Picking the Perfect Ring to Propose | How David Chose Our Engagement Ring

I watched him from afar, running around as he was being chased by little ones half his size. They giggled and shrieked as he picked them up one by one and twirled them around. Laughing, jumping, running, tagging, he played with them. My eyes caught his, and for a brief moment, the depth of his joy seemed to pick my heart up and spin it around. I want my husband to be like this. I thought to myself. I want him to love deeply, laugh often, and be absolutely unafraid to joyfully make a fool of himself.

A year later, and I was absolutely in love with him.

My phone buzzed in June of 2016 and my eyes widened in elated astonishment. There, on my screen was a photo of a ring unlike anything I had ever seen. It was delicate, intricate, and bursting with timeless elegance. I read the words beneath the image, and showed my friend who was sitting beside me.

What do you think of this? David asked via text message. Do you think it’s too busy?

I sat in open mouthed awe as I zoomed in and out, looking over the image, this ring was the most beautiful one I had ever seen! I quickly answered his question with exclamation marks and smiley faces. Sitting back in my seat I let the feelings wash over me.

David was looking at engagement rings.

DAVID was looking at ENGAGEMENT rings.

DAVID WAS LOOKING AT ENGAGEMENT RINGS.

My mind whirled. We had talked about getting married, we’d even browsed the ring counter at the mall. But this was different. David was looking, David was searching, and the ring he had in mind was unlike anything I had ever imagined….

A giddy grin made it’s way across my lips as I looked down again and again at the image on my screen. I couldn’t get over how perfect the ring was….

I wanted to see it for myself.

Time passed and David made little mention of the photograph he had sent me. Until one day when he asked me if I wanted to see it. Without hesitation, we packed into the car and headed to Zundel’s, a fine jewelry store nearby. Butterflies started to flutter as David opened the door for me and we made our way inside. The place was a southern dream. We were greeted instantly and escorted to the glass case where the little ring was presented. Dark velvet seemed to increased the sparkle of the tiny diamonds as the ring was brought out and placed on the counter.

It was more beautiful than the picture.

I tried it on and fell even more in love.

We left the store and I was on cloud nine.

As far as proposals were concerned the only things that I deeply desired were that the proposal itself would be a total surprise, and that if at all possible, my family would be there to celebrate with me. David knew this, he had asked all of the questions and picked my brain for details.

But what about that little ring?

To this day, it still amazes me that David knew me well enough to pick something so absolutely beautiful, and so incredibly unique.

As the story goes, David had been looking all over for something similar to the pins on my Pinterest board. If at all possible, he wanted to find the ring locally, so he explored the online galleries of the jewelry stores in the area. When he had come to estate pieces, he knew he was on the right track. The intentional designs and timeless elegance of the rings he found seemed like something I’d like. But then, he found THE ring, and it instantly caught his attention.

Modeled after an estate piece, our ring was a modern day take of a timeless classic. The designer had created our ring to be similar to an specific estate piece, but with modern flare. David spent months visiting, watching and saving for the ring. When he first found it, he was a full-time student, on the road most every weekend traveling with a college music group. He didn’t have the funds to buy a ring, but he knew as soon as his tour was over, he wanted to get a job, and start to save.

That sweet man got a job at Publix in August of 2016, started making payments on the ring after his first paycheck. He paid the ring off in November and proposed on December 13th, 2016.

When I asked him for tips on how he picked the right ring, and knew it would be the perfect fit, David give me this little bit of wisdom for our male readers:

Just to pay attention. I found Anna’s Pinterest board to figure out her style in general. It was important to pay attention to any rings she ever tried on so I could tell that she wanted something timeless and elegant, but not super gaudy or anything. I think it is a matter of knowing your girl. If you are looking blindly, you would have no way to know whether she likes white or yellow gold, what cut, what size. You have to pay attention to those details and think of the girl, not just the look or price of the ring.