Proposal without ring?

[positiv]

My GF generally likes princess diamonds and white gold. The only thing I''m unsure of is the setting (plain, side diamonds, etc). Because I want this to be a surprise, I obviously don''t want to ask her "hey, what engagement ring setting would you like for your surprise proposal?"

So does this scenario make sense? Buy the well-researched loose rock... propose with the rock in a box, within the refund period, then go together to buy the ring and the wedding bands.

How does that sound? Or do women typically prefer having something to put on their finger when proposed to?

The drawback to this is... if I''ve budgetted a certain amount, depending on whether she likes a plain solitaire, or if she likes baguettes, that could be an additional $1000 difference which could skew the budget. Does that make sense?

 

[Lanee]

Makes perfect sense to me.

My sister and her fiance (will marry April 5) got engaged with no ring because he, like you, wanted her to pick the setting. He didn't even have a diamond yet but, he did have a budget. Well, she did want more baguettes than he budgeted for and it ran him over about $1000 but, he is best friends with the jeweler's son so they let him pay it installments over a couple of months since he had spent all of his savings.

What you might want to do is buy a diamond for $1000 less than you budgeted and see what she picks as a setting, if she doesn't choose something with baguettes, upgrade the diamond. She certainly won't take offense that you want to get her a better or bigger diamond. And no one says you have to announce the engagement immediately. I'm sure she either won't care that she doesn't have the ring yet (especially since she knows she is getting one) or you two can keep your intimate secret until you have the ring. There is no rule that says you have to tell the whoe world immediately, as long as you two know you have chosen each other for the rest of your lives, what could be more important?

 

[positiv]

That is EXCELLENT advice! Thank you so much!