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Intro from a newbie LIW

metatrix

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
115
Hi, I’m 22 years old, and I’m a first year medical student. My BF is 27, and works in business. We met and started dating just over a year ago (December 2009). Actually, our relationship started off as a one-night-stand. But, we fell for each other very fast, and within a couple months, I had moved into his place. It was a stressful time, however, as I was in the process of applying to medical schools when we met, and I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up come September, or what exactly that meant for our relationship. I made it very clear to him from the beginning that I was not willing to do a LDR, and that if he wanted to be together, he would have to move with me. This was BF’s first serious relationship, and prior to us dating, he had always been somewhat of a commitment-phobe, so there was a lot for him to come to terms with very quickly. In addition, BF had a very well-paying job and had just bought a condo in our home city. He was also pretty close with his family, who live in our home city as well. Nevertheless, five months into our relationship, BF bought me a promise ring to signify that he would move with me wherever I would be accepted to medical school. That commitment was very, very special to me, and greatly eased my anxiety in the last few weeks before acceptance letters were mailed out.

(By the way, stats on the promise ring...this is PriceScope after all :cheeky: BF gave me a diamond solitaire (GIA certified 0.47 ct/I/SI2/excellent cut) in a 14k white gold split-shank setting. Yes, I know people don’t usually wear half-carat diamond solitaires as promise rings, but it’s so freaking gorgeous I don’t even care.)

Five and a half months after we met, I found out that I was accepted to medical school, but that I would have to move to a nearby city (about a two-hour drive away) to attend. True to his promise, BF started looking for jobs in New City right away, and found an awesome job in his field within a couple months. The rest of the summer was pretty hectic, as he quit his old job, started training for his new one, and sold his condo. We (well, he) put in an offer on a house in New City, but the offer fell through. On short notice, we managed to find an apartment in New City and moved in together right before my school started in September.

In my mind, I had always thought we wouldn’t get married until maybe 8-10 years from now, when I was more settled in my career. This was for financial and logistical reasons, mainly to do with my career. I will graduate med school 3.5 years from now (summer 2014), at which point there is a big possibility we will need to move again for residency. I’m looking at 5+ years of residency, and the modest income I earn during that time will go toward paying off my student debts. Even though BF has a nice income, he is covering both of our expenses (apart from my tuition), so I didn’t see how a wedding (or I should say the kind of wedding I want) would be feasible until I started earning money. I should also mention that I had always been told to wait until I was 30 to get married, and also, I am in no rush whatsoever to make babies until I’m at LEAST 30. So, although I watched Say Yes to the Dress and fantasized about my e-ring, I had nothing approaching LIW-itis.

But over the Christmas holidays, BF and I started talking seriously about marriage and timelines. BF pointed out that since we never ended up buying a house like we had planned, we could just use the down payment he had saved up to pay for an e-ring and a wedding instead. It seemed crazy to me at first, but he explained that since we may be moving in 3 years again anyway, it made more sense to spend that money on a ring and wedding rather than to buy a house. Given how sensible my BF is with money, it was kind of a shocking suggestion coming from him. In addition to that 40k he had in the bank, he told me that he had been managing to save around $1000 per month, which we could also put toward a ring/wedding. So anyway, after some more thought, we decided we wanted to get married right around the time I will graduate med school, and we set a tentative date of May-June 2014. In our temporary excitement, we also went out and bought a few wedding magazines to get a rough idea of how much we should budget for our wedding. Somewhere between those Timeline Talks, the wedding magazines, and the realization that the bf had the means RIGHT NOW to buy me a very nice engagement ring, I got bit by the LIW-itis bug HARD CORE. Which is what brought me to this forum, reading the posts on here instead of reading my anatomy textbook. :read:

WHAT HAVE I DONE? :-o
 

HopeDream

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
2,146

should i be here

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
136
wow! sounds awesome, i can't wait to see the bling you settle on!
 

slg47

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Messages
9,667
sounds really exciting :) do you have pics of your promise ring-it sounds beautiful :) what do you plan to do with it when he proposes? make it into a pendant or have 2 erings?

anyway, welcome :) and don't get too distracted!
 

metatrix

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
115
HopeDream|1296001442|2833021 said:
Hi Metatrix, Welcome to LIW!

You're in the right place. Have you started looking at rings and settings yet? PS is an excellent distraction from studies and I will warn you that it can become a huge time-sink.

Have you seen the show me the bling engagement ring thread yet? https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-forum-engagement-ring-folder-eye-candy.5429/ it will give you lots of e-ring Ideas. :naughty:

I hope your studies go well ::)

Thank you! I wouldn't normally blow off my studies like this, but my bf is away on business for the week, and I'm too sad and lonely to concentrate properly anyway. Pathetic, I know. But the apartment is just so empty without him.

Actually, BF and I picked out the promise ring together (he gave me a 'ring' he carefully crafted out of tin foil, and told me I could trade it in for the real thing), so I went to a showroom and tried on literally a hundred different settings. It was a very eye-opening experience. Before I went to the showroom, I had my heart set on princess cut, 3-stone rings and elaborate pave or halo styles. Once I tried them on, I realized those styles were too over-the-top for my taste. The first time I tried on a RB solitaire, I knew I was 100% a RB girl. And when I tried on my setting, well, it was like love at first sight. I just knew it was my ring (as did my bf!). In fact, I love my promise ring setting so much, that I'm almost certain I want to keep the same setting for my e-ring (but in platinum) and just upgrade the diamond.

Granted, it has been six months since I tried on rings, so I am open to trying more. Bf wants to buy me jewelry for V-day, so when we're out looking for my v-day present this weekend, I'll have an eye out for e-ring settings too.

328c.jpg

353.jpg
 

metatrix

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
115
slg47|1296009575|2833141 said:
sounds really exciting :) do you have pics of your promise ring-it sounds beautiful :) what do you plan to do with it when he proposes? make it into a pendant or have 2 erings?

anyway, welcome :) and don't get too distracted!

Thanks! : )

I posted a couple of pics. Taking photos of diamonds is seriously challenging! First time I used the macro setting on my camera.

As I said earlier, I'm planning to upgrade the setting from 14k to platinum, and upgrade the diamond, uh, significantly. The place we bought it from has upgrade policies for both the stone and the setting. So, I guess I would have to give the ring I have now back to the store. But, part of me doesn't want to do that because of the sentimental value. Plus, what if I buy my diamond from a different vendor, or fall for a different setting? I don't know what I would do then. I mean, I guess I could just keep the promise ring as a sentimental token.
 

Grlsbestfrnd

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Messages
683
Welcome! We're excited to have you here. I can't wait to see what you pick out!
 

HaloBelle

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
128
Omg, such a cute and exciting story! Congrats on all the happy realizations you have had recently!!

I don't really have any advice or anything, just hugs. :loopy: :) I love reading stories like this because it seriously eases myyyy LIW-itis. (don't know why, IRL friends' engagements make it worse...)

I am so excited for you and nearly jumping out of my seat, I cannot imagine how excited YOU must be. Lots of Hugs and Dust although it doesn't sound like you need the latter! :appl:
 

HopeDream

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
2,146
Wow metatrix, that's a gorgeous promise ring! I can't wait to see your engagement ring.

Do you plan on wearing a wedding band with your e-ring eventually? You may have to do a bit of shopping around to find a wedding band that goes well with that setting. It all depends on the look you're going for, some women are happy to rock the single ring look.
 

BabyJRu1202

Rough_Rock
Trade
Joined
Feb 7, 2009
Messages
13
Sending lots of **DUST** your way...my gosh your promise ring is absolutely beautiful. Glad you got yourself such a good man :) :)
 

briolette

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
417
What a great guy! You two are so lucky to have each other. :)
And your promise ring is lovely. It'll make a good RHR once you get your actual e-ring. A 1/2 ct. solitaire is the size of some people's e-rings!

I hear ya on missing your honey. That's when you know when you're really in love-- you're missing each other when apart.
 

MayFlowers

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
944
Welcome! :wavey:
 

MBKRH

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 23, 2010
Messages
593
Hi there, metatrix, and welcome. That's a great story, it sounds like you have a wonderful guy. :)
 

kagordo4

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 21, 2009
Messages
339
Welcome : ) I hope your stay is super short and fun!!

I'm in Year 1 also! Good luck, I know I need it most days : )

Opps edited because your pictures didn't load the first time . Pretty!!
 

purselover

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
2,066
metatrix|1296010374|2833155 said:
HopeDream|1296001442|2833021 said:
Hi Metatrix, Welcome to LIW!

You're in the right place. Have you started looking at rings and settings yet? PS is an excellent distraction from studies and I will warn you that it can become a huge time-sink.

Have you seen the show me the bling engagement ring thread yet? https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-forum-engagement-ring-folder-eye-candy.5429/ it will give you lots of e-ring Ideas. :naughty:

I hope your studies go well ::)

Thank you! I wouldn't normally blow off my studies like this, but my bf is away on business for the week, and I'm too sad and lonely to concentrate properly anyway. Pathetic, I know. But the apartment is just so empty without him.

Actually, BF and I picked out the promise ring together (he gave me a 'ring' he carefully crafted out of tin foil, and told me I could trade it in for the real thing), so I went to a showroom and tried on literally a hundred different settings. It was a very eye-opening experience. Before I went to the showroom, I had my heart set on princess cut, 3-stone rings and elaborate pave or halo styles. Once I tried them on, I realized those styles were too over-the-top for my taste. The first time I tried on a RB solitaire, I knew I was 100% a RB girl. And when I tried on my setting, well, it was like love at first sight. I just knew it was my ring (as did my bf!). In fact, I love my promise ring setting so much, that I'm almost certain I want to keep the same setting for my e-ring (but in platinum) and just upgrade the diamond.

Granted, it has been six months since I tried on rings, so I am open to trying more. Bf wants to buy me jewelry for V-day, so when we're out looking for my v-day present this weekend, I'll have an eye out for e-ring settings too.

Gorgeous promise ring!!! That is the exact setting (only I'd like rose gold) I picked out for my eventual ering upgrade, where did you pick out yours?
 

metatrix

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
115
Thank you everyone! Everybody on this board is so nice. I love it. Some of the other LIW-type boards I've seen can get pretty catty and mean.

The bf and I had a casual talk about proposals/ring-shopping. I brought up how some people buy the e-ring together, and then the guy hold on to it for a while and tries to 'surprise' his partner with a proposal. We both think that's a little weird though, since once you order the ring, you are as good as engaged anyway. But we don't like the idea of proposing without a ring either, since as soon as you announce an engagement everyone wants to see the ring. So, bf hinted that he likes the idea of two proposals -- one true surprise proposal in private without a ring, then the couple goes ring shopping together, then a second public proposal in front of family with the ring. What do you guys think of this two-proposal idea?
 

LvMyOMC

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
23
Your BF sounds so sweet! Good for you!

Love your ring too!
 
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