Brandon Duhaime might be the Capitals’ most notorious prankster, and not even his wedding was free from a bit of subterfuge.
Duhaime and his now-wife Kaylee held a surprise ceremony over the Olympic break, tying the knot in front of a small group of loved ones. The two already knew they would have a relatively private celebration in Kaylee’s native Florida Keys — from there, they came up with the idea of a big reveal. Only once the guests arrived did they learn that they were there for a wedding.
“It was pretty unique,” Duhaime told RMNB on Wednesday. “We didn’t really want to go the traditional route of a big wedding and stuff like that. So we kept it small, real small, and then tried to make some fun out of it and surprise everyone. It was a pretty special moment.”
He later announced the news publicly in an Instagram post.
With such a small guest list, the only other NHL player at the wedding was Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke, a fellow Florida native who Duhaime has known since they were “four or five years old.” None of Duhaime’s Washington teammates, including fellow childhood friend Jakob Chychrun, were in attendance, though Duhaime said he’s gotten pointed chirps from some Caps players about the limited invites.
“I’m getting a hard time from them, but we kept it really tight,” he joked. “I probably had five buddies from Florida that drove up. It’s kind of a big ask, to get everyone down to Key West, so we kept it pretty local with our Florida friends.”
Unlike most of his pranks, Duhaime didn’t get to witness the moment of surprise firsthand, much to his chagrin.
“I wish I saw it, honestly,” he said. “We were already tucked away. By the time they got off the boat and sat down, we were already kind of walking down the aisle, so we didn’t get a chance to see their reactions. But hopefully the photographer sends us the pictures of their reactions. They were pretty fun.”
After the big day, the pair stayed in the Keys for a few days before coming back to DC, where the Capitals resumed practices this week.
“The wedding was on Saturday; we hung out until Wednesday,” he said. “It’s not much of a honeymoon because she’s from there, but the place is paradise, so it’s nice to spend time down there.”
