In the age of Instagram, we're accustomed to seeing engagement photos that are perfectly posed amid a field of flowers and clear blue sky. But when Madison Moxley, 23, and Mason Whitis, 23, of Louisville, Kentucky, got engaged over Labor Day weekend, they decided to break the mold and do something to show off the humor at the heart of their relationship.
"We knew we wanted something different and funny," Moxley told Best Life. "It was his idea to dress up in tacky '80s clothing and mine to take them at J.C. Penney."
First, they headed to Goodwill "with a vision in mind" for their outfits. "It only took about five minutes to pick out some heavy sweaters and blue jeans," Moxley said. "There were so many, it was actually kind of hard to choose."
Then, clad in their old-school '80s looks—scrunchie and aviator glasses included—they walked into their local J.C. Penney, where (yes, in case you were not aware) the photo studio does still exist.
J.C. Penney photographer Dawn Winebrenner captured Moxey and Whitis in hilarious prom poses and super serious smirks. (And she told Best Life the studio still gets a fair amount of customers, especially around the holidays.)
Moxley posted the photos on her Facebook page on Sunday, and they quickly went viral, gaining more than 12,000 shares in less than a week.
"I thought friends and family would share it, but I didn't think it would get this big," she said.
The photos have inspired a lot of people to visit those little photo studios, which many of us frequented as kids and completely forgot about as adults.
"More people should do photo shoots like this one," Winebrenner said. "If you look back when we were kids, you had a picture for everything. Now, with our cell phones, we don't save our memories the same way anymore."
Moxley and Whitis' love story itself, however, is a very modern one. The two met on Tinder in 2017, and it wasn't exactly love at first sight.
"If I'm being honest, he had a really bad profile," Moxley said. "I wasn't going to reply to him, but then I got bored one night, so I did." Ah, young love.
But Moxley soon fell in love with Whitis' sense of humor and big heart. "He's so funny and outgoing and compassionate," she said.
"If I'm having a bad day, he'll tell me to take a nap and will do the dishes and the laundry and bring me my favorite food," Moxley added. "My happiness is his number one concern because he's such a sweet and loving person."
And now, their happiness is ours, too. As one Facebook user wrote: "This is the best thing I've seen on the internet today. Hands down."
And for more funny viral photos, check out Man Goes Viral for Sending "Sexy" Photos of Himself Doing Chores to His Girlfriend.
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