Diamonds of Palo Alto is giving you the opportunity to tell your story about a proposal gone bad or good. Maybe it's simply a quirky story and we would love if you shared with us on our blog. After all, this is your blog too, so give us your feedback and ideas on how we can help you even more.
The contest is designed to capture stories about proposals you and your mate experienced and the incredible memories and impression they make on us.
We'll send the winner's a beautiful 14kt white gold, it’s a round .25 ct D color Si2 clarity, worth $925!
Israel, founder of Diamonds of Palo Alto will choose a favorite proposal story
Deadline extended to August 15th
PLEASE CLICK ON 'LEAVE A COMMENT' TO TELL YOUR PROPOSAL STORY.
Love is what you've been through with somebody.
James Thurber
Posts
I proposed to my wife in the theater of the high school were we met. I had kept in contact with the drama teacher after graduation and arranged to "pick something up" at the theater one afternoon while we were out.
ReplyDeleteTwo of my best friends had gone ahead of us and set up the stage with a "will you marry me" sign, a bench in a spotlight on the stage and background music.
When we arrived in the dark theater, we made our way to the stage where the lights came up to reveal the bench. She sat down, I proposed and the stage curtain opened to show the sign. She, of course, was surprised and said yes.
The bench, which was a stage prop at the time we were students, was given to us by the teacher who helped us. It is still a prominent piece of outdoor furniture at our house.
My husband proposed a few days before Christmas with a nice little ring, but it really wasn't what I was looking for... he hadn't gone to Diamonds of PA.
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks later, one of the small diamonds fell out. I went running to Israel for help. In the end, my husband took the first poorly designed ring back and we picked out a nice ring from Diamonds of PA.
Picking out the wedding bands was a pain free experience. We found what we wanted, THEN talked about budget. Israel was able to come up with the right look for the right price. I LOVE my rings and we will go nowhere else!
Erin and I met at church while we were both living in Palo Alto. We dated only 4 months before I knew she was the one. I arranged for my parents to visit from out-of-state for a weekend to meet her and give their blessing. They immediately hit it off very well and so I enlisted their help in planning my proposal.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most important things for me was to give her a ring that was very meaningful.
I remembered that my father had had special wedding rings designed for him and his wife with symbolic features about their relationship. So, I brought them with me to Diamonds of Palo Alto to get some ideas. After looking at many different settings, I went home and drew a design that I felt would perfectly symbolize our relationship:
-Three diamonds, two smaller ones representing Erin and me, with one larger diamond in the center representing God as the center of our relationship
-The white-gold setting wraps around the two outside stones in a figure 8 for eternity, symbolizing the eternal bond we were making together
-The lowercase letters: d and e (our first initials) are also outlined by the setting
The designer at the store worked with me to get it right and did an amazing job turning it around in less than a week so that it would be ready to take with us on our trip to Mexico. I had kept this all a secret from Erin, she didn’t even know I had gone ring shopping at this point.
In Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Cinco de Mayo (5/5/05), I chartered a sail boat to take us on a sunset cruise around the bay. I proposed to Erin by pulling out the ring I had designed and telling her about the symbolism and what our relationship meant to me. She agreed to marry me on the spot (and lucky for me, she loved the ring!). We enjoyed a wonderful evening talking about the future we would build together.
We were married less than 4 months later, and we are now living out that future happily in Santa Clara with our new baby boy, Joshua.
-Dave and Erin Parkes
408-220-5210
A Gentleman's Proposal Comes From The Heart, Part 1
ReplyDeleteI wanted the proposal to be something memorable, a story to stand apart from the flocks of proposal stories that one encounters—a trail of rose petals, a diamond in the champagne glass, family and friends secretly in on it. I wanted her to feel as precious as she is, but I see myself as something of a rogue and a renegade and wanted to get away from the elaborate and extravagant surprises that are so titillating to so many. I just could not stomach the idea of setting up a stage play, complete with waiters, friends and family members on strings, so that I can ride in to look like some papier-mâché Prince Charming come a wooing. We just aren’t that way. So I started thinking, how to proceed….
I knew that I had to start with a ring. We had talked about what she wanted, what we could afford. We had talked about what factors of the stone I was to focus on (color, clarity) and what factors were secondary in importance (size, this was mainly due to my suggestion and strenuous persuasion). So when I left school early to go on an investigational tour of the Peninsula’s diamond depots my brain was wracked with trying to remember what she had settled on after innumerable discussions about the inherent features of diamonds, the jargon of cut and setting, and all the while trying to determine what I could/would really be willing to pay. I had intended to do this research under the radar, hoping to be done by the time she returned from school. So when I found that she had beat me home that day, herself leaving class early to come home and watch mid-day programming on the food network, I was simultaneously deflated and elated.
I was disappointed by the thought that I would have to reschedule my investigations. By this time I had managed to work myself into a sort of nervous and excited frenzy, and was eager to browse the glittering shelves of local jewelry shops. But then I thought that perhaps this was a sign from the universe (thanks, universe) that Marie should be with me so we could make the decision together. It was, after all, her ring, and I wanted her to be ecstatic about it. So we finished the BBQ challenge or cakes-shaped-like-celebrities-of-silent-film or whatever it was, and I asked her if she wanted to run some errands with me.
Eh, she said, bored, where to? Well I thought I’d go look at diamonds, I said, the nonchalance patently forced. No sooner than she had determined through follow-up questioning that I was in fact serious were we in the car and headed to our first stop, Diamonds of Palo Alto.
Once there we met with Israel who took his time and patiently showed us a variety of beautiful diamonds. Even I, impervious to the allure of shiny stones, was astounded at the fire in the heart of each of his offerings and I stared transfixed into the radiant prism-light of every shining diamond presented. Each was alive, each had a unique personality, each declared itself in a different voice. Each was a kaleidoscope of echoing possibilities, redoubling and renewing itself at every turn of the wrist….
OK, so maybe I was about to crack from the mounting gravity of what, exactly, I was currently involved in. This was serious business, a life changing event. But all the while my psyche discretely teetered on the abyss, Israel kept me cool and we found a beautiful stone and a beautiful ring, and mystery of mysteries, we could afford it! It could be mounted in thirty minutes, Israel said, and suggested a coffeehouse down the street for the meantime. There, the conversation was shockingly casual. I wanted to say to her “weren’t you there? Didn’t you see that? We just bought an engagement ring!!” I have no doubt that she was feeling the same way, our intellects struck dumb by the weight of the act, and so we chatted. We drank coffee and tea. We people-watched. We pet a dog. And, thirty minutes later, we went back to see Israel.
A Gentleman's Proposal Comes From The Heart, Part 2
ReplyDeleteThe ring was ready, and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I will probably be saying that until I leave this world. Never has such a delicate thing held such magnitude, or such a cost-conscious article seemed so infinitely priceless. Despite these overwhelming emotions, or maybe as a result of them, I pretty much handed the box over to my love standing at the counter in the store, like “here you go, it’s your now.” Israel, thank goodness he was there, wouldn’t stand for such a thing. Israel insisted that I take my time, get down on my knees, and do the thing right. Thank you, Israel, I owe you immensely for that. I took your advice and I did do it right, at least I did it my style of right.
We took the ring home. I was still feeling dazed and flabbergasted by the whole process—the research, the viewing, the decision, the purchase, the revelation of the finished ring, and the kind chastising by a gentleman who knew so much better than I did—and I just needed to sit down. I looked at the shopping bag in which the ring was tucked, its presence much larger in fact than its mere size would imply. Marie had excused herself to go to the bathroom as soon as we had gotten home, her tummy being considerably upset and she urgently needed access to a lavatory. I sat on the sofa, thinking. Staring blankly at the T.V., the T.V. staring blankly back, and thinking.
I wanted the proposal to reflect our values, what was important to us. It had to embody my hopes for our lives together, my promise to love her forever and no matter what. It had to communicate my delight in perpetually re-discovering who she is and how she is and all the lovely and odd eccentricities of her character. I wanted the proposal to be from my mind and heart and reflect the aspirations there, but also from my stomach, my groin, to represent the realities and human hardships that awaited us in the future. Whatever those hardships were—mysterious ailments, cranky mornings, irretrievable loss and insurmountable frustration—they would be ours to share. How could I really express to her that I would love her through the best and the worst times—our most unromantic, awkward, and utterly imperfect moments? Our most human moments?
Gradually, like dawn slipping across the horizon, and then suddenly like a breaching whale expelling a long held breath in a high plume of smoky mist, an idea came to me. Was it possible? But was it even permissable? Yes, it was possible…. I was less sure as to its permissibility but I am a firm believer that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission. At any rate, it was becoming more and more probable the longer I considered it. But will she get it? Will she understand what I mean to say? I found the ring and held it for a moment, the presence of it now completely filled the room and there was barely space for me. I thought: Be Steady—this is our ring, this is our moment; and as I held it the ring lost none of its palpable majesty but became manageable, impressive without being oppressive. I held the ring, and I walked, nay, barged, into the bathroom. I fell to my knee, my dear princess aloft upon her alabaster throne, and I took her hand. She was mortified, relieved, impressed, ecstatic, and she acquiesced to my request. I will never forget what I said to her then, but I will never repeat the words for anyone but her. I think we experienced the gamut of emotion in those moments, seeing each other was we truly are, human and flawed but perfectly happy in each other’s company, desecrating together a moment of manufactured perfection by interjecting the beautiful realities of a life shared together, lived as one. It was a day that will live in a place of precious infamy in our personal histories, always retold with a sly smile and a secret, understanding nod.
After dating off and on for a year and a half, I knew Nina was the one. We took our first vacation together to Greece, on the island of Santorini. Our room was carved into the hillside to form white caves for this magnificent hotel, named Perivoles, romantically perched on the cliffs above the Aegean Sea.
ReplyDeleteThe evening before my planned proposal, I observed the exact time of the sunset. I noted the perfect moment where the Sun faded just beyond the blue roofs of the pictorial skyline to the small fishing village of Oia.
When I woke early the following day, I let Nina know I was going for a run. I then located the concierge asked if she could help me with my mission.
The plan was set...towards the evening, I suggested we take a short nap before dinner. Upon waking, I showered, got dressed and asked Nina to meet me when she was ready. I found a private area alongside the cliff overlooking the sea and the cascading pool. Nina looked truly angelic as she transcending upon the place where I selected for my proposal.
Just as the sun was setting, I dropped to one knee, professed my love for her and asked her to share the rest of her life with me. Her smile was radiant, she trembled with excitement and said said, absolutely yes!!!
Just at that moment, the concierge arrived with a silver platter of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne. We made a toast, took photos and fed each other while enjoying the sunset.
We then proceed to go to back to our room, where I had the concierge create an entrance with rose petals and candles that lead to our bed, covered in rose petals. This scene created more spectacular photos.
Mission accomplished and never happier!!!