Cosmopolitan Bride Magazine Australia - Summer 2014-2015

Worldmags.net
Dylan took Ruth on a
picnic and popped the
question with a ring that
was a family heirloom.
Andrew designed
the ring for Michelle,
combining elements
she loved.
CHOOSING
THE RING
BY ANDREW POPE
COMPILED BY DILVIN YASA. GETTY IMAGES
“It was while trying on rings in a jewellery
store in Michelle’s hometown of Oregon,
US, that I knew I wanted to marry her.
We’d met a year prior on the dating site,
eharmony (eharmony.com.au), and when
things started getting serious, she took
me back home to meet her family.
Michelle was pretty specific about what
she wanted from the ring – she even sent
me photos of designs she liked! We looked
at rings in both Australia and the US, but
nothing matched what she wanted. I really
liked the idea of giving her something
from where she grew up – it just seemed
a lot more intimate, I suppose – so I got
in touch with a jeweller in Oregon to make
the ring for us.
I drew a picture combining all the
elements Michelle had wanted, and I
asked her what she liked and didn’t like
about it. She didn’t know it was the ring
(she thought I was just doing homework)
but I did change some design elements
after I showed her to maintain a small
element of surprise.
When I first got the ring, I was a bit
concerned; although I was relieved the
design was spot-on, I was worried the
centre stone would be too small. I had
decided to propose in Western Australia,
and organised for all of her close friends
to be there. Michelle thought it was a
regular weekend outing at a beach house,
but then we walked out to the lookout
and in front of her loved ones, I pulled
out the ring. She screamed, ‘Yes!’ We
married in November 2013. The ring?
Michelle assures me it’s perfect.”
I gave her a handwritten
novella based
on our family and
friends. I read the
story and she cried
THE PROPOSAL
“Ruth and I went through a period where
all of our friends started getting engaged.
One day, she rang me in tears yelling,
‘We’re never going to get married!’ But
little did she know the proposal had been
planned for the following weekend.
I’d arranged to take Ruth to Mudgee,
New South Wales, but as I was loading
the car for the trip, I realised I misplaced
the engagement ring, which is a family
heirloom my mother had passed down to
me! I had to tell my flatmates (who had
no idea I was planning to propose) and
they moved hell and high water to help
me find it (it was sitting in my room). To
make sure Ruth didn’t find it, I wrapped
the ring in tissue paper, popped it into a
plastic container and then a bag, and hid
it under the driver’s seat.
After a couple of days of hanging out
and feasting on meals I’d been practising
making at home the week before, I took
Ruth on a romantic picnic. As we were
BY DYLAN JONES
eating lunch, I gave her a gift I’d been
working on for some time – a hand-written
novella in a leather-bound journal that I’d
written for her based on our family and
friends. I read the story to her as we sat
under the sun and she cried. ‘It will make
such a beautiful family heirloom,’ she said,
and although I had planned to propose
over dinner, at that moment, everything
went out the window. This moment just
felt right. With my heart in my throat, I
grabbed the ring from the car and then
dropped to my knees in front of her. I told
Ruth I loved her and that I wanted to spend
the rest of my life with her and asked if she
would be my wife. It was a ‘Yes!’
We’ve now been married for two-anda-half
years and have a daughter, Eden.
For her first birthday, I turned the novella
I wrote for Ruth into a children’s story
and got it professionally illustrated. I may
not be as romantic as regularly as I once
was, but I still have my moments.” #
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