It Was Quite Tricky
It took me about 3 months to plan the proposal. I had to come up with a creative, fun idea in a beautiful setting. I knew I wanted magic involved somehow. And I wanted it to be an intimate proposal, just her and I alone. And it had to be a complete surprise. All easier said than done!
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First, I had to develop 3 new magic tricks that made sense together for a proposal and practice them until I could do them under pressure. I also had figure out the right date and venue, coordinate all the details with the venue, find a photographer, find an assistant that could help me with playing our song, design and buy a ring, tell my family, tell my kids, and ask Kellie's parents if my proposal would be OK. It was quite a planning process, but I had so much fun doing it. I LOVE surprises, which is maybe why I like magic so much. And I love surprising Kellie. She's always so appreciative of things I do for her.
The time I thought would be perfect was the weekend before Valentines Day. I targeted Saturday, February 11 around 6PM as the perfect time. I didn't have my kids that weekend, she didn't have Emma Kelly and all the attention would be on Valentines Day which was Tuesday. When Kellie would ask me what we were doing for Valentines Day, I'd just play coy and say, "I'm not sure, I guess I should make a plan," which never went over too well! She never expected a surprise proposal on the 11th, because we were supposed to go to a Mavericks game downtown that evening at 8PM.
I selected Reunion Tower as the venue. There's such a beautiful view of Dallas up there, and the light would be perfect that time of day for pictures. I also had made reservations at the top of the tower at Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck. I asked the restaurant to have hydrangeas and conversation hearts (all facing up) ready for Kellie after the proposal!
Here's Kellie explaining the story on the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show. I might show you how the trick was done later...if you can keep a secret.
I used a sharpie to write out the proposal cards using "tattoo font".
Dallas Skyline looking from the Southeast.
This is just a temporary box. I bought a box on Amazon that had a little LED light that shines on the ring when you open the box!
This is looking up at Reunion Tower from the North entrance. It's a 50 story tower with a rotating restaurant and observatory.
Looking Northeast from the top of Reunion Tower. I took this with my iPhone about 2 weeks before the proposal to test the light at 5:30PM.
I had a friend snap a few iPhone photos during the proposal. Here is the moment of truth!
This is at Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck. Kellie was beaming with excitement.
Kellie was very happy with the ring. I knew exactly what she wanted and I had it custom made.
It was a surreal feeling that night. I just let Kellie call friends and family and I sipped on my Manhattan and smiled the whole time.
This is the Omni hotel which was lit up for the Valentines Day weekend.