{"id":74493,"date":"2021-07-20T14:48:47","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T18:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/?p=74493"},"modified":"2021-07-20T14:50:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T18:50:37","slug":"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Romantic hot air balloon proposal turned inspirational news story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"sh-dropcaps-full-square-tale\" style=\"font-size: 18px;\">N<\/span>o one can tell this wild proposal story quite like Lindsey:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Early on in our relationship, Bri shared with me her bucket list dream of attending the international balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, NM and riding in a hot air balloon. I also knew that one of Bri\u2019s favorite experiences is a beautiful sunrise. It took me almost a year of planning, scheming, and lying to pull off what would become an unforgettable engagement story. When I do things, I don&#8217;t just do them. I DOOOOO them. So I reached out to my travel agent friend who helped me plan a vacation to Albuquerque. This was Bri\u2019s Christmas gift but little did she know this would be the backdrop of our engagement story. Bri is smart and hates surprises. I knew she\u2019d figure it out and try to ruin any surprise that I could possibly attempt.<\/p><div class=\"adsanity-rotating-ads ad-aligncenter\" data-ids=\"81704,81705\" data-timer=\"10\" data-align=\"aligncenter\" data-max-width=\"0\">\n<div id=\"ad-81704\" class=\"ad-840x90 adsanity-840x90 aligncenter adsanity-aligncenter\"\n><div class=\"adsanity-inner\"><iframe scrolling=\"no\" style=\"border:none;\" src=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/adsanity-ad\/81704\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>So I had to bring my A-game for this woman.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-0\" data-rl_title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74497\" src=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4.jpg\" alt=\"Romantic hot air balloon proposal turned inspirational news story | Jessica Karin Photography | Featured on Equally Wed, the leading LGBTQ+ wedding magazine\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4-1536x1154.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-4-585x439.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>The Plan<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;I spent months working with a local hot air balloon company to coordinate a fail-proof and fool-proof master plan. I even went as far as making up an entire bogus story about how my travel agent had entered us into a drawing to win a free private, sunrise hot air balloon ride during the Balloon Fiesta. I knew she\u2019d figure it out if I just went and bought us a private ride. I meticulously planned every step, and had a plan B for every plan A. She had no idea and was completely clueless. I had an actor friend of mine leave me a fake voicemail pretending to be my travel agent, excitedly sharing how we had won the drawing! I\u2019ve never faked anything so well.<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward to October 2019. We flew to New Mexico, stayed at Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, which was the most beautiful resort we\u2019d ever seen where we were treated like queens. The hotel, travel agent, and just about everyone was on board with my master plan. It took an act of God to hide the ring from her without being too obvious. Anything out of the ordinary would tip this detective off. We woke up at 2am on Saturday morning and headed to the balloon fiesta. I\u2019d also lied about winning a private breakfast made by a local 5 star chef with a heated tent. Our check in time was 4am for the balloon flight. Bri kept telling everyone how we\u2019d won this private hot air balloon ride because we entered a drawing. The employees stared blankly at her, but thankfully the pilot was in on it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-0\" data-rl_title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74500\" src=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7.jpg\" alt=\"Romantic hot air balloon proposal turned inspirational news story | Jessica Karin Photography | Featured on Equally Wed, the leading LGBTQ+ wedding magazine\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7-300x197.jpg 300w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7-1024x671.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7-768x503.jpg 768w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7-1536x1006.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-7-585x383.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Things Go Awry<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;As we headed out to the field to get ready for take-off, I couldn\u2019t stop shaking and smiling knowing I was about to give the love of my life the engagement of her dreams! Then it all went to hell in a hot air balloon basket &#8211; or so I thought. Turns out, that morning was just about the worst morning for a hot air balloon ride. It was the ONLY day where the fog was so bad that the FAA had to ground and cancel ALL flights. This had never happened in the almost 50 year history of the International Balloon Fiesta. Bri and I waited in the basket for hours that morning, ended up missing the sunrise, and eventually hearing the news from our pilot that all rides had been cancelled. I was absolutely heart broken, deflated (pun intended) and defeated. But I had to pivot and stay the course, and figure out how to make this happen despite the fog.<\/p>\n<p>But wait, let me back up. While we were waiting to hear the final news as to whether or not our ride would take place, I noticed a local news crew, KOAT, approaching our basket to interview us. Seeing the news crew and the camera gave me an idea for a plan B. Bri started answering a few questions on camera while I quickly pulled out my phone, Pretending to show Brittani Hope, the news lady, photos of our kids. What I was actually doing was typing a simple text to show to Brittani that read \u201cI\u2019m going to propose in the air. I have the ring in my pocket.\u201d While Bri continued to be distracted by her 15 minutes of local news fame, I continued scheming with the news lady.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-0\" data-rl_title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74499\" src=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6.jpg\" alt=\"Romantic hot air balloon proposal turned inspirational news story | Jessica Karin Photography | Featured on Equally Wed, the leading LGBTQ+ wedding magazine\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-6-585x389.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Flexibility Leads To Magic<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Within minutes, the FAA had grounded all flights. I told Brittani that if this happened, we\u2019d get out of the basket and I would propose right there on the ground. She had her crew ready to film this magic. As we climbed out of the basket, with much disappointment in Bri\u2019s eyes and a heavy heart, I grabbed her hand, gave her a handwritten note that I thought she\u2019d be reading in the air, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry me. We were both bawling, beaming, and reeling which was ALL captured by the dedicated news team at KOAT. Bri was blinded by the ring I\u2019d spent months and months designing, but still managed to look me in the eyes just like she did that first night on my birthday when we met and fell in love.<\/p>\n<p>People surrounding us cheered while the camera captured every single moment. As if that wasn\u2019t remarkable enough, what happened next was the piece de resistance. A woman approached us with tears streaming down her face, and shared with us that her young daughter was so moved by what she had just witnessed, and wanted to give us both a hug. As Bri and I re-directed our focus to this little girl who was timidly hiding behind her mom, I realized she reminded me a lot of myself when I was her age.<\/p>\n<p>We immediately walked up to her and gave her the biggest hug, a hug I wish I would\u2019ve had at that age at a time when I needed it the most. If our dream proposal was grounded just so that little girl could witness the beautiful love of two women getting engaged, while being cheered on by hundreds of approving bystanders, then it was all worth it. Plus, the entire experience was captured on camera and featured on the local evening news later that night. It went on to get picked up by our local Austin news channel affiliate and garnered additional publicity elsewhere. We happened to miss all of that because we couldn\u2019t stay awake late enough to actually watch the evening news. Turns out FOG didn\u2019t stand a chance because love wins.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-0\" data-rl_title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-74498\" src=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"Romantic hot air balloon proposal turned inspirational news story | Jessica Karin Photography | Featured on Equally Wed, the leading LGBTQ+ wedding magazine\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5-585x389.jpg 585w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-5.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-0\" data-rl_title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74494\" src=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1.jpg\" alt=\"Romantic hot air balloon proposal turned inspirational news story | Jessica Karin Photography | Featured on Equally Wed, the leading LGBTQ+ wedding magazine\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1-110x147.jpg 110w, https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story-jessica-karin-photography-equally-wed-1-585x780.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; color: #dd1e36;\">Search our directory of LGBTQ+ inclusive vendors.<\/h2>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">var SABAI = SABAI || {}; SABAI.isRTL =  false; SABAI.domain = \"\"; SABAI.path = \"\/\";<\/script>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\njQuery(document).ready(function($) {\nSABAI.init($(\"#sabai-embed-wordpress-shortcode-1\"));\n});\n<\/script>\n<div id=\"sabai-embed-wordpress-shortcode-1\" class=\"sabai sabai-embed\"><div class=\"sabai-directory-search sabai-clearfix\">\n    <form method=\"get\" 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step: 1, slide: function(e, ui){\n                radius.val(ui.value);\n                label.text(ui.value);\n            }});\n            if (navigator.geolocation\n                && (document.location.protocol === 'https:' || document.location.hostname === 'localhost')\n            ) {\n                var geocode = function (trigger) {\n                    if (trigger) SABAI.ajaxLoader(trigger);\n                    if (!geocoder) geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder();\n                    navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(\n                        function (pos) {\n                            geocoder.geocode({'latLng': new google.maps.LatLng(pos.coords.latitude,pos.coords.longitude)}, function(results, status) {\n                                if (trigger) SABAI.ajaxLoader(trigger, true);\n                                if (status == google.maps.GeocoderStatus.OK) {\n                                    location.val(results[0].formatted_address).typeahead('val', results[0].formatted_address).effect('highlight', {}, 2000);\n                                    $('#sabai-embed-wordpress-shortcode-1 .sabai-directory-search-location')\n                                        .find('input[name=\"center\"]').val(results[0].geometry.location.lat() + ',' + results[0].geometry.location.lng()).end()\n                                        .find('input[name=\"address_type\"]').val('');\n                                }\n                            });\n                        },\n                        function (error) {\n                            if (trigger) {\n                                SABAI.ajaxLoader(trigger, true);\n                            }\n                            SABAI.flash(error.message, 'danger');\n                            SABAI.console.log(error.message + ' (' + error.code + ')');\n                        },\n                        {enableHighAccuracy:true, timeout:5000}\n                    );\n                };\n     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     ) {\n            if (!geocoder) geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder();\n            geocoder.geocode({address: location.val()}, function(results, status) {\n                switch (status) {\n                    case google.maps.GeocoderStatus.OK:\n                        center.val(results[0].geometry.location.lat() + ',' + results[0].geometry.location.lng());\n                        submit();\n                        break;\n                    case google.maps.GeocoderStatus.ZERO_RESULTS:\n                        alert('Invalid location');\n                        break;\n                    default:\n                        alert(status);\n                }\n            });\n        } else {\n            center.val('');\n            submit();\n        }\n    }); \n});\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>FEATURED VENDORS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Photographer:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jessicakarinphotography.pixieset.com\/jessicakarinphotographyprints\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jessica Karin Photography<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Venue:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/balloonfiesta.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jewelry:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/regardjewelry.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Regard Jewelry\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hot Air Balloon Company:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rainbowryders.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rainbow Ryder<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/submissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Submit your LGBTQ+ wedding, engagement or family story for editorial consideration.<\/a><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We were both bawling, beaming, and reeling which was ALL captured by the dedicated news team at KOAT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10507,"featured_media":74498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[4705,3174,3123,433],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.0 (Yoast SEO v23.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Romantic hot air balloon proposal turned inspirational news story<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We were both bawling, beaming, and reeling which was ALL captured by the dedicated news team at KOAT.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/romantic-hot-air-balloon-proposal-turned-inspirational-news-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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