An Unexpected Proposal, Sort of

So real talk, the proposal was only kind of a surprise.  I mean, we went ring shopping together, so I knew it was at least on Daniel's mind.

Hawai'i is a special place for us - we made it Facebook official while I was there, and we vacationed there together twice, the last time being in 2011.  So fast forward to the end of 2013, when Daniel said we NEEDED to go on vacation, and we HAD to go to Hawai'i, and DEFINITELY to Oahu (despite having an employee rate at the same hotel company he works for on the Big Island), I may have known something was up.

Too ridiculous to not use / Source

I had, of course, hypothesized about the chances with my girlfriends, who excitedly insisted that it was happening on our vacation.  After some thought about it all, I decided the best thing I could do was not get too caught up in proposal expectations.  The last thing I wanted to do was ruin our vacation.

Guys, that was so. hard.  But I am truly, honestly incredibly glad that I (pretty much) stuck to it.

So Daniel made all the arrangements for our trip.  I had no clue what was going on beyond the dates and flights.  Hint I tried to ignore #1.

A few days before we left, we got pedicures (yes both of us... I got him to get one with me ages ago and now he will go get his feet scrubbed for special occasions. Woot!), and when we got there he encouraged me to get my finger nails done also.  I sent a quick text message to my BFF asking if it was a sign, and that text resulted in Daniel asking if I had been telling people he was proposing in Hawai'i - oops.  Hint I totally didn't ignore #2.

My mom mentioned my dad gave Daniel a hard time, on the same day as said text, asking if he was going to propose in Hawai'i.  Not a conversation I was present for, hmmmmmmm.  Hint I tried to ignore #3.

I'm heading out from our office to pack for our trip, and after spending weeks talking with my mom on and off about proposal possibilities, I mentioned casually to her that they would know before me anyways, because I knew he would ask for their blessing.  Total silence from my mom.  Hint I tried to ignore #4.

So I headed home that night trying really hard not to focus on all the little signs.  The ladies in my family are infamous for figuring out surprises from just a couple of small hints (my dad has learned to not tell us anything), but every time a thought of a proposal came into my head, I ignored the heck out of it.

That night we both stayed up late packing and preparing for our trip, but I was done without pulling an all nighter.  Daniel was not so lucky, so I headed off to bed.  When I woke up his suitcases were zipped up and ready to go, so off we headed to the airport!

Grabbing breakfast at the airport! / Collage made here / Personal Photo

Any other curious ladies out there? I can't help but try to guess surprises most of the time!

Before the Proposal Came the Ring (Part 2)

At this point we had been together almost 4 years, and despite talking a lot about marriage and rings, no actual shopping had been done.  I honestly assumed Daniel would want to shop for it on his own, and I told him that I 100% trusted his sense of my jewelry style since I loved everything he has bought me in the past.  Despite my reassurance, he decided he would really rather I went with him (because let's be honest, he knows I love this stuff and can be super picky).

So one Saturday, we picked a random jewelry store in our area and went for it!

On our way to go ring shopping! A selfie was obviously needed, because I was SO. EXCITED. / Personal Photo

Guys, I love to shop.  Shopping is not difficult for me, I can literally window shop for hours.  But this? This was frickin hard.  Especially when all we knew was what we didn't want.  Our salesperson was very patient with us, especially since we were being super awkward and silly about the whole thing (I felt like a teenager or something).

I think the hardest thing was that we were not interested in the ring styles that make up 85% of jewelry stores.  Also, the more rings I looked at the more sure I was that I wasn't crazy about any of them.  I realized I wanted something delicate, something sort of unique with interesting details, but still very classic.  I was open to yellow gold, but there was almost nothing in yellow gold to look at so we gave up on that pretty quickly.  I also decided I wanted either a round stone or an emerald cut.

The other issue that we found at every jewelry store we visited was that the second I told the salespeople I wasn't interested in a halo style ring and I wanted something simple, they automatically went for solitaires.  Now I LOVE solitaires, but I am planning on getting a plain wedding band and when I put a plain band next to the plain band of the solitaire, I just felt like it turned these beautiful, delicate rings to something that was just too thick on my finger.  The other issue I have with solitaires is the center stone is often set up fairly high.  I am super clumsy, so the thought of constantly worrying about hitting my ring on things was not appealing.

Our trip was not a bust though, after about an hour of looking through all the cases and trying things on I had found three drastically different styles that I was liking.

Please excuse the iPhone quality / Personal Photo

The first ring I liked had a round center stone and channel set diamonds along the sides.

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I liked the simplicity, and the channel set stones made it a little more interesting, but I couldn't help but feel like it's basically the same ring 80% of my friends currently have.  And I'm difficult, so I didn't like that.  I also worried about stuff getting down in between the side stones.

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This next one was the most unique ring we saw.  It has a round center stone and it is hard to tell in this photo but the sides had designs etched into it.  I loved the idea of it, but the actual design was not quite doing it for me.  

Personal Photo

Finally, there was this beautiful emerald cut ring with baguettes on the sides.  I love the vintage feel of this ring, and it was just barely edging the others out as my favorite.  I have long admired Mrs. Treasure's ring (from WeddingBee), so I was totally into this style.  It still just didn't quite feel like the right ring for me.  

We left with some ideas, but nothing solid.  I don't know if anyone else is like this, but when I got shopping I see something or try something on and I have these moments of just knowing is it perfect.  I was worrying a little that I was looking for that same feeling with ring shopping, and maybe it just wasn't going to happen. 

After that slightly disappointing trip, we waited several weeks before we went shopping again.  I had been itching to check out a local jewelry store, Gleim the Jewelers.  I see the owner, Georgie Gleim, at weekly meetings and knew they had an amazing estate collection.  I figured an estate piece gave me a good shot of finding something classic but a little unique.  So one evening we made the trek there and spent a couple of hours checking out their selection. And let me tell you, it. was. awesome.  

The salesperson was wonderful - so helpful and so knowledgeable.  She honed in on my style incredibly fast and brought us to a section of rings that gave me that moment! They were EXACTLY what I wanted, and I just knew it was the perfect style for me.  What was that?  Well we got distracted by the shiny objects and didn't take photos, but there were about 4 different rings all with the same basic settings:

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I just loved the look of the round center stone with baguette side stones.  I actually asked at the first store if they had anything in this style that I could see, but he didn't and tried to convince me it wouldn't look very nice.  

I was totally taken.  I couldn't believe that we had actually found something I loved so much!  The only downside?  Those suckers were expensive.  I did not know exactly how much Daniel was planning on spending, but I had a good idea that they were above what his price point was.  We left with me lusting after those rings hardcore, but trying really hard not to get my hopes up.

I was sure that was it, but Daniel insisted on looking more (I think to be sure I wasn't going to change my mind).  We spent one afternoon going store to store at our local mall, and all that did was convince me that the round stone with baguette side stones was the perfect style. 

So at this point, the process was out of my hands, and I just had to patiently wait. 

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Which I am terrible at.  In fact, I think Daniel thoroughly enjoyed messing with me while I tried reallyreallyreally hard to not go crazy.

Do all guys enjoy this?  Anyone else have trouble finding a ring they liked at normal jewelry stores?

Before the Proposal Came the Ring (Part 1)

So Daniel and I knew we wanted to get married for a long time.  He actually took me on vacation to Hawai'i (it's kind of our place, if you haven't picked up on that) as a graduation gift after we had been dating about 9 months, just weeks before we moved in together.

And let me tell you, our coworkers were sure he was going to propose.  I mean, I was shocked how much I heard about it when we hadn't even been together a year!  Later he admitted that he did actually briefly consider it, but knew we weren't ready to take that step.  Thank goodness for my clear headed honey, because he was totally right.  We burned to a crisp our first day on the beach and still had an amazing trip.  It was also nice to confirm we could spend two weeks together non-stop and still like each other.

On top of Diamond Head c. 2010 / Personal Photo

Anyways, fast forward a couple of years, and we had definitely had the marriage talk.  With the marriage talk came the ring talk.

I am lucky enough to have a dad who was an amateur jeweler in his youth and a close family friend, Uncle D, who is our go-to-guy for any jewelry related purchases.  I had tried to gently tell my previous boyfriends that they really should consult with my family before buying me jewelry, because not only did I already own some really nice pieces, but I'm actually pretty picky (none of those other boys listened, btw).

Now I have a secret to share ..... Daniel is totally picky too.  He probably would deny it if I read this to him before I pressed publish (sorry honey), but he totally is.  So let's start with what he wanted in a ring:

Daniel's Ring Guidelines:

1. No three-stone rings 

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2. No Halos

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3. Approximately a 1 carat center stone (his guidelines, not mine)

Ok, so this was actually way bigger than one carat / Personal Photo

Fairly straightforward.  Luckily, I shared some of his preferences.

Melanie's Ring Guidelines:

1. No Halos (just not my style)

2. Something simple and classic

3. Good quality diamond and workmanship

4. ummmm........ pretty?

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That's right, beyond an incredibly general preference for simplicity and quality, I had no idea what I wanted.  

Next, we go shopping!

Please tell me I'm not the only one with no clue?

Who the heck are these people, anyways??

So before I get started on wedding planning, I should maybe introduce myself (since you only marginally know who I am), so you know what they say.....

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Consider this our moment, four drinks in, when we really get to know each other, k? K. So who are we? I'll start with the simple story of how we became us.

I got a job at a restaurant the summer before my senior year of college.

I met a boy there.

We had an instant, undeniable connection.

Five months later, I was gone taking a month-long class in Hawai'i, and over Skype we decided to make it official (obviously needed that to be done on Facebook).

Gotta make it FB Official, duh / Source

And really, the rest is history!  We moved in together after dating for 9 months, and 4 years and 2 months after making it FB official my honey proposed on our third trip together to Hawai'i - but that is a story for another post.  I guess that doesn't exactly answer the 'Who are we' question though. 

Hi!

I'm Melanie, a clumsy, goofy California girl at heart working with my mom in our own small business (I have no easy job title, sorry Internet. It's that small biz life, yo).  I'm also a high school cheer coach, fashion and make-up lover, and a not-so-secret mega nerd.

This selfie is as recent as it gets, cuz it is definitely right now / personal photo

Daniel is an amazing salesperson working his way up the ranks in the hospitality industry.  Equally goofy, but not nearly as clumsy as me (he may or may not constantly move my phone away from water sources around our house).  He is a huge sports fan, a major TV show lover, and a connecter of people.  

From our last trip to Hawai'i / personal photo

We both love to entertain, try interesting alcoholic beverages, and we LOVE Bay Area sports (Go Giants! And Niners! And Sharks!) 

Me, Daniel, and his three older brothers at a Giants game last season / personal photo

We also both ridiculously love our ball of fuzz, Beezy (aka kitty, monster, baby kitty).

She is so darn cute / personal photo

So that is that.  We are planning what I am lovingly referring to as a 'Mullet Wedding'... business in the front (Catholic ceremony), party in the back (rockin' golf club reception) right here in the Bay Area!

Any other restaurant folk out there (hollaaaaa)?  

Shovel Babe getting married?

Yup, you read that right! Shovel Babe is GETTING MARRIED! After 4 wonderful years with my honey, I'm super pumped to call him my husband (to be)!

So that means another blog revival, wedding style. I hope some of you will join me for my wedding planning adventure!

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