Weddingbee Blog

In honor of our 3 Month “Engage-aversary” (you have to call it something, right?), I thought I’d post an account of Mr.E’s proposal. Today is also exactly 8 months until our BIG day!!

October 2006…
We planned a big trip to Paris and London to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. More than anything, I was hoping he would propose because I thought that emotionally we were ready to make that commitment. But realistically speaking, I knew that it was not going to happen. We are generally together 24/7, so I was positive there was no way he could get a ring and hide it without my knowledge. I mentally prepared myself to go home empty handed (literally).

Boy, did he have me fooled!! He brought the ring with him to Europe even though he had no idea when, or where, or even if he was going to propose. He was just waiting for the “right” moment and didn’t want it to be anything except natural and spontaneous. But to throw me off the scent, on the first night of our trip we had this whole big discussion about marriage, and he expressed that getting married was something that would have to wait awhile longer until he was “ready.” So despite the excitement of the trip, I still felt a bit deflated.

On the second night of our trip, we took an evening stroll by the Eiffel Tower, and all of a sudden the lights on the tower started shimmering (it does that once an hour at night). It was literally breathtaking! He took that as a “sign.” I immediately darted off to take pictures, and when I finally turned off the camera, he pulled me off the sidewalk and under a tree. I was confused because we couldn’t see from under the tree, and I asked, “What are you doing!?! I can’t see the lights!” And then he pulled out something shiny from his pocket and asked, “Well, then what should I do with this…?”

Of course I shreiked, grabbed him by the shoulders, and started shaking him (vigorously) as he was trying to get down on one knee. I kept asking, “Are you serious?!? Are you serious?!?” By that time, the tears were flowing when he asked me if I would marry him… it could not have been any more perfect than that night!! Paris will forever be “our city.”

And here’s a little background on how he managed to get the ring without me suspecting a thing (hey, that rhymes!). He actually started browsing the web for loose diamonds back in February/March of 2006! It took him until July to find the perfect emerald cut diamond that would eventually become mine. Then he just sat on it. For months. He kept it locked up in his office drawer (which he was very nervous about)!

All the while, we still casually browsed jewelry stores, and he continually pretended to have absolutely no knowledge about diamonds. Come September, we came across a jeweler who showed us a gorgeous setting… one that made me *gasp* and say, “This is it!!” At that point, he secretly put the wheels in motion. Although that particular jeweler had a policy to only set stones purchased directly through them, Mr.E managed to persuade the owner to make an exception and set my stone even though it was purchased elsewhere. Three weeks later, the ring was tucked away into the little coin slot in his wallet, on its way to Paris! He managed to get it though customs with no questions asked!

A word to the wise: If you (or your man) decide to purchase a loose stone online, make sure it comes with a GIA (or IGI, etc.) certificate. Then send it back to GIA and have them re-verify the stone so that you know you are getting exactly what you paid for. They will double check for a small fee, but it certainly offers peace of mind. You can never be too safe when making that kind of investment.

So you see… even if you think it absolutely won’t/can’t happen, you just never know! Sometimes these guys can surprise you beyond words!! hehe