Let me point out I'm sure I paid 2,000 over cost minimum. This is something that is going to happen unless you have close family or friends involved. I had friends of friends and in the end I just had to be direct and get what I wanted for the price I could afford. Fortunately Julia was as thrilled with the surprise as the ring itself. I must say there is nothing sweeter than being lectured about moving forward in your relationship when you've been holding onto an engagement ring the whole time. It's very satisfying. If you can surprise her I highly recommend it but that can be very daunting.
I was originally going with a princess cut (square) but fortunately Julia's mom Sharon had tricked her and some other girls into looking at stones for one of her clients. Julia liked the round cuts. That's my girl!! They tend to be reasonable as opposed to the newly hip cushion cut that can be pricy. Getting the right size was tricky. Julia doesn't wear a lot of jewelry so when she finally dressed up for a party one night I suggested she wear her grandmothers ring. She looked at me like I was high (well...) anyway she wore it and soon after while she was at work I snuck it out to a jeweler for sizing. Wheeew!!
Unquestionably the hardest thing in a secret proposal is keeping it quiet. I'm pretty good however as we drew closer to our trip to New Orleans I leaked to a few friends. Do yourself a favor do not leak! Poor Julia spent 3 weeks making social plans with girlfriends who all flaked on her. LA is already a town of flakes but we found out later these same girlfriends didn't want to be the ones to spill the beans. I don't blame them. Anyone who has felt the Wrath of Gary knows Khan has nothing on me!!! Wasn't that Training Day?? No that was Kong. Anyway it got so bad her own mother shut her out......believe me that is a feat in itself. So once again if you can pull off a secret engagement I highly recommend it but you will be adding a lot more pressure on yourself.
I'll end with this. My dear friend Elvis Greene who can be notoriously frugal insisted I go big on my ring. When I say big I'm not referring to size but basically getting the best ring you can possibly afford and I have to say he was right. He warned me that even the greatest coolest woman in the world loves to show off her engagement ring and more importantly everyone else loves to inspect it. Keep this in mind with an engagement ring you're also representing yourself in a way and believe me everyone so far has said Congratulations!!!!....Where's the ring?? You will be under the microscope literally!! With that said an engagement ring is really about you and your mate and the celebration of your love. We have dear friends that have gone the cheap route and can't keep their eyes and hands off each other!! I mean they're walking in the clouds!!
For me I just wanted to give Julia something she wouldn't have expected along with what she can expect the rest of our lives. My love and respect.
