We can all agree that the wedding industry is outrageously expensive, and the pressure of arranging the perfect proposal is too much and too expensive. But sometimes a wedding proposal seems to go so far off in the other direction, it's kind of understandable why people would rather have a "nice," rather than "flashy," proposal.
While together with family on a dock overlooking a pretty water view, Payton Chambers decided it was the perfect moment to get down on one knee while several members of his family recorded the moment and propose to his long-term girlfriend and high school sweetheart, Faith Brock.
But the moment was immediately awkward when he reached out and touched her back, which she seemed to swat away while she continued to talk to his aunt. When he finally got her attention enough to turn around, Brock seemed less than enthused by the proposal, and her acceptance wasn't audible.
You can watch the original video here:
The video went viral over night, which blew the couple's minds—but what they didn't expect were all the negative comments.
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@beastbfree8/TikTok
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@beastbfree8/TikTok
Some of the comments made one of Chambers' aunts, who also recorded the special moment, angry, so she tried to help by posting an alternative perspective of the proposal. It was clear from this video that Brock didn't swat Chambers's hand away harshly, though she did still brush it away, and her smile is much more obvious in this video.
You can watch the second video here:
But onlookers still were not convinced by the alternate perspective.
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@tennesseesassy/TikTok
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@tennesseesassy/TikTok
Tired of the backlash, the couple had an interview with People magazine, where they talked about what really happened during the proposal, how excited they both were to get married, and how mean people can be on the internet.
Brock reassured:
"We're both good. We were 19 and 20 when we got back together. We'd already talked about getting engaged; we just didn't know when it would happen."
"He jumps up behind me and grabs my side all the time, so I didn't know he was trying to get my attention. I was talking to his aunt about pickleball; we were gonna play the next day. I definitely wasn't swatting his hand away. It was not as bad as it looked."
"I was definitely smiling. We hugged. We kissed. We took pictures. It was exciting. The video just cut off early."
"Social media is mean. Really mean. Neither of us are the type of people to be in the spotlight or post all the time, so it was a lot."
While the proposal wasn't everyone's cup of tea, it's a good reminder that not everyone needs to make their love look flashy for them to feel it for themselves.
Based on this interview, the couple is clearly happy and ready to be getting married.
And being surrounded by family, even if the video quality wasn't great, was really all they wanted or needed in that moment—to share their love with the other people that they love the most.
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