Most people want proposal videos to be as candid as possible, but this devoted sister has gone above and beyond the call of duty — by camouflaging herself as a bush to capture her sister’s big moment.
Therese Merkel, 23, from Wisconsin, is “incredibly close” with her sister Rachel, which is why Andrew Philibeck, Rachel’s fiancé, asked Therese for help making his proposal memorable.
“We tossed some ridiculous ideas around,” she told Jam Press, such as faking an injury and having Philibeck disguise himself as a medic. “But we thought that was too aggressive.” When she suggested she hide among the shrubbery, Philibeck “really ran with it” by buying a full “ghillie suit.”
She shared images of the hilarious setup on Twitter last week in a post that’s since gone viral with nearly 180,000 “likes” so far.



“Sister got engaged this weekend and I dressed as a bush in the wilderness to watch/capture the moment,” she wrote. “We are 1 [year] apart … why are our lives so different rofl.”
Her followers were more than impressed with her dedication. Many were feeling the sisterly love, and tagged their sisters and friends in the replies. One tweeted, “If you don’t do this for me can i even say [you’re] my real sister? 😂”
Therese and Rachel MerkelJam PressOn Sept. 21, Philibeck popped the question at Picnic Point in Madison, surrounded by glowing lanterns and Rachel’s favorite blooms, sunflowers and their personal videographer — Therese in the bushes.
She managed to capture the whole thing, including the romantic poem Philibeck read to his new fiancée.
“While I was hiding, I had the perfect view of the whole thing,” Therese told Daily Mail. “Andrew knew I was hiding and wasn’t even sure I was there when he walked down — that’s how baller this suit was.”
Therese says she made her big reveal by popping out of the brush and screaming, “‘She said yes!’ Rachel was very confused, and I was legit crying tears of joy because of how special the whole event was.”



