Trying to Put a Ring on It

Mr. A and I talked about getting married from the beginning.  As cheesy as it sounds, we just knew.  Mr. A, however, took a little more convincing.  While I knew from Day 1, he waited an agonizing five months to ask me if I wanted to look at engagement rings.  Best know I dropped subtle hints on a weekly…okay, daily basis. Hey, a girl can’t help it when she finds her man.  

Unfortunately, trying to find a ring was almost as agonizing of a process. Mainly, it was my fault.  I’m sorry, they are just all so pretty.  I had a horrible time making up my mind.  My tastes varied from visit to visit.  One day I loved princess cuts. The next I loved emeralds.  You name it, I fell in love with it.  I blame my indecisiveness on my complete lack of nice jewelry experiences.  Honestly, diamonds are just so gorge.

See what I’m talking about…gorge!

The rings I loved, however, had one thing in common, the potential to suck Mr. A’s life savings dry.  I blame the jewelry industry, haha.  Honestly, the displays they have are the biggest diamonds they can muster in the most expensive settings they have.  I had a really hard time visualizing what a smaller diamond would look like in the settings I liked.  So I was convinced that the only solution was to man up and get the big diamond (Thanks jewelry industry, I know this was your intention all along).  This, of course, did not sit well with Mr. A, who oscillated from anger about my bourgeois taste to inadequacy about his finances.  Funny how engagement ring shopping can make even the most confident of people feel less than so.  I noticed his frustration and offered to pay for some of my ring.  But the Southerner in Mr. A wouldn’t let that happen.  It’s just not what engaged people do.

So what are two lovebirds to do?  After some tears (on my part for ever making Mr. A feel inadequate), I reassured Mr. A that the ring didn’t matter.  I would love whatever he got me as long as it wasn’t a marquis cut (sorry girls, just being honest).  Luckily, Mr. A had done some research and found a god send. Cue the angels singing:::ahhhahhhahhha:::

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Jared’s is perfect for the visually impaired, unimaginative types like me.  They have a billion settings and a billion different diamonds.  Since they keep their settings open in the store, you try out all different types of diamonds.  You can see how a round cut diamond vs. an emerald cut diamond or a bigger, lower quality diamond vs. a smaller, higher quality diamond would look in the setting you like.  Honestly, if you are getting engaged go there.  Nothing beats being able to see what your ring would look like, affordable diamond and all.

By the time we made it to Jared’s, I had a fever and the only cure for it was halos.  Just look at them girls….sigh.

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After scrutinizing the diamonds and deciding the age old question of is bigger really better, I had it narrowed down to two choices.  

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Which one did I pick?  Truth is I didn’t get to pick.  Once I had it narrowed down to two, Mr. A sent me to the car.  I know how unfair!  He wanted the ring to be a surprise in the end.  So I got the best of both worlds.  I was involved in the process and I got to let Mr. A know what I would and wouldn’t accept (just kidding I would have accepted a paper ring) all the while still being surprised when I saw my sparkling lady for the first time. 

Which one would you pick?  What do you think about girls going ring shopping?