Woman Gets Engaged in Fairy-Themed Surprise Proposal (Exclusive)

A woman walked into what she thought was a fairy-themed game night only to discover that it was actually a surprise proposal.

Back in February, Samone Grant, 31, conceived his fantastical proposal idea and enlisted his girlfriend’s sister, Kayla Sutton, 28, the following month to help him plan and execute it. Grant and his now-fiancée, Courtney Sutton, 29, had previously talked at lengths about her “dream proposal,” and he was determined to make it better than she ever imagined.

“We did discuss several different ideas of what my dream proposal would be for me, but I’ve always really liked the fairy theme — over-the-top, rom-com dramatic!” Courtney tells PEOPLE.

Eighteen people total, including the couple’s immediate family members and closest friends, were in on the secret. Kayla says “the easiest part” was fooling Courtney into believing the proposal was simply a fairy-themed game night.

The couple, who have been dating for eight years, often have themed game nights and parties with their friends, so “it was nothing out of the ordinary” when Kayla sent a Google Form to all of the usual attendees, requesting that they vote on a theme for their next group event. Of course, everyone was instructed to select “fairy theme.”

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Courtney remembers.

Initially, Kayla feared that her older sister wouldn’t want all of her engagement photos to be fairy-themed, so she kept checking with Grant that he was positive this was the right move.

“He was incredibly adamant, and looking back in retrospect, it was the perfect decision,” Kayla says, with Grant adding, “I’m really glad I stuck to my gut with that!” 

Courtney went all out with her whimsical purple costume. She donned a shimming soft purple mini dress, dainty butterfly accessories in her hair and bejeweled wing-like eye makeup. Meanwhile, Grant opted for a floral button-up short-sleeve top over light green pants, and pointed pixie elf ears.

“I walked in and I was like, ‘This doesn’t look like you guys are playing games,’ ” Courtney says of her July 19 surprise proposal in Atlanta. “Then it clicked, and I was just so overwhelmed with joyful emotions.” 

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About a dozen people for two hours helped set up the room, which looked like a scene from a fairy tale with red, white-spotted mushrooms and greenery strung from the ceiling. Kayla and Courtney’s creative and crafty mother, Sherry, was especially helpful, having made all of the DIY decorations.

“Our mom has always been able to bring to life the worlds in our imagination,” Courtney shares, noting that Sherry always “put so much effort” into making her and Kayla’s childhood parties and sleepovers “so immersive and creative.”

“Everybody that helped set up brought the idea that I had in my mind to life,” Grant adds. “I was worried how the outcome would look but everything really came together with the help of our close friends and family.”

A video of the proposal was recently posted by Kayla on TikTok to the tune of “Ordinary” by Alex Warren. The clip has amassed more than 10.2 million views and 2.2 million likes.

“My sister’s surprise fairy-themed proposal was a huge success! Glad I could help organize it 💜🧚🏾‍♀️,” Kayla wrote in the caption.

“I love watching proposals that show the couple’s personality. This is so unique and they look so happy 🥰,” one TikTok user wrote, with another commenting of Courtney, “She looks like she came straight out of Winx [Club], which is perfect 🤩.”

 Courtney and Grant met at a dance event for a potential dance crew in college in 2016 at the University of West Georgia, and started dating about a year later.

“Dancing and expressing ourselves has always been at the foundation of our relationship and that led to us building a tight-knit community and space for people to feel comfortable and be themselves,” Courtney says.

Grant shares: “That beautiful community that we built over the years is what created the magical moment that not only our own friends and family were able to witness but also people all over the world.”