"It was such a fun and unexpected moment," the wedding photographer tells PEOPLE
Credit: Venessa Ramirez / Owner & Photographer at VNess Photography
NEED TO KNOW
- Ali Waldman and Evan Eshelman wed on Nov. 2, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
- The couple were surprised by Vince Vaughn, who “crashed” their nuptials in a real-life Wedding Crashers moment
- The wedding photographer, Venessa Ramirez, reflected on the “fun and unexpected” surprise to PEOPLE
More than two decades after Wedding Crashers premiered, Vince Vaughn "crashed" a real wedding.
Ali Waldman and Evan Eshelman tied the knot on Nov. 2, 2024, at the InterContinental at The Wharf in Washington, D.C., the Washingtonian first reported. Exclusively speaking to PEOPLE, the wedding photographer, Venessa Ramirez, recalled the highlight of the night — Vaughn, 55, surprising the couple in the hotel lobby.
"We were downstairs in the hotel lobby taking portraits of the bride and groom when Vince Vaughn approached us and congratulated the couple," Ramirez tells PEOPLE. "At first, we didn’t immediately realize who he was, and then it clicked. It was such a fun and unexpected moment. He was so casual and cool."
Credit: Venessa Ramirez / Owner & Photographer at VNess Photography
She adds, "We literally couldn't stop talking about it. That really happened!"
The owner of VNess Photography notes that the actor was "incredibly kind and gracious," and even agreed to take a photo with Waldman and Eshelman.
"After congratulating them, we asked if he would mind taking a quick photo with the couple, and he happily agreed," Ramirez remembers. "The interaction was brief, just a few minutes, but he was warm, friendly, and made the moment feel really special."
Credit: Venessa Ramirez / Owner & Photographer at VNess Photography
The photographer continues, "It was definitely a highlight of the evening and added such a memorable surprise to an already beautiful wedding day."
In the group photo, Vaughn smiled while standing between Waldman and Eshelman, who were in their wedding reception attire and holding cocktails. Around Vaughn's neck was an all-access pass to Collective Soul, suggesting he was in town at the time for the rock band's performance at The Anthem.
The unexpected wedding moment may have been déjà vu for Vaughn, as he crashed several couples' weddings as Jeremy Gray in the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers alongside Owen Wilson (John Beckwith). The film, which was released in July 2005, celebrated its 20th anniversary last summer.
Following the 20-year milestone, Jane Seymour, who starred as the aggressively seductive Kathleen “Kitty Cat” Cleary, spoke exclusively with PEOPLE in December about how Vaughn famously amped up the film’s dialogue with wild improvised lines for both himself and his castmates.
Credit: Venessa Ramirez / Owner & Photographer at VNess Photography
“Vince would, as you could tell, motormouth it,” Seymour said. “There would be a script, and then there would be Vince's version of the script. So every day it was a question of whether Vince and Owen were on the same page, literally, with what they were going to play."
Given Vaughn's love for improvisation, the actress noted that they "kept rewriting everything all the time."
"Vince comes in like a bull in a china store, and you have no idea where he's going to land," she added.
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
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During an interview with Good Morning America in September 2024, Vaughn teased that a sequel to Wedding Crashers is a possibility — if the circumstances are right.
"You know, it's been close. They talked about it a few times," he said of the conversation to bring the characters back for a sequel. "I think you just wanna make sure that if you are gonna do it, that there's a great story."
He continued: "My take on it always was, 'What's the next chapter in those characters' lives?' Don't go back and try to tell the same story again. But do something that would be fitting for the time. So if they land on something that seems engaging — it's always a possibility."
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