I’m a total sucker for a good love story, so when Melodee approached me about helping her plan a huge proposal for her girlfriend Mary, I was immediately on board.
Ultimately, Melodee decided she wanted to do a flash mob proposal. She’s a big gestures kind of person and wanted to really to go above and beyond to show Mary just how much she meant to her. We started meeting to plan her dream proposal in December 2018 while there was still a lot to figure out.
The most difficult part of planning was finding a venue that would work. We needed a spot where the professional dancers with NC Dance District could easily blend in while they waited for their cues, a spot with plenty of room to dance and a spot with a reason for Mary to go there in the first place.
Ultimately, we were able to do it in the Bank of America building in uptown Charlotte in the Urban Garden, in the building where Melodee’s work was having a meet-and-greet at the same time. It worked out perfectly: Melodee’s bosses were on board with her doing this, the building is always full of people who also work in the building so we could easily hide in plain sight, and Mary was expected to join Melodee at the event.
We worked with NC Dance District to hire some professional dancers to start the flash mob off, but we also wanted Mary’s friends and family included as well. We had 6 of them come out of hiding in the middle to give Mary her favorite flowers, white calla lilies, and then they and a crowd of other friends and family members joined in the back of the flash mob for the simpler portion of the choreography.
There was a lot of rehearsal involved to be able to pull this off. There were four separate rehearsals at the NC Dance District Studio for everyone - and probably more for the professional dancers. Ana Ogbueze, the owner of the NC Dance District, put together a helpful video of the choreography for people to be able to rehearse at home as well. We also held a 2-hour dress rehearsal the week of the proposal in the lobby of the Bank of America building so we could be sure the whole thing was perfect.
Everything unfolded to two different songs: Somebody Loves You by Betty Who and You Make Loving Fun by Fleetwood Mac.
It all went off without a hitch. With a lot of nonchalant excuses, we were able to get Mary to the spot we needed her in the lobby to watch it all unfold. She had no idea what was happening - in fact, she started recording her own flash mob and even tried to walk away after a few moments! Luckily her friend convinced her to stay put.
The shock on her face when Melodee walked down the soul train line and up to Mary was perfect. You can watch it all in the video captured by Crown Alley Films, Inc.
Vendors:
Venue: Bank of America - Urban Garden
Choreography & Professional Dancers: NC Dance District
Photographer: Piper Warlick Photography
Videographer: Crown Alley Films
Flowers: Charlotte Flower Market
Comments will be approved before showing up.
