Two preteens re-create their aunt's 'corny' engagement pics in viral video

For some, Breona Carter and Nehemy Manigat’s engagement photoshoot might have been an ode to love. But for Carter’s 11 and 9-year-old nieces, the photoshoot was nothing short of hilarious.

“They were just laughing so hard,” Carter, 22, tells TODAY.com of their reaction to the video. “They’re like, ‘Oh my God, why are you posing like that?’ And then they were like, ‘Obviously, we’re going to show you what you guys look like.’”

Carter agreed to letting them re-create the photoshoot, only if they were comfortable with her posting it to TikTok.

“I completely forgot I had even recorded until a month later. And I was like, I’m just gonna put this together, and I didn’t think it was gonna do anything,” she explains. “Really, I was just like, it’s a funny video, and I guess everybody else thought it was funny.”

Carter's video, which has now racked up over 1 million views, opens with the caption: “POV: Your nieces think your bts of your engagement shoot is corny and mock you."

The video switches between moments from the photoshoot and the girls’ hilarious interpretations of them. A’rya Williams, 11, and Aaliyah Williams, 9, move in slow-mo, wearing serious faces. They ham it up while gazing into each other’s eyes and grin awkwardly for the camera.

Online, people thought the Williams sisters were funny.

“If you are ever in need of humility, just hang out with a preteen,” another replied.

“Kids are so lethal,” one added. “Y’all looked GOODT, though.”

As engagement announcements and the standard for wedding photography have evolved over time, the bar for betrothal bulletins has risen significantly.

Couples who commit to professional photos can fork over anywhere from $300 to $600 for an hour-and-a-half session, according to Bride.com. They’re also being advised to get creative with their shoots, venturing out to unusual locations. In their aunt’s case, that would be Los Angeles’ Union Station.

The sisters tell TODAY.com the photoshoot’s location contributed to its “cheesy and corny” factor.

“They’re at a train station,” Aaliyah tells TODAY.com. “They’re in the streets.”

“Yeah, I didn’t get why they were in the middle of the street,” A’rya chimes in.

Carter says the choice of scenery was twofold. For one, “the train station had just great pockets to shoot,” she says of Union Station.

The transit junction also had a sweet significance for the long-distance couple. Carter lives in California and Manigat lives in Florida. The couple met on Twitter.

“We didn’t really realize the significance of it until after we were like, ‘Oh my God, wait, we’re long distance and we’re at a train station. How cool.’”

Carter wanted to celebrate every step of their engagement since marriage would finally bring them together — geographically, too. That’s why the photoshoot was important.

“I wanted to be able to look back and genuinely be happy and like really say that we fully took in everything and documented every moment,” Carter explains. “I love content.”

Originally only expecting to receive photos, the couple's photographer surprised them with behind-the-scenes footage — which eventually, gave her nieces material.

It’s not lost on Aaliyah and A’rya that their aunt’s engagement shoot, no matter how “cheesy,” marks a happy occasion for the whole family.

“We like him,” Aaliyah says of Manigat.

“I like him,” A’rya quips. “You love him.”

As for advice for future newlyweds hoping to mark their happy time with a bit of glamour and photography? The sister duo assert that at least two things are key.

“No going in the middle of the street,” A’rya says. “And train station. No train station.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com