Advertisement

Arts & Entertainment

The city of love? These local landmarks set the scene for real life Dallas romances

Paris, Florence, Rio: When it comes to the world's most romantic cities, Dallas may not immediately come to mind. But, for many, it has set the stage for the love story of a lifetime. In fact, more than a dozen people have planned Valentine's Day proposals at Reunion Tower this year alone, and a rep tells us that number is expected to surpass two dozen by Feb. 14. Clearly, it's a popular place to pop the question. We've got some experience with romantic hotspots in town.

Want to share photos of your Dallas romance? Tweet or Facebook us.

Wedding at Pioneer Plaza

(Desiree Espada)

My husband and I met at the Grapevine Bar, and that's where he proposed at midnight on New Years a little over a year later, so our favorite dive bar seemed like a perfect spot for our wedding reception. When it came to the ceremony itself, we wanted to incorporate a signature Dallas landmark, and Pioneer Plaza made for a showstopping, if quirky, background beneath the city's enduring skyline.

Our ceremony took place before the park's waterfall with our guests wrapped among its massive, stampeding cattle sculptures. It seemed an appropriate metaphor: Our pasts were spent in rural, small towns (mine on an actual cattle ranch), but our present and future is here. --Brentney Hamilton

Advertisement

Photos at the Dallas Arboretum

(Anna Routh Photography)

There's no better place to take romantic wedding photos, if you ask me, than the Dallas Arboretum. Choose any time of year and you'll find colorful landscapes at the Dallas Arboretum that'll make your wedding photos a little less about how much you spent on that white dress and a little more about what it all means: Life is beautiful.

My husband and I hosted our wedding reception at the Arboretum, and we snuck off during cocktail hour to wander among the tulips -- my favorite flower. The day stood still, if for just a moment. We smiled and laughed and cried, in a place so beautiful and so very Dallas.

News Roundups

Catch up on the day's news you need to know.

Or with:

Every time I go back to the Arboretum, I feel like it's ours. We share it with thousands of people, but it's ours, too. --Sarah Blaskovich

Engaged at Reunion Tower

(Michael Ainsworth / Staff Photographer)

Every day when I spot Reunion Tower on my drive to work, I smile a little and remember that my husband and I got engaged there. With its 360-degree view of the city, the tower is one of the standout features of  the Dallas skyline and it's a popular engagement spot (there's about one a day, with a marked uptick around this time of year).

There were some mild wrinkles in the engagement process. I dressed normally for our mystery date and he suggested I wear something else, which struck me as wildly unlike him, and I'm a vegetarian and the restaurant had run out of its only meatless entrée. But the view was beautiful and I was thrilled when he proposed in the elevator.

Advertisement

Today, our 4-year-old daughter likes to point out the tower when we drive by, and I'm looking forward to making a family trip to check out the views of  the city from the tower's observation deck, 470 feet above. --Ann Pinson

Flash wedding at the State Fair of Texas

If you're looking for creativity, Sara Rice and Jose Luis Martinez Hernandez took the cake when they held their wedding ceremony under the watchful gaze of Big Tex in 2010.

Advertisement

The flash ceremony was quick, officiated by a friend dressed in Tex-style, and the bride carried a cotton candy bouquet, a vintage white dress and red cowboy boots. Afterward, her groom carried her across the "threshold" of the State Fair Midway. Read their love story in greater detail here.

Scroll through for many wonderful photos: