DCC Karley Swindel Is Engaged to Landon Sandell (Exclusive)

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Karley Swindel will soon be walking down the aisle!

Swindel is engaged to fiancé Landon Sandell after he popped the question at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas on Aug. 25. 

The bride-to-be tells PEOPLE she went to the museum with Sandell under the impression that they were helping out photographer Wisteria Jade capture photos for her portfolio, but unbeknownst to her Sandell “had meticulously planned the perfect moment” to take her by surprise with help from Jade.

The DCC cheerleader adds that she had an inkling something was up the morning of the engagement.

“I wasn’t totally surprised! Females have great intuitions so I prepared as much as I could that morning knowing that it may or may not happen,” Swindel tells PEOPLE. “My fiancé usually gets very nervous and stressed. However, that morning, he seemed very calm and did not seem anxious one bit. That led me to believe that it might not happen. We were halfway through the photo shoot when I saw his face completely change. His eyes filled with tears and his bottom lip began to quiver. In that moment, I knew it was happening!”

Sandell got down on one knee and proposed with a 4.03 carat solitaire engagement ring set in white gold.

After the proposal, reality began to sit in. “I finally get to plan the dream wedding I always envisioned for me and Landon and I get to officially spend the rest of my life with the man I love so much. It was a surreal feeling,” she says.

However, that wasn’t the only surprise he had in store. Sandell also arranged a surprise after-party with Swindel’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerlers, plus family, and friends.

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“I feel so grateful for every single person who was a part of this special day for us,” Swindel shares. “From the photographer, to my family, Landon’s family, my best friends from my hometown, and my teammates… there was so much love and support in the room.” 

“I know there was a great amount of thought and detail put into both the proposal and the after party and I look back at the photos and have the biggest smile on my face,” she continues. “I felt like the luckiest girl in the world!” 

Reflecting on the proposal, Swindel says one of her favorite memories from the night was when they got home to their new puppy.

“One of the best parts was coming back home and telling our puppy, Tinley, that mom and dad are getting married! If she could comprehend what’s going on, she would be over the moon!” says Swindel.

Looking ahead, the couple can’t wait to celebrate at their nuptials.

“I finally get to plan the dream wedding I always envisioned for me and Landon and I get to officially spend the rest of my life with the man I love so much,” she says. “It was a surreal feeling.”