The Emmy Awards gave us a few surprises last night, but no moment was more surprising than when director Glenn Weiss used his acceptance speech to propose to his girlfriend onstage. Weiss won the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special for his work on this year’s Oscars, and after detailing how his mother had passed away just two weeks prior, he proceeded to explain that he got permission from his father to use her wedding ring to propose marriage to his girlfriend—live on stage.

This was a gambit that could have gone south very fast, but the earnestness of Weiss’ proposal, plus the reactions from those in the crowd—especially Leslie Jones and Sterling K. Brown, the latter of whom was onstage presenting the award—made this an unforgettable moment. It’s likely no coincidence that this played out as great television since Weiss has plenty of experience directing live awards shows of his own, but again the earnestness and sincerity of his proposal made all the difference.

If you missed the moment, you can watch it below. Or if you want to watch it again, if only to take a closer look at the crowd reactions (yes, Best Dramatic Actress winner Claire Foy was moved to tears by the surprise event), feel free. This is the kind of spontaneous moment that awards show producers dream of having—the opposite of a La La Land/Moonlight moment, if you will—and Weiss pulled it off with grace and, frankly, perfect timing.

Check out the video below and click here for a full list of the winners from this year’s Emmys.

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Image via NBC
emmys-proposal-image
Image via NBC