A newlywed bride reserved a pivotal moment in her wedding ceremony for her best friend, her sister, to shine. Little did the sister know, but the bride had been helping plan her now-brother-in-law’s surprise marriage proposal for weeks.
Staging an epic bouquet-throwing “fake out,” bride Anum Mossa instead handed the flowers to her shocked sister, Marium, who turned to see her partner, Tarek, down on one knee. She said yes.
Talking to The Epoch Times, Anum and Tarek shared what all went into planning the surprise for their beloved Marium. The viral surprise-proposal video has since touched many hearts.
Anum and her husband, Mohamed, met at the end of 2017.
“I was friends with his sister,” Anum told The Epoch Times via email. “We hit it off immediately and he proposed in August 2018.”
The couple married at the Masonic Temple in downtown Sacramento, California, on March 30, 2019.
Anum, who is expecting her first child in March 2021, said she and her sister are only a year apart in age.
“We’ve always done everything together, shared experiences, friends, and had each other’s back through everything. She is definitely my best friend,” said Anum.
Anum said Marium met Tarek shortly after she got engaged to Mohamed.
Planning to propose to the love of his life, Tarek approached Anum with a surprise-proposal idea the month before her wedding.
“I was so excited,” Anum said. “Before Tarek even asked, I was already thinking that he should propose at the wedding. She’d never see it coming!”
Anum didn’t hesitate to share her special day, forewarning the DJ, the photographer, and a couple of friends about the surprise-proposal plan.
“My cousins were responsible for making sure she was front and center right before I ’tossed' the bouquet,” Anum said, “and my husband and his friends were responsible for making sure Tarek was in place, right behind her, without her noticing.”
“It all worked out so perfectly,” Anum said.
Anum shared footage of the magical moment on TikTok, captioned: “My fav part of my wedding reception, don’t tell my husband.”
The heartwarming video has amassed almost half a million likes.
Tarek told The Epoch Times that he had mentioned marriage a few times, and Marium’s reaction was “always positive.”
“That was a good sign,” Tarek said. “I had a few ideas, but this was the most exciting one.”
“I loved the idea. I knew she would say yes so there was no risk,” Anum said, marveling at the success of the collective secret-keeping.
“I knew she’d be so busy with guests and simply enjoying the night, she wouldn’t expect it at all,” she added.
“There were so many moments when she could’ve figured it out,” Anum reflected. “Somehow, with all the hustle and bustle of the wedding weekend, she didn’t have a clue!”
Tarek called it “a blessing” to have family who helped him enact his plan, while Anum maintains that the sweet moment “made a memorable night even more amazing.”
Tarek and Marium tied the knot in a small home-based wedding ceremony on July 11, 2020.
“Even though we had to cancel our original wedding plans [due to COVID], it was a great night,” Tarek said.
