Eric and Erin's Engagement Story
"Erin and I met 6 years ago through work. At the time we were both part of the same social crowd in our office and got along very well. We were both married at time (though not to each other) and over the next few years, both our existing marriages met with rather untimely demises. Although that sounds sad, in reality it proved the springboard that would launch us to a much happier place... What turned out to be our first date, though it didn't really start out that way, was a bicycle trip to Tommy Thompson park in Toronto's East end to throw our old wedding rings into Lake Ontario and start fresh.
To be honest, we were both in a spot where we wanted family life and so our relationship blossomed fairly quickly from there, and in October of last year while we were in South Africa, I asked her to marry me. It turned into a bit of a 2-part proposal somehow, so I'm not sure if we got engaged while abseiling down the face of Table Mountain, or if it was hanging over the edge of Victoria Falls, but regardless, by the time we got back to Toronto, we were engaged.
Knowing Erin as well as I did, I knew that she deserved a special ring and had found JBJ on Etsy earlier in the year, so when we got back we went straight there to find a design. Keep in mind, I didn't know what would be riskier: proposing with a Plain Jane ring, or trying to get through 4 airports on my way to South Africa with a ring in my pocket. I decided to risk proposing without a ring and after she said 'yes', she wore my engineering ring as a substitute in the interim.
When we saw your Cathedral Ring design Erin was in love, so we decided to have it made with turquoise - Erin's birthstone, and Black Cherry - a beautiful wood that is native to the area where we met - Port Dover, ON. We used to hike and bike the Port Dover area woods on the weekend, and it was a spot we really go to know each other, talking and laughing, so it felt right to include it in the rings. To complement her engagement ring I had a Black Cherry wood overlaid over tungsten and the two rings look fantastic together.
I have to say, that my experience with JBJ was exceptional. The customer service and responsiveness to my concerns and schedule was outstanding and everybody there really tried to make me comfortable and help me make good decisions around stone selection and sizing. Speaking of Schedule, Erin and I got married in February of this year in Banff, Alberta.
We were married outdoors in the mountains with just our families and a few sleigh horses present. My then 4 yr old son Miles was our ring bearer and my mother in law made him a cape so he could be the 'Super Ring Bearer'. He took the role so seriously - I was so proud of him. He put the rings in a carrying box we gave him, and despite a very cold wind, he held tight and didn't let the ring box out of his tight little hand. It really gave him a role to play in our wedding and helped him be part of the action.
He and Erin get along perfectly and he considers her part of the family. I knew he really got the message about the significance of the rings (and more) the other day when I happened to have mine off and he said in a quiet, discrete voice 'Dad... you're not wearing your ring... are you still married to Erin'. When I pointed out that even without the ring, I still have the tan line, so I'm always wearing a ring, he sighed and said "Good, I really like her".
When we first bought Erin's ring we decided it was so beautiful that she didn't want to distract from it with a wedding band, but now that we've been married for 5 months and the initial "oohs and aahs" have died down we've decided she needs a wedding band. I didn't hesitate to go back to JBJ and have a matching wooden overlay ring made to mate with the original ring."
