My brother proposed to his girlfriend at my wedding. I was the one who suggested it.

• Rebekah Matamoros and her brother, Andrew Matamoros, have always had a very close relationship.

• In 2018, Rebekah married Kenrick Roach, and they've been married for six years.

• During Rebekah's wedding, her brother Andrew proposed to his now-wife, Jinnese Matamoros.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rebekah Matamoros. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a wedding and event planner living in Houston with my husband, Kenrick Roach. Kenrick and I first met at my previous job in January 2014. I thought he was handsome and sweet, and I would jokingly tell my coworkers, "I'm going to marry that guy." Keep in mind that he barely knew I existed at that time. I was at the company for around two years until I moved on to a new position.

After I left, one of my former coworkers told him I had a crush on him. He was surprised — Kenrick told my coworker, "There's no way. She was really shy and quiet." Despite his surprise, he decided to take action, and he sent me a message on LinkedIn just saying hi. It may have been just a standard greeting message, but I was head over heels for him, so his message meant a lot to me.

We connected via LinkedIn around the time he was actually going to be headed overseas to Singapore for 18 months. He threw a going-away party that he invited me to. Attending his going-away party allowed us to facilitate a friendship that transitioned into dating long-distance while he was in Singapore, and we've been together ever since.

Kenrick and I purchased a home together in October 2017, and he proposed to me on New Year's Eve at our home in front of family and friends — it was pretty intimate.

My brother and I are extremely close

Growing up, my brother Andrew Matamoros and I were always very close. He's my best friend. My parents made sure to instill a close relationship in us. They would say, "At the end of the day, no matter what happens, y'all are going to just have each other."

I had conversations with Andrew about popping the question to his then-girlfriend of seven years, Jinnese Matamoros, 39, before, but after I got engaged, I was like, "Bro, you need to pop the question at our wedding."

At first, Andrew was pretty adamant that his answer was a no. He insisted it was my special day and didn't want to take away from it, but I was also adamant. I told him, "She won't see it coming. Nobody will see it coming. It's the perfect opportunity." Two months before he got the ring, he finally said, "All right, let's do it." I was planning a wedding, and he was planning an engagement.

The rest of my bridal party, apart from Jinnese, my now sister-in-law, knew about the surprise. My brother and my husband also knew, of course, and the wedding videographer and photographer were in on it so they could capture the moment. But when I say no one else knew what was to come, I really mean no one.

The bouquet toss turned into a surprise proposal

Kenrick and I got married on September 15, 2018. I was so excited for our big day. But I was also so happy to share the day with my brother and his now-wife.

We only had around 80 guests, mostly made up of friends. I remember Jinnese saying, "Your brother seems off today." I told her, "Oh, he's just nervous."

After the ceremony concluded, we went to the reception. During the bouquet toss, instead of throwing the flowers to the general crowd, I passed them directly to Jinnese. The other bridesmaids made sure they were in front and then gave Jinnese the spotlight when the time came, which allowed my brother to slide in and get down on one knee.

There was about five minutes of silence because Andrew was very nervous and struggling to find the words, and Jinnese was in complete shock. When Andrew did find the words and asked Jinnese to marry him, her yes only took seconds.

Still, the next day, she was like, "Wait, did we really just get engaged at your wedding?" I said, "Yeah, you did."

I was happy to share the spotlight

Everyone applauded them and congratulated them. Don't get me wrong — it was my special day and the best day ever, but I was also focused on my brother's surprise engagement and trying to get that done. After he popped the question during the reception, all of us who knew could take a breather, enjoy the moment, and celebrate each other. Andrew and Jinnese got married the following year, in June 2019.

We're all super close and spend time together almost every other weekend. Kenrick and I have four kids, ages 19, 17, 11, and 7. Andrew and Jinnese have three kids, ages 15, 11, and 18 months. All of our kids are also very close to their cousins, whether they're helping each other with homework or on Facetime asking about each other's first day of school.

The surprise proposal video gained much traction on TikTok but also received some negative comments. When I posted the video, I included text explaining that it was my brother, and I helped plan the surprise, but not everyone read it. So people were jumping to conclusions and asking, "Why would you share your day with somebody? That's stealing your thunder." I know some people didn't understand the overall context and just shrugged it off.

I don't regret it at all, though. Kenrick and I wanted them to be a part of our special day. I wouldn't have shared my wedding day with anyone else.

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