How Jennifer Hudson Surprised a Couple on Their Wedding Day
Music October 02, 2023
Sponsored by Expedia | It’s a Season of Surprises for Season 2 of “The Jennifer Hudson Show” — and Jennifer Hudson just pulled off her biggest surprise yet for a bride and groom!
Traci Caudle and Pat Jean-Baptiste live in Los Angeles and are huge fans of JHud. The pair met after they were matched on Hinge in February 2022. They had an immediate connection and were engaged by Christmas with the hopes of starting a family together as soon as they were married.
The couple shares a love for music and were excited to dance the night away at their wedding, which took place at the City View Penthouse at South Park Center in Downtown L.A. in late August.
Traci and Pat thought “The Jennifer Hudson Show” was planning to film their wedding for a social media post on love stories — they had NO idea of the surprise in store for them that Jennifer had planned!
First, JHud showed up to the venue hours beforehand to rehearse with her live band, including regular show musician Charles Jones on the piano!
While the wedding ceremony was underway at a different location across town, JHud was getting ready for her big performance, stepping into a beautiful bright fuchsia Marchesa gown.
When the couple and their guests arrived at the venue, the wedding photographer took the newlyweds up to the roof for a photo shoot. That’s when show producers gathered all the guests into another event room across from the wedding venue.
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Traci and Pat reentered their now empty venue and were totally confused about where their guests went. They entered a second event space…
…and found their entire wedding party there — and Jennifer Hudson onstage!
Jennifer performed a medley of songs, including her song "Giving Myself"—off her self-titled debut album—Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman," and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” JHud even joined the enthusiastic wedding party on the dance floor!
After the performance, JHud surprised the couple once again with a wedding gift: $10,000 to contribute to their new life together!
Never one to leave a party when it’s still hopping, JHud took photos with the bride and groom and their guests, and she even signed the guest book.
Traci and Pat stopped by “The Jennifer Hudson Show” to discuss what it was like being surprised by none other than Jennifer Hudson on their big day!
And the surprises kept coming: Jennifer revealed to the couple that Expedia heard their story and wanted to give them a gift, too!
Expedia Group has a new loyalty program called One Key, and you can use OneKeyCash to book flights, hotels, vacation rentals, and more on the Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo travel apps.
Expedia surprised Traci and Pat with enough OneKeyCash to go on their dream honeymoon anywhere in the world!
Now that’s how you start a life together!
“The Jennifer Hudson Show” airs weekdays. Here’s when to watch in your area.