You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Engagement’ tag.
.jpg "ring")
It’s been a rough time for FH’s family right now. His niece was born extremely premature and while she’s slowly getting stronger and healthier, the last few months have been tough. So tough, at one point we weren’t sure if we should get engaged right now. After thinking it through, we realized it would take a while to get to the actual wedding part of it and it’s likely his niece would be doing much better. We also realized it might be nice to have some good news to share for a change.
Since getting engaged a few weeks ago, we haven’t really done much planning. At first, I think it’s nice to just letting the whole thing sink in. We only get to be engaged once, and I’ve had a lot of fun telling all my friends and getting used to saying “my fiance”. 
We broached the topic with FMIL last night, and she thought our time line for planning was a good one, and she offered to visit places with us if we wanted. While I’m ready to move forward on this with just FH if need be, it’s nice to know we have that support and that his mom is understanding even while things are tough. So now I just need to make a list of NEPA wedding venues to call!
Did anyone else ever have family health issues or drama delay their wedding planning?
FH called me at work about 3 days after we ordered my ring. The jeweler had called to tell us the setting came in, but they weren’t comfortable with it. 
After I composed myself in the back of the coat closet at work (it’s like my superman phone booth!), I finished up my day and headed down to meet FH at Rainbow. I was really worried as I’d set my heart on this ring, and we’d found it at a price that made sense.
It turns out that the quality of the setting really was lacking. It was so lightweight – I was shocked, and sure I’d destroy it in no time. Being the klutz that I am, I knew I needed something a little more sturdy. Thankfully the wonderful team there had gone through their catalogs and pulled out a couple of alternatives. In the end, I found one that looked even closer to my original inspiration from Brilliant Earth. They also didn’t charge us any extra for ordering the second ring. Yay!
After that I was left to wait in suspense for the proposal….
Did anyone else ever run into some unexpected snags while picking out their ring?
After all my searching, I found the perfect setting at Brilliant Earth. I fell in love, hard:
I also liked the stance they took on ethical diamond mining. Unfortunately, they were a bit out of our price range. I also wanted to see what we were buying before making a commitment. I’ve read a lot of stories about people having a great experience buying diamonds online, and I’m sure it’s all true. It just makes me nervous. The plus side is that this was a chance for us to avoid the chain stores and support a local business!
We took a weekday in January to go around and visit several local jewelers. Most didn’t have a style like the one I wanted in stock. They were very willing to custom make my ring, but it cut into our budget. Then we went to Rainbow Jewelers. The staff there was extremely helpful and went through several catalogs to find the perfect setting. We found one that looked very similar to the ring above at half the cost of a custom order. Yay! We were able to pick out a beautiful stone and we sealed the deal.
Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan. We got a call from the jeweler about 3 days later with some bad news…
This is the fun part, for sure. we’ve been calling people and telling them our news since the proposal on Wednesday. Everyone has been really excited and supportive! We got a lot of the regular questions… “did you pick a date?” “how did he propose?” etc etc. I figured I should share more about the actual proposal, then I’ll back track and do a post about actually finding the Ring Of Dreams.
FH came over my house Wednesday night. I was in the back yard playing with Barney:
Me and Barney at Rickett's Glen
When I hugged FH, I felt something in his jacket pocket, but I’ve been kinda paranoid about the impending proposal, so I put it out of my mind. We went inside and were watching tv together for a while. He was being a good boy, rubbing my neck a bit (back to that whole stress thing). He got up kind of suddenly, and went out to the living room, where my parents were. Now, he gets along just fine with my parents, but neither of us have been known to, you know, chillax with them without each other there. That’s when I realized he was asking for their blessing – with me in the next room!!
I didn’t go out, and I didn’t mute the tv to hear what he said. I did start freaking out a bit, but I checked myself before he came back. When he came back into the room, he pulled out the box and got on one knee…. and that’s as far as he got before I went batshit crazy! I was so excited I just hugged him and cried and he clearly knew my feelings on the matter.
So that’s my story! We’re all excited and ready to start this crazy journey in earnest now. I guess it’s time to start figuring out what I actually want to do…
He proposed! SO HAPPY! I love him so much, and I’m so lucky. So, so lucky. I’ll be more eloquent later. Right now, I’ll leave you with a gratuitous ring shot:
