As I ascend ever higher into my twenties, more and more of my friends are starting to get engaged.

This is quite a bleak prospect in many ways; friends will inevitably fall by the wayside as the magnetic pull of marital staying-in-and-choosing-what-colour-to-paint-the-wall-ism exerts itself over even the most stoic and reliable of pub-goers, while others start referring to themselves as a collective ("we didn't like Ratatouille, did we? Rats that can talk? The whole premise is just ridiculous").

In short, the whole rigamarole of congratulating distant acquaintances on getting engaged, or having to actually be there, fixed smile plastered rigidly on my freezing cold face, is making me acutely aware that the remorseless swing of the grim reaper's axe is scything ever closer to all of us. Anyway, congratulations on the engagement. Yes, I'm delighted for you, yes I dare say I can come to the engagement party and yes, a Madagascar 2 themed wedding will definitely be a refreshing and fun event to attend in March.

Despite there literally being innumerable ways to propose, most people seem to essentially opt for the same few methods, which we might break down thus;

1. Picturesque views atop a famous monument/ tower.
2. Novelty lobster-with-a-ring-on-its-claw dinner.
3. Walk by river, they turn around, you're down on one knee, all your friends emerge from behind a lamppost yelling "WELL DONE" at you for some reason.
4. Doing it on New Year's Eve in front of 200 strangers so they have to say yes.
5. Doing it at halftime in a basketball/football game so they really have to say yes.

These are the five accepted norms for proposing to someone, and most proposals I hear of tend to fit loosely into one of those categories.

However, one couple firmly broke the mould by getting engaged at Cincinnati Zoo.

What's more, Nick Kelble chose what would turn out to be - literally - the picture perfect moment, after the couple had been queuing up to meet the zoo's internet famous hippo, Fiona.

Girlfriend Hayley Roll told the Daily Buzz;

"Nick and I were waiting in line to get our photo taken with Fiona and I gave my cell phone to someone to take the photo and when I turned back around, Nick was on one knee proposing."

Hayley took to Instagram to share the hilarious photo that followed; her boyfriend Nick down on one knee, her look of delight, and Fiona the hippo watching on, giving her seal of approval.

And it appears that, for the happy couple, Fiona's presence in the midst of their special moment was the icing on the cake;

"We're so happy Fiona could be there on our special day here's to many more years of going to zoos with you".

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_usKJBZKY/?utm_source=ig_embed]]

I've got to say, this up there with the very best proposal photos for me; kudos to Fiona the hippo for getting involved, and congratulations to Nick and Hayley - with a photo like this to look back on, you'll never forget the moment you decided to get married.

A couple has gone viral for their hilarious engagement photo re-creation fail.

Now that we live in the age of Pinterest, inspiration really is everywhere. Whether you're an artist looking for new ideas to doodle or someone who simply wants to mark a special occasion with something different.

However, not everything is as easy to do as the internet would have you believe, something that Alyssa Snodsmith and Collin Hewett discovered when they decided to recreate an engagement picture Alyssa found on Pinterest.

This woman swallowed her engagement ring while dreaming about her fiancé: 

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/GhpdeIAH-Q0L14jDU.mp4||GhpdeIAH]]

The couple's chosen inspirational engagement picture was taken by photographer Brianna Bender in Bend, Oregon, in October last year.

In an interview with Buzzfeed News, Alyssa said of the snap: "We just thought it was fun. It kinda just matches us. We just like to have fun."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/collinhewett17/status/1185934821513711617]]

The happy couple had been dating for three and a half years before Collin decided to pop the question.

So, when they decided to mark the occasion with some sweet celebratory snap, they enlisted the help of their photographer friend Chandler Lefever. He took the following pictures in Naperville, Illinois, but the results were far from what they were expecting...

"Well, we found the right angle, but I didn't find the right angle with the bottle," Colin told Buzzfeed News of their recreation.

"I was super hesitant the whole way and then it started to just dribble out the end. So I kind of over-adjusted."

"We were dying laughing," Alyssa added. "Our photographer fell on his butt because he was laughing so hard. He managed to still snap pictures of us!"

Thankfully, Alyssa had thought ahead and brought a second outfit, so when the champagne pictures didn't quite go to plan, they were able to get sweet snaps anyway. However, the couple couldn't resist sharing the hilarious fail pictures on Twitter, where they subsequently went viral.

People have been left in stitches after seeing photos of a llama dressed as a groomsman at a couple's wedding.

Taking to Facebook, the official page for a llama farm based in the area of Arcade in New York posted a host of hilarious photographs of one of their pets, J, attending a wedding.

The fluffy, white animal was dressed in a black suit with a pink bowtie and a matching rose in his hands - or hooves, depending on which way you want to look at it.

Alongside some stunning (and utterly hilarious) photos from the big day, the caption read: "Thank you Adam and Tara for allowing J to be part of your big day. Congratulations on your nuptials!"

Since it was published to the platform on June 23, it has received over 5,700 likes as well as over 8,000 comments from delighted social media users.

"That is so awesome! Love it," wrote one user.

Another added that it was "hilarious" while someone else described the entire thing as "amazing" - which it totally was.

Others also congratulated Adam and Tara on their special day.

Now, this isn't the first time we've seen a llama attend a wedding.

Do you remember when a man decided he was going to bring a llama as his plus one to his sister's wedding?

Back in 2020 Mendl Weinstock thought he would surprise his sister on her big day by bringing along a fluffy, white, and brown llama dressed in a smart tux - though let's just say that she wasn't impressed.

A photographer captured the moment Riva saw the animal being guided towards her and while the scowl on her face may have shown her annoyance, the bride actually warmed up to the idea of her special guest.

And just like any brother would, Mendl reveled in the moment and even posted the photo to Reddit where it received global attention.

Speaking to CNN about the inspiration behind the unique move, he said the idea came to him after his sister and her friends started talking about their wedding plans despite being single at the time.

He was unamused by the girls’ conversation and proposed a threat.

"I said, 'If you make me come to this wedding, I’m going to bring a llama with me,'" Mendl said. "It was just the first thing that popped into my head."

Riva agreed to invite the llama after a back-and-forth only because she believed he was joking, but a few years later and it actually turned up to the event.

"When my brother puts his mind to something, he gets it done. So at some point I had to accept it and decide that it was easier to get in on the joke than to fight it," Riva told the outlet.

The entire thing set Mendl back a whopping $400 but he said it was "worth every penny."

"It was so worth it. I mean it was worth it just to see her reaction, but it’s been more worth it now that I’ve gotten all this internet fame," Mendl added at the time.

Well, we have to admit, it was a pretty iconic move.

Would you ever consider having a llama at your wedding?

Featured Image Credit: Antonio Trolese/500px/Getty

When a good friend does something special and meaningful, you're supposed to be there for them and congratulate/support them as much as you can. When a best friend does it, however, you're more than entitled to mock them to your heart's content.

So, when Jill and Sean hired a photographer to take some artsy pictures in order to announce their engagement, they might have expected a little teasing from their friends. What they probably weren't expecting, however, was for the group of pals to copy the same images with near-perfect accuracy.

In a post on Facebook, photographer Darren Hatt shared the snaps he took of the happy couple... along with these stunning recreations:

1. The accuracy is astounding

2. Let's play a game of spot the difference

3. Aw, how romantic

4. Such a sweet, intimate moment

5. You can really feel the love between these two... and the engaged couple

6. Wait, which couple is the one getting married?

7. Nothing says 'love' like being shoulder-deep in a dirty lake while some crates burn in the background

8. You can see the love in their eyes

9. Seriously, though, these guys have a connection

10. You can tell they'd have such beautiful kids

11. I'm not convinced these two guys *aren't* dating

12. Invite me to both these weddings please

Well, Jill and Sean certainly look like a lovely couple - but their friends seem to have just as much of a romantic spark going on. Congrats to the soon-to-be husband and wife; I'm sure their wedding will be a total blast with this lot involved.