By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-17 15:41:36 | Updated at 2025-03-18 04:19:13
12 hours ago
A man has been fiercely slammed online after he popped the question to his girlfriend... at another person's wedding.
Josh Stepherson, 24, proposed to Alyssa Fowler, 23, December 12, 2023, at their friends' reception in Jacksonville, Florida - but a resurfaced clip showing the moment has sparked a very divisive response.
Alyssa recently posted the clip of Josh's proposal to her TikTok as a part of a recent trend where people share important moments in their lives.
The video showed her now-fiancé getting down on one knee to pop the question in the middle of a wedding reception, before a shocked Alyssa said yes and hugged him.
They then both embraced the bride and groom, who were watching on.
But the sweet moment lead to a massive debate between viewers, some of whom slammed Josh for asking Alyssa to marry him during someone else's big day, ultimately putting the attention on them rather than the newlyweds.
Alyssa spoke about the harsh reaction to People, and she admitted that she didn't except the video to get as much attention as it has
She explained that they didn't ask permission from the bride and groom first because Josh said it was an 'in the moment decision.'
A man has been fiercely slammed online after he popped the question to his girlfriend... at another person's wedding
'The bride and groom did not know because it was not planned to happen there,' Alyssa told the publication.
'We do acknowledge that it would have been more appropriate for Josh to have asked beforehand, but it was an in the moment decision. They were both very happy for us.'
Alyssa explained that the couple had been cleaning up as the reception was drawing to a close when the bride realized she hadn't tossed her bouquet yet - so she quickly did so.
Josh happened to catch the bouquet, and made the split-second decision to propose to Alyssa, whom he'd been dating since 2021.
She explained that Josh had been planning on proposing the night before the wedding, so he had the ring with him anyway.
The bride-to-be added that she was obviously 'over the moon' about the proposal, but she also immediately made sure the bride was OK with the impromptu decision.
'I asked her, "Did he ask you? Is this OK?" To which she responded, "No he didn’t but it’s OK! Say yes!"' she recalled.
'All guests that I have spoken to since have said the timing couldn’t have been better, and everything played out perfectly,' Alyssa added.
Josh Stepherson, 24, proposed to Alyssa Fowler, 23, at their friends' reception in Jacksonville, Florida - but a clip showing the moment has sparked a very divisive response
While the bride and groom didn't mind, commenters on TikTok were quick to slam the couple over their decision.
Alyssa turned off comments on the proposal video, but many users have stitched the video on TikTok to share their thoughts, while others commented on other videos shared by Alyssa.
'I will say at least she turned to the bride and asked if it was OK after seeing him on the ground because if she hadn't shown some type of remorse it woulda been the end of a friendship,' one comment read.
'Lazy and uninspired,' declared another. 'Are they gonna get married at someone else’s wedding too?'
'Way to steal someone else's moment. Your boyfriend is that lame he couldn't find a unique way to do that for you? This feels so hillbilly trailer parkish,' slammed someone else.
'It’s the guy’s fault, his girlfriend deserves her own special moment. But defending it isn’t right either.'
'Maybe the bride is OK with it but seems she didn’t know far in advance, I am mad for her!' chimed in another. 'Don’t propose at weddings!'
While Alyssa agreed 'it's not typically acceptable,' she urged people to keep an open mind if it does happen.
'It all happened very organically and it was a beautiful proposal,' she said. 'We appreciate everyone’s concerns, but we are happy with everything that happened.'
