A “little duckling parade” adorably crashed a wedding ceremony.

When couple Dan and Maggie got married at Decatur House in Washington, D.C., on May 24, they accounted for 123 guests, but there were 12 party crashers — a mother duck and her 11 ducklings!

The bride had just reached the groom and thought she was last in their wedding processional, but she was wrong. Everyone was “all smiles and in absolute awe” when a dozen surprise guests suddenly waddled down the aisle, too.

“As the little duckling parade, led by their momma, started into the ceremony, the first guests to notice immediately took out their phones to take pictures and videos,” Sydney Keesee, an event producer for Purple Onion Catering Co., tells PEOPLE. “As they continued their way around to the center aisle, more guests started to realize what was happening. As the excitement from the guests grew, the couple finally looked down the aisle and saw the ‘unplanned’ guests and were in loving shock.”

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She continues, “As Dan and Maggie were smiling and laughing through the moment, so were their guests. Everyone just looked so happy because what a fun and crazy surprise at a wedding!”

Everyone was “simply in awe,” and the bride and groom “took a moment to appreciate and welcome their little wedding crashers.” After the brief pause, the officiant continued the ceremony, and the ducks decided to stay for the show. Partygoers “watched in amazement” as the mother duck held her head up high with her ducklings scurrying in union behind her, pitter-pattering in a row all the way down the aisle before stopping.

“It was hard not to look at them,” Keesee says. “The couple smiled knowingly — they were getting married with a family of ducks gathered in full support of their special day.”

Keesee and her coworker, senior event designer Phoebe Riegle, first noticed the duck family when one of the venue coordinators pointed them out in the courtyard behind where the ceremony would take place. The staff wanted all the vendors to be “aware they were there” to ensure the ducks’ safety and protection during the wedding.

“The venue coordinator mentioned they are regulars, and welcomed residents in the springtime when the momma duck has her ducklings,” Keesee explains. “The courtyard is closed off to the streets of Washington, D.C., so the ducklings remain safe in this space.”

At the time, Keesee was “excited” to see the “cute” ducks but “didn’t think much else of it.”

“I figured the momma duck would keep her babies away from the commotion on her own,” she says.

When the group of ducks crashed the wedding ceremony, Keesee was “shocked” and unsure how to act.

“I would’ve thought with so many people and the commotion, that they wouldn’t want to be in the middle of all that,” she says. “So when I first saw them enter the crowded ceremony space, I couldn’t help but laugh and smile.”

As the ducks inched closer to Dan and Maggie, Keesee wasn’t sure if she should herd them away. “It was a first for us vendors!” she notes. But the wedding planner, Carlene Boyer with Cherry Blossom Weddings & Events, said that the couple “would love it,” so they all “let them do their thing.”

After the ceremony ended, it was time for Purple Onion Catering’s team to flip the space for the reception. Because the ducks still “included themselves during the commotion” and it was potentially dangerous for them to be around so many moving things, the vendors decided to “gently” herd them to a safer space in the grass.

“Later in the evening, Carlene asked us if we had any extra bread so she could get them back into the courtyard. I am guessing they had wandered back into the commotion of the reception,” Keesee says.

Funny enough, the table numbers and seating chart were decorated with different types of bird prints by Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, who did the art for the board game Wingspan.

“[It] made the moment even more special!” Keesee says.

Keesee is “thrilled” to have recorded a few videos of the “one-in-a-million” and “unforgettable” moment of the ducks at the ceremony. The following day, she posted the clips on social media, where they quickly went viral.

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“I’m so happy that the video made it to the right audience and so many people are able to see just how amazing that moment was and appreciate it,” she says. “According to some of the top comments on the video, ducks on your wedding day are the newest sign of good luck and a long-lasting marriage!”

Additional Credits:

Florals: Bee Inspired Events @beeinspiredevents

Rentals: Select Event Group @selecteventgroup

DJ, Draping and Lighting: Ricardo with Dan Goldman Events @dangoldmanevents

Makeup: Makeup by Ana B @mab.artistry

Tent: Sugarplum Tent Company by Curated Events @sugarplumtents @curatedeventsdc