedding ahead of her own big day.
Brianna Lanoye, from Buffalo, New York, is the founding principal of the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School’s second Doat Street campus and is now entering her sixth year at the school.
During that time, Principal Lanoye has seen her community grow from just 60 children during COVID to more than 425 staff and students today – and with that increased number of bodies has also come a growing affection for Principal Lanoye, who was scheduled to marry her fiancé, Zach Klapp, on Sunday, October 12.
Knowing how much the school means to her colleague, who “would have loved for all her pupils to attend her wedding,” assistant principal Courtney Champlin decided that she wanted to plan something special with the school’s pupils themselves to mark the occasion.
And so, Ms. Champlin decided to go big and settled on hosting a surprise wedding at the school itself.
For weeks, Ms. Champlin met with the school’s team to coordinate decorations, contacted parents discreetly about the surprise, and even reached out to Zach to make sure he and the couple’s moms could attend.
As part of the plan, middle school students secretly practiced leading the ceremony, while it was agreed that elementary school pupils would be part of the bridal party.
With Principal Lanoye completely unaware of the surprise, she noticed that students were rather formally dressed on Friday, October 3 – which she put down to the fact that pupils are free to wear their own clothes on Fridays, and perhaps she was overthinking the formalities.
But then, with fellow teacher and videographer Greg McClure setting up his camera to record, Principal Lanoye was presented with a veil and told the news that, in fact, she was set to have a wedding at the school that very day.
The principal was left completely stunned, covering her face in shock, before being ushered outside for the ceremony itself.
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As Principal Lanoye made her way down the aisle – with Ms. Champlin wearing a tuxedo T–shirt tobe the one “giving her away” – pupils screamed with happiness as the principal smiled and waved from side to side.
Pupils then officiated the wedding and thanked Principal Lanoye for all the work she has done, with the principal cleared moved by the gesture and wiping away tears.
The school later shared a video of the wedding online, where the post received a number of loving messages.
Principal Lanoye, who said she wished all her pupils could be at her official wedding a little over a week later, said that surprise was the perfect way to ease her into the big day itself.
She added; “When I look back at the video, it still amazes me how seamlessly everything came together.
“I have tried to reflect on seeing everyone gathered in our backyard and what I felt in the moment.
“The only way I can describe it is the purest sense of joy and happiness I have ever felt.
“I felt a deep sense of pride in the school community that we have cultivated and an immense love for everyone that was gathered there.
“The middle schoolers led the ceremony with such confidence, and our elementary students played their roles as the bridal party beautifully.
“Every detail represented the level of care and intentionality that we value as a school.
“We especially believe in lifting and empowering student voices, so to see them lead the ceremony was beautiful.
“It was thoughtful, joyful, and something I’ll never forget.
“After this it is impossible for me to ever have a bad day again.
“If I just watch this video for a couple seconds and I am reminded of all the good that exists in the world and the privilege I have to be the principal of such an incredible school with such dedicated team members, caring students, and supportive families.”
