1) Her mutual feelings for you
2) Engagement ring
3) A plan
1) and 3) just take time and effort. But 2) requires a little somethin' more: $$$
How was I going to buy an engagement ring when I was still just an intern? I suppose this want/need to purchase a nice ring actually turned into my motivation to do really well at my job. It really went hand-in-hand with all my other financial goals I eventually started creating: retirement, down payment for a house, emergency funds, wedding, etc.
And it really felt like fate when my boss gave me a contract one month into what was supposed to be a 6-month internship. One month after that I was full-time with benefits. It really all started looking really good except that I really didn't have the money I wanted to spend. And I definitely did NOT want to take out a loan.
The answer to all my issues? A 15-month 0% APR Credit Card. Essentially, it was a 15-month 0% interest loan. And this is something I would definitely recommend to anyone else out there planning to make a big purchase (and if you do not have a lot of credit cards). So, based on this 15-month time period and from some conversations with Kristine, I created a budget and a description of what I wanted for this ring. I knew the band had to be rose gold (April had disclosed to me a few times that rose gold was her favorite material), the design needed to be relatively simple overall (Kristine helped me realize this), and despite her reservations I wanted a noticeable diamond. I had read a few posts about people thinking about getting a diamond engagement ring. The #1 thing I took away from those posts was that this is the only time in my life I'll ever get the chance to get something like this for April. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to feel awesome and make her feel even more awesome at the same time. Why would I pass up this opportunity? I started dreaming of what her face would look like when she finally saw it. It makes me anxious just typing about it (and it's about 2 weeks before I ask her as I write this).
The next step was to find a ring shop. I knew April liked supporting local businesses (an interest I shared), so I definitely wanted to avoid the "big-name" jewelers. So I did some research and came across a local Oakland jeweler with great reviews. The reviews mentioned that the shop owner was very informative, friendly, and seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say. They also mentioned that they made custom rings.
When I first stepped into J Sahadi Jewelers, I was definitely intimidated by the sheer amount of diamonds that surrounded me. Looking at the price tags definitely did not help, but speaking with Jennifer (the shop owner) definitely made me feel a lot better. I brought up my budget and what I wanted out of the ring, She brought out a few rings that she thought I might be interested in and to my surprise, she was spot on. I chose a band and she mentioned that they would have to custom make it because the manufacturer doesn't make it in rose gold. This was perfect for me because I wanted something no one else had. After discussing how much just the band would cost, her eyes lit up because she realized she had the perfect diamond for me. She brought out this pair of diamonds that she said used to be in a pair of vintage earrings. She said she had just gotten them in the weeks prior to our first meeting and wondered what she was going to do with them. To me, it felt like fate. I said "sure, why not?!" She gave me the bigger of the pair at a really good price, and she did NOT charge me for tax (which is a huge discount if you think about how much engagement rings can cost). She told me that a mold would be created first and that they would have me come in to see it before they used it to create the band and set the diamond in place.
In the end, the entire process took about 4-6 weeks - From me coming into the store having that first conversation, coming back to see the mold and give my approval, and picking it up just 2 weeks before our trip to Iceland. It was a great experience and I would definitely recommend J Sahadi Jewelers to anyone out there trying to support local businesses.
All photos were taken by Mark Andrew Gonzales. Follow his photography at
markandrewg.com
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