Engagement ring: Did you choose yours or was it a surprise to you when he proposed?

Question

Was it what you wanted or better than what you wanted? Was the size correct?

If you had a choice, would you rather be surprised or choose the ring?

Oh and how were his and your wedding bands chosen after that?

Answer 1

It was a complete surprise...we had only been dating for 2 months. He did a wonderful job -- I couldn't have picked out a more beautiful ring myself. I had even asked him if we could take it back to get a smaller one because he actually spent 3 months salary on it. (He wouldn't let me.) I love that it was a total surprise and I wouldn't change it for the world.
As for our bands...we are going on a cruise in November (before our February wedding) and plan to find them in the Caribbean...to make them extra special.

Answer 2

We had looked once at one jewellery store, and I suppose he was paying attention to which I were looking at, because he got the style right on. I like classic yellow gold, with a solitaire and shulder stones. That's what he got for me, and sweetly apologized that the stones were so small - well, they weren't - the ring was perfect because HE chose it. The ring also has a different sort of finish to the band, it's kind of flat and shiny in a different way.. so that also makes it unique. He didn't have the ring when he proposed, because I don't think he planned the proposal - it just came out, and I got the ring sometime later.
I didn't have to get the ring sized - I luckily fit the standard size 7.
I didn't want to choose the ring at all, and I'm glad he did.
For the wedding band, I went with the band which matches the engagement ring, it has three of the smaller stones on it. But I didn't go for the third, to wear above the engagement ring, because it made the diamonds just look square, and I didn't like that look.
For him, I chose a simple elegant and classic yellow gold band. (He lost it after a few years. I replaced it. He lost that. The man's ring finger is now bare....)

Answer 3

Before he proposed, we looked at rings once and I told him I love sapphires. So when he proposed, I was completely surprised with the ring he gave me. I wouldn't have chosen a better ring. He actually spent 2 weeks looking for it! It was a size 6 and I wear a 3.75 so it needed to be sized.

I'm glad he surprised me because I wouldn't have had it any other way.

My ring is a 1 carat sapphire, antique setting, and on each side of the ring, a round diamond, followed by baguette diamonds, then 4 smaller round diamonds, surrounded by milgrain etching. There are also two small diamonds on the other sides of the ring, you know the sides facing the top of my finger...I wish I had a picture!

As far as wedding bands, we just started looking. It's easier for him, but because my engagement ring is so ornate and I don't want my wedding band to compete with it by having it covered in diamonds, I'm having a hard time finding something that complements it. But I have until November, so there's still time!

Answer 4

When I got engaged I didnt get a ring. You know that the engagement ring was a gimick made up by jewelers in the USA after a war (I forget which one) to get soldiers to spend their money.

My husband and I picked out our wedding set together and I got my engagement ring then. We bought a wedding trio so I was able to wear my engagement ring for a couple of months before the wedding.

I would have loved to have been surprised with a wedding ring and an amazing engagement, but just because it wasnt a fairytale engagement doesnt mean it wasnt beautiful. This kind of thing only happens once in a lifetime and it will remain a special day in my life forever.

Answer 5

I am currently engaged and am planning a wedding for 2008. however I have been engaged once before ...

the first ring was a total surprise. the ring was a beautiful marquise cut solitare 1 carat set in platinum thin band ... the size was big and in fact i never got it sized. The ring was returned upon our break up. we were too young! but it was a lovely ring.

My current fiance and husband to be included me in the process of the ring shopping...we'd been living together nearly a year and he proposed in April of this year . !

I knew it was coming because we'd gone ring shopping once so he'd know what I liked ...and which ring was my favorite. had he gone by himself he'd have probably picked something ridiculously expensive.but it was still a surprise when he proposed

My engagement ring is .80 carat pear cut set in 14k white gold with 12 smaller diamonds (12 is my favorite # ) around the center diamond (for a total of 13 his #) . the band also has 10 small diamonds - total of 23 (our anniv. is the 23rd of march)

the band has ten small diamonds and is simple white gold :)

the ring is absolutely exactly what i wanted and people always compliment it.

Answer 6

My husband picked out the ring himself, so the actual ring was a surprise. But he did ask me what size I wore, and bothered me about what type of ring I liked until I created an Amazon wish list of rings that I liked the way they looked. So it ended up being the right size and a style that I liked, but it was still a surprise.
As to the wedding bands, about a month before the wedding, we went and picked out bands together.

Answer 7

Total surprise, and I would never ever want it to be different. It was the perfect ring. He noticed I don't wear much yellow gold, so he chose white golde, and he knew that since I'm a painter I use my hands a great deal, so aside from the solitaire (which was round and gorgeously cut), the rest of the stones are inset, which "puts them out of the way", and it's a narrow, feminine band.
The size was wrong, but it wasn't his fault: back when he last bought me a ring (a promise ring, a year ago), 6 and a half was my correct size. Apparently I had lost some weight since then, because my ring size is now a 6. So I had it resized.
It's everything I wanted it to be.

Answer 8

We went together to pick out my engagement ring after he proposed. He knew that I know a lot about jewelry and wanted to make sure that I got a ring I would love almost as much as I do him. We ended up ordering a set for me (matching engagement and wedding band). He went back later alone to pick out the diamond itself.

I love being surprised by things, but for an engagement ring, something that means so much and I'll be wearing for the rest of my life, I'd prefer to have a say in it.

Answer 9

Well after almost 4 years it wasn't a big deal for him to suggest we go look at rings together. I knew he would be proposing in the near future and didn't mind it being "less of a surprise" when I got the ring.

We went together one evening he had them size my finger so we wouldn't have to have it reset or re sized after he gave it to me, so I could just start wearing it. We looked at different styles and sizes and together we picked out a few setting we both liked.
He then went back on his own a couple of months later and picked out the setting he liked best and selected the cut and carat of stone.

It didn't take any of the surprise out of it for me. I was shocked when he proposed and presented me with the ring he had selected. He did a great job and I love it (though I would have loved it no matter what he had picked out).

It worked for us, but all couples are different. I know some people prefer the man to pick it out all by himself and some prefer to have him get a specific ring. All I know, is that he was much more comfortable knowing it was something I really liked.

Answer 10

I chose my engagement ring. I'm glad we did it that way, because my guy would have chosen something a bit more standard and a lot more expensive...and I really wouldn't have liked it nearly as much. I have somewhat non-standard tastes.

Actually, there was no choosing of wedding rings, either. When my dear mother died, I inherited her wedding ring. I decided it would be mine, too, so really I was more concerned with finding an engagement ring that looked right with my wedding ring than the other way around.

As for my beloved, well, I wear the rings in this house. He works with electricity a good deal and hates bothering with jewelry, so he doesn't have a wedding ring. Neither one of us saw any point in wasting money on something he wasn't going to wear. So we didn't.

Is it the way others should do it? That's up to them. It's worked nicely for us, though.

Answer 11

I didn't choose the specific ring, no, but we'd gone shopping in general, way b/f he proposed, so he'd know what I liked. I was glad....to be totally surprised. Mine's a brilliant round, w/ accents on each side that are actually on the wedding ring. It's a set. He nailed the size, perfectly.
I took him w/ me to make sure he liked his wedding band, though. No surprise there...he kinda knew we were getting married! lol!