As you know, we are both recently engaged and have loved being able to share our engagement stories and excitement with you!
Tara + Taylor
We went for our usual weekend walk along the lake, up and down the docks, then looped through the lakeside neighbourhood back to the waterfront. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day. I had decided to bring a rock with me that one of my hospice patients had painted for me. I planned to leave it in the water with an abundance of other beautifully painted rocks already at the shoreline and water. We walked to the end of a dock and we decided this was the perfect place to leave it. I dropped it in the water and watched it sink to the ground. It was peaceful.
I turned around to find Taylor on one knee holding the most beautiful ring I had ever laid my eyes on. He asked me to marry him and of course I said YES ! The moment was so surreal - I finally noticed two people on the other end of the dock filming and taking photos of us. Taylor prearranged an engagement photoshoot with a family friend. He was SO sneaky. I could not have asked for a more perfect engagement. He totally surprised me. We celebrated together at lunch and later that evening with our parents. It was so perfect.
My Dream Ring
Taylor took me to Luxury Diamonds after researching custom jewellers in the Vancouver area. We are so happy we visited Roman and his wife Alla. At our first visit, we walked into their showroom to find a very welcoming and calm atmosphere...so different from walking into a jewellery store in the mall. We had done this previously and left feeling frustrated and uninterested in revisiting. We found some sales people to be over bearing, and some did not listen to what we were looking for but rather showed us rings that the felt "suited" us.
We started off our appointment talking back and forth getting to know each other. It was genuine. He wanted to learn about us and what our vision was for a ring. He educated us on diamond specs, what they meant, and which were important when finding the perfect diamond. We also discussed options for ring settings including band widths, gold options, and prong options. Him and Alla had so many tips to help us design my dream engagement ring. It was great having a female there to give her input! They also had a HUGE variety of diamond sizes and styles...these diamonds are the most beautiful diamonds I have ever held and seen!
Taylor met with Roman again a few weeks later to finalize the ring details. Roman discussed every detail of the ring to ensure it was perfect. Taylor loved working with Roman to create my ring. When I asked Taylor how he felt about the whole ring shopping process with Luxury Diamonds, he described it as "Relaxing, low-stress, and enjoyable." - I think this is SO important for people to hear because I feel like the commonly experienced "pushy, overbearing" process of ring shopping at jewellery stores is a huge deterrent and stressor for people.
Roman and Alla helped Taylor and I make my dream ring become a reality. Pictures don't do their diamonds justice - they are even more beautiful in person. The detail they put in to my ring is amazing - the simplicity of the thin 14 karat gold band paired with the stunning radiant diamond encompassed in a hidden halo made for the most beautiful ring I could ever imagine for myself.
We went to Luxury Diamonds this past weekend to design our wedding bands. I had three band styles in mind for myself - Roman happened to have bands that closely resembled my vision. I tried these on which helped me visualize how they would look with my engagement ring. Taylor tried a variety of bands with different widths, textures and colours. We wanted our rings to match so he chose a 14 karat yellow gold band. We are so excited to wear our bands this summer and for me to officially become Mrs. Stewart!
Sydney + Justin
It was a beautiful Saturday, the sun was shining so Justin and I decided to go sturgeon fishing on the Fraser river! Taking the boat out fishing was a usual weekend date activity for us, so I did not think anything was out of the ordinary. Besides having a late start, our day was pretty normal! After catching a sturgeon, we moved to one of our favourite spots (where I caught my first sturgeon!) and decided to throw out a few more lines to see what else we could get prior to the sun setting. I totally though we were getting crazy bites on one of the rods as it bounced up and down. I kept asking Justin to check the bait, however, he did not act on it which was very unusual for him. Instead, he thought we should wait. About fifteen minutes or so passed, and the we were running out of sunlight. Justin decided we better go back soon and asked me to reel up one of the rods as he packed up the boat. I reeled up the line and to my complete surprise I noticed that there was a ring tied to the end of the hook. Speechless, I turned around and there Justin was down on one knee with my absolute dream ring asking me to marry him! After saying the easiest yes, we celebrated just the two of us with some bubbly and watched the sunset. It was the most perfect and magical day so far in my entire life; one that we will never forget!
The Ring
Since I could remember, Justin had always wanted our engagement to be special, as most do. He really wanted to keep the entire thing a secret. He did such a lovely job of doing just so. Justin also reached out to Roman at Luxury Diamonds Vancouver, and from the sounds of it had a lovely experience. Roman made him feel comfortable and allowed the process to feel seamless even with him living some distance away on the island. Thanks to Roman, Justin now knows a whole lot more about diamonds than I do! Justin wanted this to be such a secret that no one but Roman and Tara knew. Justin was so sneaky, he even looked at my Pinterest board for ring details since he did not want to ask me anything to keep me entirely out of the loop! With the help of Roman and his wife, Justin was able to create the ring of my dreams. I absolutely love the detail they put into my ring while designing it, including the eagle claws, thin yellow gold band and its hidden halo. I am so impressed with the quality of my diamond and the way it sparkles.
Like Tara, I am so in love with my timeless ring! We plan to design both of our bands at Luxury Diamonds for next summer when we tie the knot. I can't wait to officially be able to call myself a Mrs. Douglas!
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