Woman Goes Viral After Running Away from Proposal Not Realizing the Ring Is for Her —See Her Priceless Reaction!

A Maryland woman got quite the surprise ahead of the holidays — a proposal surrounded by her closest family and friends!

Sydnee Stansbury’s cousin shared a TikTok video of the romantic moment on Nov. 24, 2024 when William Needum, 24, got down on one knee and popped the question to his high school sweetheart, Sydnee, who had no idea what was coming.

In the video, the couple could be seen entering the Clubhouse at the Avalon at Arundel Crossing in Baltimore before Sydnee, 24, dashes off to the side to join her family members as William walks to take his place at the end of a makeshift silver pathway filled with roses and candles.

Sydnee was then led back to the aisle by her aunt before finally realizing what was happening.  As family members cheered her on from the sides, the stunned 24-year-old could be seen standing still for a few moments as it all sunk in, before finally walking down the aisle with tears in her eyes to meet her future husband.

Sydnee tells PEOPLE that she was “in shock” by the whole thing because she had been told by her family in October that they were “throwing a cocktail party” for her “Uncle Marcus.” She shared that she had been running late for the event and “began rushing inside” because she “didn’t want to bump into him.”

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“As I am walking closer to the door I hear singing, and I am saying to myself ‘Oh, my Uncle is right behind me,’ ” Sydnee recalls. “William opened the door and I noticed camera flashes, so I jumped hurried to the side. As this was going on, I didn’t realize this was my proposal until my Aunt, Anita, guided me down the aisle. In shock I said “Shut up!”

“As this was going on, I didn’t realize this was my proposal until my aunt, Anita, guided me down the aisle,” she adds. “In shock, I said ‘Shut up!’”

Several of the couple’s friends and family recorded the special moment as William gave his future bride a hug before dropping down to one knee and proposing in front of a large heart shaped arch made up of red and white balloons and a lit up sign that read, “Will you marry me?”

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Sydnee says that she “really loved the decorations” — including the “balloon arch,” the “rose fixtures” and the “reflective floor” — that her mother Michele and aunt, Andrea, “worked tirelessly to create” for the surprise curated by her future husband.

“William told my mother and aunt exactly how he envisioned the proposal to look like, and they executed it flawlessly,” she says. “I would say my favorite set up was the balloons with the notes from family and friends in the walkway. It was an idea that William thought of himself, and something that I will always cherish.”

The video not only tugged at the hearts of the people present at the engagement, but all over the internet, as it garnered over 9.9 million views, over 1.2 million likes and nearly 50,000 comments in two months.

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William tells PEOPLE that the special moment was a culmination of months of planning, which began in July 2024, after he asked Sydnee’s parents for her hand in marriage during a dinner. He recalled it was a “joyful” moment after they agreed and he began putting things into place — including getting the ring, preparing a “cabin trip” leading up to the surprise and setting up his “vision” for the proposal.

He says that the proposal had been set up after a weekend cabin trip to Deep Creek Cabin for their anniversary with their closest family and friends. The couple and their loved ones got to spend time bonding through different activities like “an escape room” and “dinner” — a signal for the eventual joining of their families.

Through it all, William tells PEOPLE he had his mother Kimberly, by his side to help “keep my emotions and decisions in check during the process.” Sydnee also got a boost from her parents who she says got her “emotional” after they “expressed their love for William and I” during the engagement.

“I would say the whole weekend was filled with moments that were special to me,” Sydnee says. “William had surprise after surprise coming back to back, and he really put a lot of hard work and thought into our anniversary, as boyfriend and girlfriend, and the proposal.”

“One of my favorite moments during the proposal was William and I sharing an intimate moment when he was giving his speech on why he was proposing. Even though everyone was standing around us, not everyone could hear,” she says.

The couple, who met on Twitter in 2016, say they have already begun wedding planning by “touring venues” and “receiving [price] quotes,” and they are planning to wed sometime in 2026.

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