Reddit plays nice and delivers lovely photos to newly-engaged couple
Reddit is usually a place for animal videos, disappointing safes and angry mobs, but every once in a while it is also a place for a great story.
Amateur photographer JTran1 was walking through Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City when he saw a large group of people gathered together.
"As I got closer to investigate, I saw that they had set up an aisle with candles on each side, with people lined out on both sides with roses," JTran1 said on Reddit. "Obviously, I hung around since this was clearly about to be a proposal."
Indeed it was, and JTran1 snapped some amazing photos documenting the proposal.
But JTran1 did not actually know the couple, and didn't feel it was appropriate to intrude on such a personal moment.
"There were also a good amount of people there who were all just caught up in the excitement of the moment, so it was easy not to notice me," JTran1 said in response to questions asked by other Redditors. "I felt kind of weird as a stranger just being there, so I didn't stick around to get their information."
So how was JTran1 going to find this couple in a city of 8 million people? Make a post on Reddit, of course.
The post was titled "To the newly engaged couple - I hope this picture finds you!" and it quickly gained popularity on the site. Many Redditors commented on the thread, congratulating the mystery couple and sharing proposal stories of their own. Others attempted to help with the search by posting the photo in other subreddits and asking if anyone knew the couple.
"When I first posted the picture, I wasn't optimistic at all. I had no idea that the post would gain this much traction," JTran1 told Mashable. "I just thought that if the picture never found them, at least it's a decent picture and somebody out there will hopefully enjoy it."
And then, suddenly...
Could it actually be?
JTran1 took the time to verify that this indeed was the man in the photo, and the flair checked out.
All told, it took around four hours from when the photo was originally posted to when the couple was truly found. What a beautiful example of what the internet can do when it bands together.
Good job, Reddit.
Topics Reddit
Christine is a Web Culture Intern at Mashable. She has previously written for FanSided and Saturday Down South. She has a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and an M.S. from Hunter College. Before she started writing, she worked in education as a teacher and school leader for four years. Her special talents include being able to quote The Office on command, playing non-stop Overwatch for hours, and composing only the wittiest of Tweets (her own opinion).
