Dad Interrupts His Daughter's Engagement by Holding Up Hilarious 'Say No' Sign

One fun-loving dad saw the perfect opportunity for a prank just as his future son-in-law asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

Allison Barron and Levi Bliss have been together for two years, and have developed a strong bond since meeting as students at the University of Nevada, Reno. Allison says it didn’t take long for the couple to recognize they had something special on their hands.

“Once Levi and I started dating, it didn’t take long at all to know that he was the one for me,” Allison, 22, tells PEOPLE. “Everything was so easy with him. I’d always heard that you’d just know, but never knew if I completely believed it. With Levi, I really just knew.”

All that was left was to make it official.

On the morning of March 24, Levi told an unsuspecting Allison that they were going to make a quick trip to meet up with her parents for breakfast. So the two hopped in their truck and went for a ride, and that’s when Levi looked over at his girlfriend and asked her to marry him.

“I immediately started crying, overwhelmed with joy, we got out of the truck, and he got down on one knee,” Allison, who lives in Winnemucca, Nevada, recalls. “You always imagine this moment, and now it was happening to me.”

Levi then pulled over near a spot where both of their families were hiding on the other side of a nearby hill, awaiting the big moment. Just as Levi finished his romantic gesture in front of a beautiful backdrop, Allison’s father, Jake, made his appearance by holding up a sign he made which read, in big capitalized letters: “SAY NO.”

Even though Levi asked Jake’s permission for his daughter’s hand in marriage, the 23-year-old had no idea his future father-in-law would pull off the well-timed joke.

“It was a funny surprise for both of us. My dad was completely joking with the sign, and he really likes Levi!” Allison says, adding that Levi and her father have bonded over the years. “It’s really just his personality. He is always making funny little comments and ‘dad’ jokes here and there!”

Later that day, Allison posted pictures of the proposal—and the sign—that were taken by her sister, Ashlee Barron, on Twitter. Her tweet quickly went viral, garnering some 225,000 likes and 66,000 retweets. It didn’t take long for the hilarious photos to be turned into a meme.

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Fortunately, Allison is taking it all in good fun.

“I can’t believe that this has blown up as much as it has!” she says of the response on social media. “When I saw some of the first memes, I called my dad and he didn’t believe me. I think it’s funny, I keep seeing the pictures and my dad pop up everywhere!”

Allison says she and Levi are hoping to plan the wedding soon, and will likely hold the ceremony this fall at a venue in Lamoille, Nevada.

“Once Levi came along, my family welcomed him right in. We all have a great relationship and do a lot together,” Allison says. “We are very excited about this next step in our lives.”