Bride Surprises Guests with 7K Run on Morning of Her Wedding: ‘Start the Day with Endorphins’ (Exclusive)
Bride Cloé Étienne Verlaguet went viral after sharing a TikTok of her wedding day surprise for guests which included a "physical activity" at 8:30AM
Swapping white heels for tennis shoes, one bride surprised her guests with a 7K run just hours before her wedding.
French couple Cloé Étienne Verlaguet, 28, and Romain Étienne Verlaguet, 29, have been preparing for the upcoming New York City Marathon on Nov. 3. So when it came to planning their wedding weekend celebration, they thought what better way to train for their big race than to incorporate a run into their big day?
"We decided to create custom T-shirts and told our friends and family that for whoever wanted, we were going to do a physical activity at 8:30 a.m. the day of the wedding and then serve breakfast," Cloé tells PEOPLE. "For us, it was also a way to start the day with endorphins and have people mixing up from all our different friend groups."
In a viral TikTok video of the Sept. 28 run at Le Domaine de la Fauconnie near Bergerac in France, Cloé can be seen jogging around the idyllic grounds of the 18th-century manor house wearing athletic shorts paired with a flyaway wedding veil.
Running alongside the NYC-based couple were between 35 and 45 of their 135 wedding guests. Everyone wore matching red T-shirts that read "Down the aisle!" and featured the bride and groom's names, a fun illustration of the couple, their wedding date and "7K Run."
Related: Groom Kicks His Mother Out of His Wedding After She Brought His Ex-Girlfriend as Her Plus-One
The Domaine has 11 rooms with a capacity of 25 people, which made for a perfect setup for the surprise as many guests slept on-site the night before. After the run finished around 10 a.m., participants were rewarded with breakfast and got ready for the 4 p.m. ceremony.
On TikTok, people were divided about the surprise early morning run, with the majority of commenters horrified and hoping it never happens to them.
"May this type of wedding party never find me 🤣❤️," the top comment with more than 37,500 likes read, with the second and third top comments with more than 20,000 likes each reading "I’ll see you guys at the reception 😂😭" and "this is my worst nightmare," respectively.
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Cloé says she understands that running may not be everyone's cup of tea, that's why she made it optional. Even she didn't develop a passion for the exercise until she started joining her triathlete hubby on his recovery runs last year.
"I really enjoyed it," she tells PEOPLE. "It’s a good way for us to visit our neighborhood and catch up on our week."
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