Earlier this week a photo of a man proposing right in front of a newlywed couple at their wedding reception went viral. People were outraged that anyone would upstage a bride this way. People including yours truly! It looked so inconsiderate. But it turns out we were missing some key details behind this proposal.
A woman from Iowa named Megan claiming to be the proposed-to woman in the photo stepped forward yesterday and spoke exclusively to the New York Daily News about what really happened. It turns out the bride was her sister! And proposing at the wedding reception was the bride's idea.
My fiancé told her he didn't want to ruin their day and she insisted it would only make it better! The groom of the wedding actually held my engagement ring the entire trip! Everyone in the Reddit picture knew the proposal was going to happen except for me!
Megan tells the Daily News that the two couples grew up together in Iowa (the wedding took place in California). She was her sister's bridesmaid, and her fiancé was the best man.
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And yes, she was sad to see the reaction all over the Internet. She describes it as "heartbreaking." Why did the person who posted the photo to Reddit add the caption, "any bride's nightmare"? That was kind of a cruel set-up. And we fell for it! I'm so sorry we made these two couples feel badly for something they should have been happy about.
Megan says she understands how the proposal could be misconstrued out of context, so she finally spoke up when it became clear that things weren't going to blow over any time soon. "I just want everyone to know the story behind the picture."
We're glad Megan did step up to give the photo context -- and we're glad the wedding reception proposal was something all four parties were behind. I think the public's initial response is very telling. It shows how special we think a wedding day should be, and how much respect the bride and groom should be given. That this newly wedded couple wanted to share their moment is a testament to their generosity and love.
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What did you think when you first heard this story?
Image via New York Daily News