Bride and groom shock wedding guests with unique surname battle at the altar

Wedding guests were left floored — and entertained — by this couple’s unconventional surname showdown, and the internet is divided.

They’re practising gender quality in naming.

While the bride traditionally takes the groom’s last name, one creative couple has devised an egalitarian new method of deciding whose family name takes centre stage — by playing rock, paper, scissors for it.

In the tradition-bucking video posted to Instagram, the bride and groom were seen engaging in the “high stakes” roshambo at the altar, with the loser of the best-in-three bout having to adopt the winner’s last name.

The groom, surnamed Pearce, won the first round, eliciting oohs and aahs from the crowd.

However, his fiancée, surnamed the Hunter, evened the score during round two, prompting a nailbiting tie-breaker match.

People had mixed reactions on how this bride and groom went about deciding on which last name to use. Picture: istock

She then won a rock, paper, scissors rubber match, which meant that “Hunter” would become the official family name.

Their unorthodox name game split viewers on social media, with some bemoaning the fact that Pearce’s likely longstanding surname was gone in a flash.

The bride and groom faced off to see whose surname takes centre stage. Picture: Instagram/@james.dcruiser

“Just like that a family surname just vanishes lmao,” lamented one critic, while another wrote, “I’m sure his friends won’t ridicule him for taking his wife’s name.”

However, others defended the couple’s decision with one fan writing, “Everyone going like ‘omg no a lineage will end,’ as if that isn’t what has been happening for centuries every time a woman has to step away from her last name …”

“I say [the] cooler last name wins,” chimed in another person. “In this case, Hunter would still win.”

“This is incredibly cute,” someone else wrote.

The wife happily celebrated her win. Picture: Instagram/@james.dcruiser

“Love seeing women in male-dominated fields,” quipped one wit.

“Taking the woman’s last name is normal, it’s 2025,” said another, decrying the tradition wife adopting the nom de groom.

Interestingly, while adopting the bride’s name is arguably less stigmatised than in years past, a staggering 79% of women continue to adopt their hubby’s surname upon tying the knot, according to a 2023 Pew survey.

Nonetheless, this isn’t the first couple to concoct an unorthodox method of deciding whose surname goes on the holiday cards.

This past fall, a woman and her fiancé went viral after allowing their wedding guests to pick their married last name — and strangers online loved it so much they wrote songs about it.

This article originally appeared in New York Post and was republished with permission.

Originally published as Bride and groom shock wedding guests with unique surname battle at the altar