Couple's romantic engagement photos look like they're in Italy. Sorry folks, it was Olive Garden.
Romance can be found anywhere.

Is it an Olive Garden or Tuscan farmhouse?
There’s a lot of pressure for people these days to live the perfect Instagram-worthy life. People place so much emphasis on their social media image that it ends up running their lives. This social anxiety is keenly felt by young couples planning their weddings.
A U.K. survey from 2019 found that 42% of couples feel the pressure to make their weddings look great on Instagram. Social media has pushed people to spend more on their weddings so that they can look gorgeous as a couple and make sure there are plenty of Instagrammable moments for their guests.
The pressure is probably why a TikTok video of a couple who took their engagement photos at an Olive Garden has more than 260,000 views. The couple’s photos were so good that they fooled a lot of people into thinking they were shot at an exotic locale, but for those who got the joke, it was hilarious. It’s a total win-win.
@hunterlasheaphotography tennessee but with Italy Vibes✨ #engagementphotos #engagementphotoshoot #engagementpictures #bride #weddingtiktok
According to BuzzFeed, Tennessee-based photographer Shea Cravens thought that a local Olive Garden would be a perfect stand-in for an exotic Italian photoshoot, and fiances Carlsey Bibb and Caden Mills thought the idea was fantastic. The exterior of an Olive Garden is designed to resemble a Tuscan farmhouse with painted pottery, lots of exposed wood and cypress trees. What’s more Instagrammable than that?
"I asked Shea—our photographer and longtime friend—if there was anywhere she had been wanting to shoot but hadn’t yet,” Carlsey told BuzzFeed. “That’s when she mentioned Olive Garden!"
“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 wrote in an Instagram caption. “Fast forward to today, it finally happened and I am so happy with the outcome.”
What’s great about the photos is that they look like they were taken in Italy instead of at a chain restaurant. The photos were taken at 6 a.m. so as to not disturb the business and so they have wonderful sunrise lighting. It also helps that the couple looks incredible.
"If you threw those on the gram and tagged Italy I honestly wouldn’t even give it a second thought! I would just think it was a cool garden?" Madison S. wrote. "I would've never known! gorgeous," Krista Stevens agreed.
“May your love be as endless as soup, salad, and breadsticks,” a well-wisher named Emily commented.
Most importantly, the couple was over the moon with the tongue-in-cheek photos. "They were way better than we could’ve ever imagined," Carlsey told BuzzFeed.
In the end, it isn’t about whether the photos were taken in Italy or at an Olive Garden, it's about the couple themselves. Couples that are truly in love don’t need to mask their relationship by posing in a romantic locale, they can find love at a chain restaurant. As anybody who’s been married for a while can tell you, things aren’t always pretty in a marriage, but if you keep your sense of humor you can get through anything. Carsley and Caden are certainly starting off on the right foot.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.