Filmmaker Edits Himself Into Shrek to Propose to Girlfriend

When Andressa Da Silva suggested watching Shrek on December 6, she had no idea her boyfriend had spent hours editing himself into the movie's wedding scene. Carter Allen had been planning the perfect proposal for weeks, waiting for the moment his girlfriend would naturally choose their favorite film for a cozy night in.

The couple met four years earlier at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where they bonded over a student film project. Carter wrote and directed while Andressa acted, and their shared love of cinema became the foundation of their relationship.

Carter knew a theater proposal would feel too public and impersonal. He wanted something that honored their inside jokes and years of movie nights together, so he taught himself how to digitally insert his own footage into Princess Fiona and Shrek's wedding ceremony.

He matched the suit, timed his cameo to land just before the line about "the perfect bride," and color-corrected each frame to make the edit feel seamless. The work took careful planning, and he finished the sequence while Andressa slept, testing it multiple times to nail the timing.

On proposal night, Carter cued up the edited version of Shrek and pretended everything was normal. When his cameo appeared on screen, he slipped out of the room, changed into the matching suit he'd worn in the edit, and returned with a ring in hand. He later admitted he nearly forgot socks in the rush and wished he'd rehearsed the costume change.

Andressa was so absorbed in the movie that she didn't notice him setting up his phone to record. When he knelt down, Carter forgot his rehearsed speech entirely and simply asked her to marry him. She said yes.

Why This Inspires

The couple posted the video to Reddit, where it collected tens of thousands of upvotes and more than a thousand comments. Fans loved how the proposal felt deeply personal rather than flashy, rooted in years of shared history instead of viral trend-chasing.

The story resonated because it combined nostalgia for a beloved film with genuine intimacy. Carter didn't hire a film crew or stage a public spectacle. He used the skills he learned in film school to create a moment that belonged entirely to them, then shared it with strangers who needed a reminder that creativity and love still go hand in hand.

Some Reddit users joked that the couple should play the Shrek soundtrack at their wedding or recreate the swamp for photos. Carter and Andressa are still planning those details, but they're grateful the internet embraced their private moment with so much warmth.