Toronto couple fight zombies in quirky engagement photos

When your wedding engagement starts with getting hunted down by your zombified friends, there really is nowhere to go but up.

"We wanted something that was out-of-the-box, but also expressed our humor and love," groom-to-be Harlan Guthrie tells the Huffington Post of him and his fiancée's recent zombie-themed engagement photo shoot. "Too many engagement shoots are hokey and we wanted to make ours look triumphant and fun."

The photo shoot took place in Toronto's Rouge Valley in August, and was captured by local photography studio Young Hearts Photography.

Since Guthrie posted the images to Reddit earlier this month, the photos have received nearly 500,000 views and more than 1,100 comments.

The zombie characters are played by the bridesmaids and groomsmen, as the innocent and terrified couple fight them off with stones and sticks.

Themed engagement photos have taken off in the past few years – who can forget that eerie zombie-themed shoot from 2011, or the most recent serial killer–themed shoot that came out of Britain. And it doesn't stop with the engagement – couples have been known to celebrate their nuptials with Star Wars and dinosaur themes, too.

With the rise in popularity of quirky engagement-themed photo shoots, have they lost their niche appeal? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!