Bride left stunned as wedding guest grabs bouquet to propose to the bridesmaid: 'Sheer audacity'

Weddings are meant to be joyous celebrations where couples share their love with family and friends. But it often comes with surprises that are not welcome. While most guests know to keep the focus on the couple, there’s always a chance someone will cross the line in an attempt to create their own moment. A wedding guest's unexpected proposal did something similar. It has sparked debate online after a Reddit user, u/Effective-Wind2552, shared the unusual event.

The incident, which took place more than 12 years ago, involved an individual who wrote, "My boyfriend at the time (now husband) brought me to a wedding as a plus one." According to the post, the wedding was held shortly after the bride and groom graduated from a small college and most attendees were in their twenties. As the bride lifted the bouquet over her head, preparing to toss it to the assembled single women, a man emerged from behind her. The woman wrote, "[He] comes up behind the bride, who is holding the bouquet up over her head, poised to launch it into a crowd of hopeful women, and grabs the bouquet from the bride. Then he gets on one knee in front of a bridesmaid, offers her the bouquet and proposes."

They explained that the crowd was stunned into silence for several seconds, seemingly "trying to comprehend the serious audacity." Eventually, the bridesmaid accepted the proposal, and the guests returned to their tables. The woman noted that the bride appeared surprised but not visibly upset. She said, "To this day, I still find myself wondering if the bride knew and approved of this proposal." The post gained a lot of attention with over 2,000 upvotes, and many Reddit users expressed their disbelief and criticism of the guest’s behavior.

u/DogsandCatsWorld1000 wrote, "For her sake, I hope the bride knew and approved of it. If not, that guy was a complete a**." u/Icy_Cardiologist8444 added, "If the bride didn't approve that, that guy's actions are even worse than just proposing at the wedding. Taking the bouquet out of the hands of the bride during the bouquet toss is beyond a jerk move. Also, I have always had the feeling that people who get engaged like that have marriages that don't last." u/Lynxiebrat commented, "If I wanted a bunch of people staring at me during a proposal, then I'd rather it be at my own party. Like a birthday party or something...not on a day where it's supposed to be about other people."

u/Pottski was more direct, saying, "It’s not your day. Stop trying to steal the spotlight from the newlyweds. Enjoy your day and propose somewhere else." u/Absinthe_gaze jokingly suggested a different approach, writing, "If I was the bride, I would’ve grabbed it back and launched it to the ladies, but wouldn't have allowed that bridesmaid to catch or keep it. They’d be escorted out." u/ariadnevirginia shared, "Only my sister and best female friend were at my tiny wedding. I threw the bouquet, my sister caught it, then threw it on the floor saying, 'Ugh, I don't even want to get married.'" u/Valuable_Caramel_371 penned, "I don’t know which is worse, the guy who asked or the girl who said yes!!"