Engaged Journey

So there I was, on one knee in front of a crowd of people atop a fort in St. Augustine. I was still tired from the lack of sleep the night before but excited with the thought of embarking on a new journey in my life. As I awaited her answer to the question that has been keeping me up for weeks, I felt like we were the only ones there that day. I saw her lips move and head nod but all I could see were letters flowing out of her mouth and into my brain one at a time. As I frantically put these letters into words, a sense of calm rushed over me. I was relieved, I was excited…she said yes. All of that research, stress, and preparation put towards finding the ring was a success. Now it’s time to sit back and listen to her brag about her ring to anyone who will listen.

3 months earlier…

One of the hardest things for a guy, when it comes to getting engaged, is finding that perfect ring. I can’t tell you how many people offered their an unasked opinions on everything from how much I should pay for the ring and where I should get it, right down to how I should pop the question. Not one person told me what I feel should have been said; If you two are in love, the ring is not going to break the deal for you. Of course you’ll have to take that statement with a grain of salt because it really comes down to who you are marrying. Lucky for me, my fiancé isn’t materialistic and enjoys the simple pleasures in life. Lucky for her, I have expensive taste in everything so her ring is pretty much the best thing ever.

So once I realized that I wanted to make the big leap, I started researching everything I could about diamond engagement rings. When buying anything of great monetary value, I always put on my research hat and get to work. A great site that aided me was BlueNile.com. Even though I didn’t end up buying the ring there, the information within armed me for the various jewelry stores I visited. If you don’t get anything else out of this post, remember to learn what the 4 C’s of diamonds are and know them like the back of your hand; color, cut, clarity, and carat weight.

After I armed myself with the right information, my hunt began. Communication is probably the biggest key to having a great relationship and part of communication involves listening. Now, when I listen, I store things to a part of my brain for later use. I remember a conversation my fiancé and I had about a year into our relationship that dealt with engagement rings in general. I mentioned some ideas I had for an engagement ring I thought would be awesome, and she let slip her idea of the perfect ring: one that involved sapphire stones in some way. Being the awesome boyfriend that I am, I pretended to not hear that valuable comment and stored it to memory. Another protip I can give you is utilize your cell phone as a database for random information.  I put so many random ideas in my iPhone that it’s getting out of hand. Most cell phone address books allow you to enter additional information about contacts and this is where that valuable comment sat for 2 years .

It seems like I visited every jewelry store known to man looking for that special ring. The thing I learned is that all of the sales people suck. They aren’t interested in why you are buying a ring, they mostly just ask for your price range and when you need it. The only store that I felt actually helped me in my search was Jareds. The people there actually knew what they were talking about and were very personable. It only took one visit and I was able to find the ring I was looking for, have it sized, and paid for all in one day.  Now don’t forget, I don’t not work for Jared nor do they spons0r this website. Although if a representive from Jared sees this and wants to throw some wedding bands my way, feel free to contact me at anytime here . No, I am not joking .