- Alyssa Snodsmith, 24, and Collin Hewett, 23, went viral for sharing their failed attempt to re-create a Pinterest picture for their engagement photo.
- Snodsmith stumbled upon the photo of Alex and Tammy Shields, taken by Brianna Bender in 2018, while looking for inspiration for engagement-shoot poses.
- But when Hewett tried to re-create the moment, he spilled Champagne all over Snodsmith instead. Their photographer, Chandler Lefever, captured every second of it.
- Hewett later posted the photo on Twitter, where it had more than 490,000 likes as of Wednesday.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Documenting life’s biggest moments on Facebook and Instagram has become the norm, making the pressure to create perfect social-media posts more intense than ever.
But one couple’s engagement-photo fail went viral for showing that even the most important milestones don’t have to be picture-perfect to still be special.
Alyssa Snodsmith, 24, and Collin Hewett, 23, became internet sensations after posting a Pinterest engagement photo they were trying to re-create alongside what actually happened.
Insider talked with the couples and photographers behind both pictures to learn the story behind everyone’s new favorite engagement-photo moment.
Alyssa Snodsmith, 24, and Collin Hewett, 23, met at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, where they both played varsity soccer.
The couple met during a preseason bonding event for the school's soccer teams. It was love at first sight - well, for one of them.
"I was kind of into her right when I met her. She wasn't feeling the same way," Hewett told Insider. "We were friends for about a year and a half."
"He matured a lot in college, and I thought I might as well just try," Snodsmith added with a laugh. "We did long distance, and I just fell in love. I was like, wow, I can't believe how much I miss this guy."
After 3 1/2 years of dating, Hewett proposed in August.
Snodsmith thought she was going to a surprise birthday party for her uncle at a country club.
But when she got to the club, there was no party in sight. Hewett led her to a bridge on the golf course and asked her to be his wife.
As their engagement shoot neared, Snodsmith looked for inspiration on Pinterest.
That's where she found the photo of Tammy and Alex Shields, taken by a photographer named Brianna Bender.
The October 2018 photo, which was shot in Bend, Oregon, showed Alex expertly pouring some Champagne into Tammy's mouth as they sat on a picnic blanket.
Snodsmith told Insider that she loved the photo and thought it fit perfectly with her and Hewett's personalities.
On Saturday, Hewett and Snodsmith headed to Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville, Illinois, for their own engagement shoot.
Their photos were taken by Chandler Lefever, a close friend who is also one of Hewett's groomsmen.
After 15 minutes, the couple decided to re-create the Champagne shot — and quickly discovered it wasn't as easy as Pinterest made it look.
"I think the problem was we took some photos before of me spraying the Champagne and we only had half the bottle left," Hewett said.
"I had to turn it a lot more than I would have if it was full. I didn't anticipate it would be that difficult until we started."
On the first take, Hewett was able to get some Champagne into Snodsmith’s mouth.
Though Snodsmith got to taste some of the Champagne, the angle wasn't right for the photo.
Hewett tried again, but he ended up getting Champagne all over Snodsmith's shirt instead.
"It was probably like a quarter of the bottle," Hewett told Insider. "I really overcorrected."
Hewett said he was worried that Snodsmith was going to be mad at him.
"At first I thought she was going to kill me, I felt so bad," Hewett said. "But our photographer was laughing so hard, and then she started laughing."
Snodsmith said that when she first felt the Champagne hit her face, she was worried that her hair and makeup would be ruined for the rest of the shoot.
But her fears quickly melted into laughter as she cleaned up.
"It was so funny, and we were having so much fun," Snodsmith said. "It's just us."
Snodsmith changed into her second outfit for the rest of the shoot.
"It went great," she added. "I was just a little sticky during it."
Read more: This couple took engagement pictures at Target and their romantic photos are going viral
The couple couldn't stop laughing when they saw Lefever's photos of their Champagne fail that night. So Hewett posted their picture alongside the original Pinterest photo on Twitter.
"I was showing my friends and family, sending it to a bunch of people, and one buddy said, 'You've got to post that. Everybody's got to see it,"' Hewett recalled.
He posted the photo on Twitter, where it has quickly racked up more than 475,000 likes and 50,000 retweets.
So me and Alyssa took our engagements pictures yesterday. She found a Pinterest picture that she wanted to try and recreate
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I botched it pic.twitter.com/oSSUCB4o6A— Big Stack Dibbles Jr (@collinhewett17) October 20, 2019
"When it started to climb and climb and climb, we were just blown away," Hewett said. "We had no idea so many people would think it was that funny."
Snodsmith and Hewett said they thought many people related to how authentic their engagement photo was.
"I think it's that whole 'expectation versus reality' trend," Hewett said. "You see all these cool, cute pictures where everything looks so great on the internet, and I think it just struck a chord with people that we're just humans."
"It's just us being real," Snodsmith added.
Lefever agreed, adding that the couple had asked him to bring a "level of authenticity" to their engagement photos.
"I personally get tired of seeing the same thing over and over again when I scroll through my feed," he told Insider. "It was such a fun shoot with them, as I didn't have to pose them. They just did their thing, and I documented their relationship the way it really is."
But even that Pinterest shot wasn't as picture-perfect as it appeared.
Tammy Shields, 25, told Insider that she and Alex, 28, brought a bottle of Champagne for their picnic-blanket shots and that the moment was spontaneous.
"I figured we would just pop the bottle and cheers with it, but him waterfalling Champagne in my mouth was totally unplanned," she said.
"After they popped it open, I just shouted at him to pour it in her mouth," Bender added.
"Champagne definitely got everywhere," Tammy said. "But thankfully, Bri did some amazing editing getting those stains out of my jeans."
Tammy said that she knew Bender had put her and Alex's engagement photos on Pinterest but had forgotten about them until Snodsmith and Hewett's pictures went viral.
"It's really flattering and heartwarming that this couple saw our photo and felt inspired," she said. "Their photo is so real. That's why people love it! We are human, and not everything is picture-perfect, and to laugh at yourself a little is key.
"We really get a kick out of seeing our photo together with theirs. It allows us to relive and laugh about own experiences with taking engagement and wedding photos."
Bender said she thinks Hewett and Snodsmith's photo went viral because "everyone can relate to the whole 'expectation versus reality' meme."
"Personally, I'd rather see an engagement photo of someone getting Champagne sprayed all over them than a classic smiling-at-the-camera pose," Bender added.
"It's way more fun and memorable."
While it may have made them viral stars, Hewett and Snodsmith probably won't be using that Champagne shot for their official engagement photo.
"We've got some other 'save the date' pictures picked out," Hewett said.
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