Ring Bling: A Ring, and a Proposal

I saw this linky flying around the blog world so since me and hubs' three year anniversary is next week I decided I would link up with Happiness Is...!

In addition to showing the ring, I will give our proposal story too since our anniversary is fast approaching! 

Hubs and I started dating in September of 2006, we had known each other for about 4 or 5 years prior - we met through his best friend that I went to college with. He was more seriously about the relationship then I was but I came around after a couple of months. He lived in Austin and I lived here in Houston and I was not keen on getting into another long distance relationship but he wooed me anyway!

He moved here about 8 months after we started dating and him and my roommate became instant buddies (for the record my roommate was my male cousin!) ...and our third roommate. We had talked about marriage, the future, etc.. and even got schooled in rings over the summer of 2007. Around September of 2007 hubs came up with the idea of going on a nice date night every month that he would plan - so of course I would get my hopes up EVERY date night. 

On our December 14, 2007 date night everyone kept saying he was going to pop the question and of course I doubted. I came home from work and he was rushing me to get ready, I kept asking where we were going and I finally figured out we were going to Grotto - where we had our first date, and celebrated his birthday so it was kind of "our place."

We got there and we were quickly seated, which is rare because it was a Friday night and they did not take reservations. After he proposed I saw all the signs that something was going on - quick seating, the hostess kept staring at me like I knew her, Brad getting up to go to the bathroom, not ordering a drink, etc...

We ate dinner and ordered our dessert. Brad kept asking me if I wanted another drink so I ordered one with our dessert. I remember I was asking why it was taking so long to bring a slice of cake out! Right after we ordered our dessert Brad got up to "go to the bathroom" (He was really giving the ring to the manager Paul whom he planned the whole evening with). Shortly after our "dessert" came out. Paul had a covered plated and sat it in front of me and said something like "We thought you might like this better" he took the lid off and the ring box was there. Brad then got on one knee and proposed in front of the whole place, of course I said yes! Everyone at the restaurant applauded, and congratulated us! I kept saying are you serious and asking him if my parents knew! Paul came over and told me what Brad had done, and I was completely surprised by his sneakiness!

My parents and his parents knew - he took my parents out to dinner earlier that week to ask permission and to show them the ring. He went to Grotto earlier that day and gave the ring box to Paul, and he made sure he had a table set up for us. The whole staff knew what was going on and they were gathered around the bar right after he proposed to congratulate us - it was a perfect evening!

The ring was exactly what I wanted. Come to find out he put a down payment on the ring the day I fell in love with it and the jeweler had it for safe keeping up until the week he proposed. Sneaky sneaky man.

Ring Details:

I think it is a 1.1 center stone

Princess Cut

Platinum

With I think 48 pave diamonds around it

Wedding band is also a platinum band with pave diamonds all the way around

I am also in love with the setting - I love that the diamond is set a little different than most

I cannot believe in just a few short days we will be at our three year mark - time really has flown!