A couple wanted engagement pictures in Italy — so they went to a local Olive Garden
When a Tennessee couple wanted something special for their engagement photo shoot, their photographer had an out-of-the-box idea — using the architecture of a local Olive Garden restaurant to simulate scenes from an Italian countryside.
Now the hack and resulting photos, taken by Shea Cravens, have gone viral on TikTok.
“When you want Italy vibes for your engagement photos, but you live in Tennessee … so you take your photos at Olive Garden,” reads the text in Cravens’ video.
The building’s stone facade, lush greenery and wooden pergolas fooled some viewers.
Cravens convinced the Tennessee couple, Carlsey Bibb and Caden Mills, to venture to the Olive Garden in Cookeville at 6 a.m. for the perfect shots, Today reported.
“A little over a year ago I had the idea of doing a session at Olive Garden, I mentioned it to some friends but never got around to doing it,” Cravens said in an Instagram caption, according to Today. “Fast forward to today, it finally happened and I am so happy with the outcome.”
Cravens and the couple declined McClatchy News’ requests for comment.
The TikTok has garnered more than 255,000 views, and commenters weren’t shy about voicing their opinions.
Some applauded their creativity.
“If you threw those on the gram and tagged Italy I honestly wouldn’t even give it a second thought!” wrote one person. “I would’ve never known it was an Olive Garden,” commented another.
Others poked fun at the knock-off Italy hack.
“I’m ashamed that I knew immediately it was an Olive Garden,” said one user. “Just because you CAN doesn’t always mean you SHOULD,” added another.
There were also people rooting for the restaurant company to give the couple food at the reception.
“So this is where Olive Garden enters the comments and offers to cater the wedding right?” someone wrote.
“We’re beyond honored that Carlsey and Caden chose Olive Garden to commemorate this special time in their lives,” Olive Garden told McClatchy News in a statement. “We consider our fans and guests our family, and the opportunity to be a part of these milestone moments is an amazing way to celebrate with them.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2022 at 2:26 PM with the headline "A couple wanted engagement pictures in Italy — so they went to a local Olive Garden."
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