Mr. Lion Gets Creative

When Mr. Lion and I first started talking about getting engaged, I made it known early on that there was a family stone.  You see, my mom inherited some jewelry from her grandmother, who was married to a wealthy physician in Russia.  When they immigrated to America, they maintained their social status.  Their daughter (my grandmother) ended up marrying my grandfather, who was the son of poor Jewish immigrants.  The whole thing just sounded terribly romantic to me (well, the simple version does at least).  My great-grandmother passed down pearls, costume jewelry, and one lone aquamarine screwback drop earring.

We don't know what happened to the other one, but one was all I needed!  I'm a big fan of the ocean, and I'm a March baby, so aquamarines have always been my fave.  As a little girl, I used to lay the earring across the top of my ring finger just to see how it would look as a ring.  We had no idea how many carats it was or how much it was worth.  We didn't even know how old it was (though the jeweler Mr. Lion worked with was able to estimate that it was from the 1920s, based on the design of the earring).  All I knew was that I'd had my heart set on it for ages.  I told Mama Lioness, who agreed I could have it if Sister Lioness could have the pearls some day (such a fair ruler).  So, Mr. Lion knew where to turn for the stone.  But what about the setting?

I told Mr. Lion that I wanted a tulip setting.  Tulips are my favorite flowers, so what better to complement my favorite stone?  I could have sworn that this was a real thing and that I hadn't just made it up.  I later found out that Mr. Lion pretty much designed the setting himself since the jeweler had never heard of it!  So maybe I did make it up.  Maybe this image was stuck in my subconsious from decades ago:

Source: Disney via Magical Screencaps (10 bonus points if you can name that film!)

Mr. Lion didn't know he had it in him, but he ended up designing quite the unique setting.  On the day Mr. Lion proposed, I was thrilled to see the stone I had been eyeing for so long, but I was blown away by the setting.  It's one of a kind, and the reason why it's one of a kind makes it even better!

Without further ado, RING PORN!  A la Anne Ruthmann's tutorial, recently described by Miss Elephant and Miss Hippo!

{all personal photos}

What's your favorite part of your ring?  The setting, the stone, or the story?

Shut up!

That was my reaction when I realized that Mr. Lion was down on one knee.  But let's start at the beginning.

Mr. Lion and I both graduated in May of 2010.  We started saving up for a graduation trip to Costa Rica when we started school.  Mr. Lion had hinted that a ring was coming after graduation, so I assumed that's when he would pop the question.  I mean, the setting would be perfect...beauty, adventure, romance, and Latin American food.  It doesn't get any better than that.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lion was up to plans of his own.  Mr. Lion had a really good internship in the summer or 2009, so he had saved enough money for a ring, but not a diamond.  Luckily for him, I didn't want a diamond.  I've had my eye on an aquamarine earring that belonged to my great-grandmother since I was a little girl.  The plan was to take the stone out of that earring (we have no idea what happened to the other earring, by the way) and design an engagement ring with it.  When he eventually decided that he wanted to propose, he spent a lot of time pondering how to execute the perfect proposal.  We saw the movie "Up" (I mentioned I'm a Disney geek, didn't I?) and he was instantly inspired.

Source: Disney/Pixar via kidstvmovies.about.com

Side note: "Up" also features a hero using an assistive device.  My physical therapist heart kinda melted.

Source: Disney/Pixar via Movie Cafe

I've always wanted to go up in a hot air balloon.  In fact, it's on my bucket list.  As soon as Mr. Lion had this epiphany, he called Sister Lioness.  (Something you should know about Sister Lioness: she is my absolute best friend in the entire world.)  He asked about the aquamarine, he inquired about my dream setting, but he did not reveal when or how he planned to propose.  He then called Daddy Lioness.  He asked for permission, but he did not reveal when or how he planned to propose.  Last but certainly not least, he called Mama Lioness.  He requested that she ship the aquamarine, but he did not reveal when or how he planned to propose.  Well, hot air ballooning involves going up with the sunrise, so imagine the surprise in my family members' voices as I called them one by one at 8:00 AM to tell them we were engaged!

 Personal photo: Us, Up!

But back to the actual proposal...yes, I said "shut up."  I was absolutely shocked when I realized that Mr. Lion was awkwardly positioning himself into a kneeling position in a tiny balloon basket.  I had my mind made up that he was proposing nine months from that moment, something he had worked very hard to make sure I believed.  Whenever someone asks Mr. Lion about this bait and switch, he starts singing Lady Gaga's "Poker Face."  It's really quite...umm...charming.

Yes, I said "shut up," and he said nothing.  He never even asked me to marry him.  But I'm awkward and he's a man of action, not of words.  One of my favorite things about our proposal is how it is so consistent with our personalities.  Did your personality quirks shine through during your proposal?