• Emily Emby tied the knot on Dec. 6 in Palm Beach, Florida
• The bride was surprised when her favorite artist, Ellie Goulding, appeared at the wedding reception to perform five songs, including her first dance
• "I was hysterically crying!" Emby tells PEOPLE    
   

A longtime fan of Ellie Goulding was in for a huge surprise when the singer performed at her wedding.

Emily Emby was already over the moon after tying the knot with her husband, Joel, at luxury Palm Beach resort The Breakers in Florida on Saturday, Dec. 6 — but the 31-year-old bride's night got even better when none other than Goulding, 38, was on deck at the reception to perform the couple's first dance song, "How Long Will I Love You," plus a few more of her biggest hits.

"I was hysterically crying!" Emby exclusively tells PEOPLE. "I had been talking about Ellie since high school!"

Emily and her husband — whom she got engaged to in June 2024 after first meeting and bonding over chicken tenders at a Tribeca bar — slow-danced together on a black-and-white checkered dance floor as Goulding serenaded them alongside Hank Lane Music & Productions' Bobby Attiko Band.

In total, Goulding sang five songs, including her hits "Love Me Like You Do" and "Lights." Dressed in a striking red ruffled dress, the pregnant singer created an unforgettable moment for the newlyweds and their guests.

Emby tells PEOPLE that her friends and family members' reactions were similar to hers: "Everyone was screaming."

Goulding — who announced on Dec. 1 that she's expecting her second child, her first with boyfriend Beau Minniear — then took a few photos with the happy couple and their wedding party. The musician is already mom to 4-year-old son Arthur, whom she shares with ex-husband Caspar Jopling.

The wedding surprise was entirely coordinated behind the scenes, with Emby's father coming up with the idea and her planner, Jennifer Pear of Jennifer Ashley Productions, putting it into motion.

Emby was happily shocked to say the least, as she has "no flipping idea" how they pulled off the plan, only knowing that they "used a code name" to refer to Goulding and spoke in secret about the surprise. She notes that she's a "big daddy's girl" though and her father is "always the guy to pull off big surprises."

"[It] shows he not only knows everything about me and we have an amazing relationship, but also the man knows how to throw a good party," she says.   

Pear reveals to PEOPLE that Emby's father "quietly texted" her on the side during one of their wedding planning conference calls in January, asking if there "was any chance" they could explore bringing in Goulding. 

"He thought he might have a lead to her team, but it turned out he didn’t, so I immediately told him that I actually did have a direct connection and could start the process right away," Pear says. "From there, it became our little secret mission. At first it was just between the two of us, and once we had some momentum, we looped in Emily’s mom."

She adds, "It was a true undercover operation in the most joyful way."

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Much like everyone else, Pear thought the surprise was "incredibly special."

"Watching it all come together; from the initial idea, to contacting her team, to securing the performance, was incredibly special," she says. "He had the dream, and together we found the path to make it happen."