Our engagement story turned out to be a large production involving more people than I had originally anticipated. Early on, while we were still dating, my wife would speak longingly about wanting to visit Paris. It was during one of our dates that I decided if I were to eventually propose to her, it would be there, at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. After 5 years of dating, and not once being pressured to move forward in our relationship, I decided I was ready to ask her to be my wife. I remember vividly, how overwhelmed I felt when I actually sat down and started to make preparations on how I was going to pull the whole thing off. I didn’t just want to propose, I wanted to do it in a way that would surprise her and give us a story we could tell our friends and family. Having heard her chatting with her girlfriends, I had an inkling that the way I asked was just as important as my asking at all. That wistful smile she gets as she stares off into space while listening to her girlfriends sharing their stories of how they got engaged, the oohs and ahhs of approval from the other girls, I wanted to give her a story just as … engaging.

I knew I wanted to do it in Paris, I knew I wanted it to be a surprise; I knew I had to ask her parents for their blessing and I knew I had to get a ring. How to do all that without tipping her off was another story. The two things I dreaded the most, asking her parents and choosing a ring, actually turned out to be the two easiest things. I used a 4th of July trip up to the Oregon Coast as an excuse to get us up there. I recruited a couple of friends to come with us to distract her and give me some alone time with her parents. I was a nervous wreck, the words spilled out of me on their own accord. Her parents were overjoyed and I managed convinced them to keep the secret until everything was done. To their credit, they kept their end of the bargain and till this day my wife cannot believe that they knew before her and did not show any inkling of it.

Now that I asked her parents, there was no turning back. My next step was to purchase a diamond engagement ring that she would be proud to wear. With so many different cuts available and so many different settings not to mention so many different venues from which to buy, I was lost. Since I wanted it to be a surprise, I couldn’t even ask my wife her preferences. After visiting a couple of retail boutiques, I felt rather deflated. I just got the feeling that they were pushing me to certain rings. I wanted it to be my choice, not theirs. That’s when I turned to the internet to do my homework before I try a second go at it. The wealth of information available was amazing, I even found out you can buy diamonds online. Armed with this information I contacted Abazias, an online diamond retailer. Determined not to be told what was pretty, I was ready to show them I knew my stuff. Happily that wasn’t necessary. The sales rep that assisted me was a dream to work with. She made suggestions without trying to lead me; she asked questions without trying to pry. She gave me confidence in buying a diamond online. With the aid of a woman’s perspective, I chose a 1.5 carat brilliant cut and later paired it with a six prong tiffany setting. The ring was perfect, the definition of classic femininity.

With her parents and the ring taken care of, I was free to plan on how I was going to get my wife to Paris without her knowing. I called the airport and apparently, you are not allowed to lead a blindfolded, ear plugged person onto a plane no matter how benign the reason. They actually thought I was placing a crank call when I asked them. After I explained myself, they told me it was very sweet but sadly could not be done. Well, on to plan B. I timed the date of my proposal to fall on our anniversary, so although I wouldn’t be able to surprise her with the trip, I would be able to surprise her with the reason. I could simply ask her to go to Paris with me for our anniversary and pop the question there. She may suspect a proposal, but I and everyone close to her, were very careful not to do anything that may lead her to that idea. Everything was going according to plan. I was actually going to pull it off. That was when I heard from the US State Department. I wasn’t going to be able to get my passport in time. All my plans came crashing down. It didn’t matter how well laid out the plans were, if we couldn’t go on our anniversary, I wouldn’t have an excuse to take her and I couldn’t wait another year. Too many people already knew.

It was only 2 weeks before the date and I was scrambling. I knew I would be hard pressed to find an alternative that would match the wow factor of whisking her away to Paris, something sentimental would make up for it. Our first date was at the Dinning Room Restaurant of the Ritz Carlton Dana Point. We had both been there on several occasions and knew they were excellent with honoring special requests. I still remember the priceless look on her face when the Dinning Room hostess greeted me by name when we walked in on our first date. That was the level of detail that would make what I had in mind work. After 2 hours on the phone with them and an in person visit create the correct setting, I knew it would work.

It was time to put my new plan into action. Her coworkers were recruited to fill her day with fake meetings and lunches so I could pull her out of work at a moment’s notice. They were also to insure that she answered her phone when I called. I secretly packed a suitcase for her and stowed it in the truck the night before.

When I picked her up in the middle of the day, she didn’t have a clue what was going on. We arrived at the hotel where the staff was expecting us; they pulled the car away and brought our luggage up to our room all out of her sight. More staff escorted us in and showed us to one corner of the property that I had reserved. There sitting on a bluff overlooking the ocean in Dana Point, was a large white stone gazebo and in the middle, an elegant white table with two matching chairs. One chair had a little satin pillow at its legs. Rose petals scattered on the ground, flowers and tea lights everywhere. I sat her down, kneeled on the pillow, pulled the ring out of my pocket and clumsily stumbled across a proposal that I had so eloquently prepared ahead of time. I wasn’t able to say a single thing that I meant to but she got the gist and managed a “yes” out through her crying.

The staff came back and served us dinner while we enjoyed the sunset over the ocean. I came clean and told her the real reason we had gone to Oregon, told her of all our friends and family that was involved in making the proposal possible. She was laughing and crying the whole time. With just the two of us there in the gazebo watching the sun… we could not have asked for a more romantic setting. After dinner, our server asked if we would like a tour of the grounds, we walked around a little and ended up in front of a room that he opened to let us peek inside. Again, rose petals were scattered all over the carpet. Even more were laid out carefully in an intricate heart design on the bed. Chocolate covered strawberries and champagne were also waiting. She squealed in delight when she saw our luggage in the room.

In hindsight, I think becoming engaged at the Ritz was more fitting that going to Paris to do it. Our first date as boyfriend and girlfriend was their and so was our last. And although we didn’t go to France for our engagement, we went to French Polynesia for our honeymoon. Who knows, it just gives me a possibility to plan something special for our one year anniversary.

My boyfriend and I just got engaged a few days ago! We have been dating for almost 4 years. His birthday falls on Valentine's Day and he asked that this year, we only celebrate his birthday on VDay and that we celebrate VDay over the upcoming weekend. On VDay, I got a little card, but no flowers or candy (as he has done every year). (I have to admit, I was a bit upset that I didn't get anything!) Little did I know that he would give me my present that coming weekend. We went away for the weekend and after dinner on Sunday night, he pulled the car into the driveway and stopped the car and said 'Maybe this is a good time for your VDay present'. I was so excited and surprised that he had a gift for me! He said, 'Will you be my Valentine?', then pulled out the ring and said, 'Will you be my Valentine forever?' It was wonderful!

Jeff and I booked a trip to london and paris back around april because we wanted to be there towards the end of tourist season. About a month before our trip we figured out that we would be in Paris for out 3 year anniversary. I wanted to do something special while we were there and I was thinking about how great it would be to have a french dinner in a french restaurant being served by a french waiter. How romantic would that be!!! So we had a week in London and a few days in Paris. The day of our anniversary, we went to the Eiffel Tower. As we sat on the large park/lawn we played cards, ate baguettes and cheese, talked, and enjoyed each other's company. After a while there, we decided to go back to the hotel and cleanup and go out for dinner and I wanted to return to the Eiffel Tower that night to see it all lit up. (The tower sparkles for 15 minutes every hour)!
So we hopped on the train that night and went back to Le Tour Eiffel (french pronunciation). We went back to the lawn we were on earlier that day and snapped more pictures to add to our photo montage', got laughed at by a bunch of locals who were sitting around. Evidently, college aged kids sit around and drink wine while jamming out on guitars and drums. Basically a bunch of drunk french musicians everywhere. Well, after getting laughed at Jeff came up with the idea to move to the back of the field thinking it would be quieter, so we did, and it was. Here we sat and talked and joke about life and everyone in it. We were just enjoying ourselves and have pictures to prove it. Two hours passed until we decided it was time to go home. We packed our stuff up and as we stood up to leave Jeff was behind me and asked "Hey, did you get me anything for our anniversary?" My answer was "no" thinking that a trip to Paris was enough. He responded "Well, I got you something" as he reached for something in his pocked and pulled out a little pouch. I was oblivious to was it was and look at him thinking 'what is it?' Then came the question that every little girl wants to hear and could only dream about hearing under the Eiffel Tower. With Jeff, then down on one knee he says, "Will you marry me?" Without thinking, he stood back up and then back down on one knee again exclaiming "well...yes or no, YES or NO????"
"YES," I sputtered out..."YES!" and he stood back up and placed the ring on my finger. It fit and was absolutely breath taking. I really am the luckiest girl in the world!! This was better than the french dinner that I was thinking of!

Etta and I met shortly after she had come over to live in the UK from Germany. She was working as a scrub nurse about 100 miles away. We'd met through an internet dating site and both had nearly called it off due to the distance but as we liked the look of each other and both were keen divers we thought we'd meet up just in case. Three months later we went on a diving trip together, diving with sharks, rays and all sorts of other sealife and soaking up the sun. It was idyllic.

We couldn't wait for the next trip and arranged to go to Australia 6 months later. In the meantime she organised a transfer to work locally such that when we returned from a wonderful trip to Australia, diving with, amongst other things, whale sharks, she moved in with me last May.

The relationship has contined to develop and though she kept dropping hints, I never let on that I might propose.

Having looked in the window of a jewellers in the street with all the designer stores in Manchester just whilst passing one day, I'd noted that we both liked emerald cut diamonds. The rings were gorgeous but the priced prohibitive and she was commenting that she would really love one of the smallest ones there. I'd given no indication that I was going to propose though just commenting maybe one day.

Subsequently I started looking what was available and undertook extensive research on the internet about how to choose a diamond, looking at the four C's. I soon discovered a UK sight through which the prices were perhaps 40% lower than in the high street shops. I then realised the importance of cut which complicated matters so I learned what I could and resumed my search. I noticed a diamond listed on the UK site then came across Abazias and realised the same diamond was listed for over $1000 less!

I subsequently bought a better diamond within my budget. A 1 carat emerald cut of very high quality and having visited the high street stores realised it was better that any in the window we'd looked in. I must say Abazias were fantastic in their service and the ring arrived at short notice. I'm having it valued for insurance but indications suggest it would have cost about tow and a half times as much in the high street!

Anyway, I arranged a surprise trip to Paris saying it was for my birthday and Valentines day as they're close together. She didn't know where we were going until getting on the plane.

I'd booked a table at the Eiffel Tower restaurant for the following day where I'd planned to propose but that evening we were eating in the hotel restaurant which was very intimiate with superb food and service and she looked stunning so I couldn't wait.

I excused myself to go to the gents and quickly went to our room, retrieved the ring and phoned her dad in Germany to ask his permission (though I'm not sure he understood a word of it as my German's not good). I felt so nervous but the time seemed right. I knelt down and asked her - her smile said it all. I've never seen a face light up like that and she had tears in her eyes.

I gave her the ring and having guessed the size presuming it would have to be adjusted was amazed to find it fitted perfectly! It must be a sign!

She was stunned and couldn't believe the size and sparkle of the stone. I won't say what happened after that other than that we celebrated the next day at the restaurant on the Eiffel Tower overlooking Paris and enjoyed a fantastic weekend.

On our return we've had a party and as well as all the congratulations, the number of compliments about the ring (and jealous looks) has been amazing.

Though I'm sure she would have accepted if I'd given her a ring made out of tin foil, it's thanks to you that I was able to afford a ring that really demonstrated how special I think she is . I can't thank you enough and keep telling people my story so you may well get some more UK customers as a result. People are generally wary of buying from abroad but if recommended by someone they trust they tend to reconsider.

Thanks

Dan & Etta

Jon and I had planned our vacation. It wasn't our usual rough roads, climbing mountains, sleeping on the ground kind of trip either...this one was a REAL vacation. Everything we read about Sri Lanka sounded divine: beaches, diving, great food, friendly locals. We had absolutely no agenda, and no plans that could get messed up. Just being together somewhere warm, on a beach, sounded heavenly. Massages and fruity drinks and 600 thread count sheets awaited us.

Of course, it never works out like that.

The tsunami hit one week before we were supposed to fly out. The obvious choice would have been to re-schedule to a new destination or to cancel completely, but instead we did some quick research and were able to tag along on a Red Cross relief mission. No fruity drinks on warm beaches, no spa treatments, or quick dips into the warm ocean. Instead, I was working on cleaning up the remains of one village's school, and Jon was compiling a database of missing persons as well as those that were confirmed dead. Our nights were spent in tents, sleeping on the ground, and our days were spent apart, working on our separate projects.

Each day ended with us collapsing on to the ground, with dirty faces and hair and clothes. Still, we were grateful to be alive and have each other. After fourteen days, we both had to head back to work. We made our way to the airport, and outside, a little girl with eyes the color of dark roast coffee sold Jon a gold ring for 45 cents. It wasn't much more than a wire, twisted into a loop. In the middle of the crowd, he got down on one knee and proposed. He said he had planned on asking me to be his wife on a beach, while watching a sunset, when we both smelled like coconut oil and salty ocean, but he was even more sure now that we'd exhausted ourselves and given up our vacation time to help out others.

We planned the honeymoon in the Maldives, and it went off without a hitch, no tsunami in sight.