Pennsylvania CEO Sam Riber recreates scene from ‘The Wedding Singer’ to propose mid-flight

A CEO from Pennsylvania surprised his girlfriend with a proposal inspired by “The Wedding Singer” during a flight to Mexico.

Sam Riber, 34, and Lissy Alden, 37, were on their way to Mexico for Lissy’s birthday when Sam recreated a scene from the 1998 movie “The Wedding Singer” and popped the question.

Both Riber and Alden are movie enthusiasts, so when Sam decided to propose in October 2024, he chose to recreate a scene from the Adam Sandler classic.

Riber, who works in physical health, managed to sneak a prop guitar onto the plane without Alden noticing. He also worked with the flight attendants to create codewords to execute the surprise proposal.

Midway through their flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Mexico City on Christmas Eve, Riber serenaded Alden with a song from the movie and got down on one knee to propose, receiving a resounding ‘Yes!’ from Alden.

“It was such a special moment,” Riber said. “I almost couldn’t believe it all worked out.”

The couple met less than a year ago at a Shabbat dinner in February 2024 and felt an instant connection.

Eight months later, Riber decided to propose and began planning the elaborate proposal.

Riber has always been a fan of “The Wedding Singer” and wanted to propose like Adam Sandler’s character Robbie, who serenades his love interest Julia with the song “Grow Old With You” during a mid-flight proposal.

“Lissy had never seen it, so I had to find a way to introduce it to her without giving anything away,” Riber said. “I managed to casually suggest a movie night, and she loved the film as much as I did.

“We have since sung versions of that song to each other because we often quote or act out movies to entertain each other, but she had no clue about my bigger plan.”

Riber had the support of the flight attendants, especially Teri Ramirez, who helped him organize the perfect proposal.

“I was lucky to have the support of the flight attendants, especially Teri Ramirez, who helped me with the PA system,” Riber added. “The team went above and beyond to help, even introducing our codeword ‘juice’ so I would know when to grab the guitar they had hidden for me.”

“I almost didn’t go to that Shabbat dinner in February because I was tired, but my mom told me I needed to eat, and I’m glad I went,” Alden, owner of mental and organizational fitness provider MYNDY, said.

“We have both dated a lot before, so when we both felt it was really right, we didn’t want to wait.”

“Although I had no idea he was going to propose then and there, we had talked about a future, so it wasn’t completely out of the blue,” Alden said. “When it first started, I assumed it was because it was my birthday, as he had already done things to celebrate like bumping us up to first class. But when he got down on one knee, I realized what was happening and just felt so happy.”

“It was definitely a peak life moment.”

The couple is enjoying their engagement and has not made specific plans for their upcoming wedding yet.