In an unexpected weekend stunt, pop singer Britney Spears married her dancer boyfriend, Kevin Federline. The couple invited a group of approximately 20 family members to an ‘engagement dinner’ at a private residence in Studio City, Calif., only to surprise guests with the exchanging of nuptials.

The ceremony was arranged by Spears, 22 and Federline, 26, in an attempt to take advantage of the lack of media surrounding the couple, as the Emmy Awards were being held at the same time in Los Angeles. Spears made headlines earlier in the year when she married childhood friend Jason Alexander after a New Year’s Eve party at the Palms casino in Las Vegas. The marriage was annulled a short 55 hours later.

In a decoy wedding invitation obtained by the television program “Access Hollywood,” the couple had originally announced the ceremony to be held on October 16. Spears and Federline made their engagement public last June.

According to tabloid reports from Star magazine, Spears wore a strapless white Monique L’Huillier dress and carried pink and white roses. Her maid of honor, younger sister Jamie-Lynn, wore a burgundy dress, carrying a red rose bouquet.

The menu reportedly included crab cakes and chicken fingers, and guests in attendance received gift bags with Gap jeans, velour sweat suits, candy and a teardrop-shaped ring with an imprinted image of Spears and Federline. Following the brief ceremony, the wedding party and guests gathered at Hollywood’s Xes nightclub for a reception, where the married couple’s first dance was to “Lights,” by Journey. Wedding guests were reportedly required to agree not to take photographs at the event, but People magazine is touting a cover photo of the couple, provided ‘exclusively’ by Spears herself, likely for a hefty sum.

Spears’s new husband appeared in the film “You Got Served,” and was a former backup dancer to her former flame, Justin Timberlake. He has two young children from a previous relationship with actress Shar Jackson. It has not been determined what will come of the original wedding day, Oct. 16, although reports say the couple will host a post-wedding celebration at that time.

Material from Reuters was used to prepare this report.