Wedding Wednesday: I picked out my own engagement ring

After some thought I decided that I wanted to start posting Wedding Wednesdays on the blog. I know a lot of people do it, but I don't care. I'm doing it, too!!
This week I'm talking about engagement rings.

I picked out my own engagement ring...

There was a time a little while back when one of our friend's got engaged & we saw her ring. Luke said, "oh that looks nice, he did a good job picking that out for her". I sat there quietly & didn't say anything. A little panic might have settled inside me. I made a mental note though... & that mental note was that if Luke liked that engagement ring, Luke wouldn't be picking out mine! Does that sound a little harsh? I certainly don't mean for it to - it's just the truth. And it's the start about how we both set about to find the perfect engagement ring.

When we started talking a little more seriously about our future, we went looking for engagement rings, together. I thought I was certain in what I wanted & I went into the ring search knowing that I wanted a square diamond with a halo. When I tried a few of those styles on it just didn't feel like "me".  I was kind of surprised. After a few shops, trying on lots of styles, I fell in love with an emerald cut ring. A cut I never thought I would ever want. But it turned out to be THE ONE ring that I kept coming back to, the one ring that I couldn't get out of my head. It's the ring that Luke ended up buying.

Now, when I tell people that I picked out my ring I get one of two responses...

I get the... "omg I did too!"
or I get the... " ohhhh really? why'd you do that?"

People have asked me if it's any less special, or does it not mean as much that you already knew. The answer is NO! It was such a great experience going all around town with Luke, trying on rings. We spent two different days searching & those were two very special days to me. I remember feeling very excited & giddy. I remember thinking that we were taking the next step in our relationship & that I couldn't be more excited!

When I knew that Luke had the ring, I began to wonder when exactly he was going to propose. I knew he had the ring, but was I going to be able to figure out when he was going to ask me? He definitely kept me in suspense & ended up completely surprising me when he *finally* did propose. It was the best surprise; it couldn't have been more perfect. It was us.

Truth be told, Luke felt a lot better about both of us picking out which ring I wanted, because he didn't want to mess it up. He wanted me to have the ring I wanted. I am the one that is going to wear it forever, after all.

Now every time I look at my ring, I think of how we picked it out together & it actually means more to me than him guessing on something I might like.

I want to know... 

Did you pick out yours - or was it a surprise?

What are your thoughts?

(all photos via Martha Stewart)


I'm also linking up with Ashley, so you can check out other Wedding Wednesday posts!