A best man has been dubbed the 'most dedicated in world' after bleaching beard and donning a wig to capture his friend's engagement on camera.
Groom Timothy Hopkins asked his best friend Cody Garcelona to take photos on his surprise engagement last month. The two have been best friends for 20 years, so when asked Cody did not hesitate, and said ‘yes’ straight away.
Cody, the insurance-agent-turned-photographer wanted to 'do something that was funny' for his childhood friend for the memorable day.
A viral TikTok of the event shows Cody making himself completely unrecognisable to unsuspecting fiancé Casey Martin.
On the occasion Cody wore a Kurt Cobain-style wig, sunglasses and bleached and shaved his beard into a goatee.
The best friend and cameraman then secretly followed his friend and fiancé all the way up to Dolly Sods Wilderness in West Virginia, US, before hiding to catch candid photos of the proposal.
Despite this being Cody's first real experience behind a camera, the secret stakeout was a success, with the best man successfully surprising fiancé Casey.
But Cody’s disguise was so impressive that it even left Timothy in an endless laughing fit.
Cody said: "I was shaken - I think I was more nervous than Tim was.”
"I was like what if she [Casey] sees me - then I've ruined it. It was very nerve-wracking.
"There was a moment where they turned around. Tim knew I was going to do something, but he didn't know what I looked like - he was laughing hysterically.”
"Then he told Casey who I was, and she burst out laughing."
Cody was very dedicated to the transformation, he ordered ten wigs instead of one - that all arrived at his home in Charleston, West Virginia, US, charging him a total of $201.
The devoted friend persevered even after the bleach 'burnt' his skin, when he was changing his beard.
As a result, best Timothy, who works for the US military, called Cody 'the most dedicated best man ever', and admitted that he was mainly shocked by Cody’s appearance.
Timothy, 25, who is now happily engaged to 28-year-old teacher Casey, said: "We've been best friends since we were five years old.”
"There's really no surprises between us anymore.
"I wouldn't say I was shocked [by what he'd done] - I was more shocked by his appearance and how ugly he looked.”
"I was pretty much begging him to shave his beard after he got it."
Although Cody did revert back to his original appearance two hours after the surprise photoshoot, he is happy that he was able to help the couple capture such a beautiful moment.
Cody said: "I was super-happy when I pulled it off - especially for them. It has stressed me out all week.”
"Tim and I are brothers. His family treats me as their own and my family treats him as one of their own.”
Cody added: "His family has done so much for me over the years, I'm glad God saw it fit for us to become best friends. We're at each other's sides, through thick and thin."
