Weddings are not only one of the most significant moments of one’s life, they’re also the most stressful. Seeing her groom’s nerves get the best of him, Heidi Zherelyev decided to pull a photo prank on him to brighten up the mood. As soon as the groom Val turned around to take the first look at his bride, it wasn’t Heidi that met his gaze. It was her brother, Eric. “My husband was so surprised, and stunned to see Eric instead of me. Thankfully for him however, he is used to pranks and jokes being pulled in my family” Heidi told Bored Panda. The woman also confessed that the prank was a very intimate moment between the newlyweds, photographer, Eric and one friend, as no one attending the wedding even knew about it until the story went viral.

The groom’s reaction was captured by photographer Nichole Cline. “I was super excited to do their first look in general and when Heidi told me about sending her brother down, it was just the icing on the cake. I have never photographed pranks like this. But I’m sure beings its now a trend, its not going to be my last time.” Nichole told us.

After the story went viral, Heidi shared something exclusive with Bored Panda. “The reason why I chose Eric to dress up,” the woman revealed, “My father passed away when I was 18, and my two brothers were always there. […] My brother Carson was officiating the ceremony, and I wanted Eric to have a special part too.”

Scroll down to see how it all happened!

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After being eloped for 5 years, Heidi and Val Zherelyev decided to finally have their wedding

Image credits: Kevin Chole

But when the photoshoot started everyone noticed the groom was feeling a bit antsy

Image credits: Kevin Chole

“The groom was VERY nervous,” said the photographer

Image credits: Kevin Chole

So the bride decided to cheer him up by pulling a prank

Image credits: Kevin Chole

They put the bride’s brother, Eric in an old wedding dress

Image credits: Kevin Chole

“When we were zipping him up, everyone was laughing,” Heidi explained

Image credits: Kevin Chole

And off he went to meet the groom for the big first look moment

Image credits: Kevin Chole

The bride watched her husband’s reaction to Eric

Image credits: Kevin Chole

“I was super excited to do their first look and when Heidi told me about the idea, it was just the icing on the cake”, the photographer told Bored Panda

Image credits: Kevin Chole

And Val’s reaction proved that he has just the right sense of humor to match the family’s

Image credits: Kevin Chole

“We are all really close and love to laugh and play so Val fits right into the family with a wonderful sense of humor” Heidi told us

Image credits: Kevin Chole

And it’s apparent that the prank worked out!

Image credits: Kevin Chole

Instead of being a nervous ball, Eric was laughing at the unexpected sight

Image credits: Kevin Chole

As soon as he recovered from the initial shock of finding Eric in place of his bride…

Image credits: Kevin Chole

He joined in on the fun and posed for the romantic shots

Image credits: Kevin Chole

The bride also explained the reason she chose Eric for this hilarious prank

Image credits: Kevin Chole

“My father passed away when I was 18, and my two brothers were always there to step up” she confessed

Image credits: Kevin Chole

“My brother Carson was officiating the ceremony, and I wanted Eric to have a special part too”

Image credits: Kevin Chole

After having a chance to loosen up a bit, Val and Heidi had their actual first look moment

“[This is] our first look of seeing my dad’s boots and name at the table“

“We were able to have a very intimate, special moment because he wasn’t so nervous”

And people on the internet absolutely loved it!

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