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Jake & Rhea

I interviewed Jake who got engaged to Rhea in December 2022. Jake chose a Salt & Pepper Satellite Ring in white gold to propose with. Read on to find out why.  ...

I interviewed Jake who got engaged to Rhea in December 2022. Jake chose a Salt & Pepper Satellite Ring in white gold to propose with. Read on to find out why.

 

alternative engagement stories Jake & RheaHow did you and Rhea meet?

Jake: Rhea and I met in a coffee shop. She spoke to me after recognising me following a previous visit to her place of work.

How long have you been together? 

Jake: 4 years as of December 5th 2022.  

How did you know it was time to propose? 

Jake: Honestly, I knew from first meeting Rhea I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. As for why now, it was mainly down to a whim. I was sat one evening, looking over at her and thought to myself “I’m ready to take the next step”.

"I knew I wanted something traditional but with a twist."

Was the proposal a surprise for Rhea? 

Jake: I planned for it to be a surprise but she’s intuitive and kind of suspected that I may do it. Despite her more or less knowing on the day, it still surprised her as she didn’t think I would actually do it

How did you go about deciding on a ring? What other places did you look? 

Jake: In regards to deciding what sort of ring I wanted, I knew I wanted something traditional but with a twist. I think the ring reflects my choice very well. Rhea had also mentioned she had seen this ring in the past on Instagram. When she showed it to me, we both loved it and I knew that was THE ring. 
I didn’t look anywhere else after that.

"My main worry was finding out Rhea’s ring size. She doesn’t wear any rings so I had no clue how to measure her finger."

What was the main reason you chose Bonearrow and the Satellite Ring?

alternative engagement ring bespoke jewelleryJake: The main reason I went with Bonearrow was due to, as previously mentioned, seeing the specific ring on Instagram a while back. I knew Rhea wanted something more special and personal, so a ring handmade for her from an independent business was ideal. 

I browsed the online store and admired a lot of the pieces, however, the satellite fit what I felt we both wanted - something traditional with a twist. As for picking white gold, I know Rhea isn’t a fan of gold coloured jewellery, but I also wanted something more durable than silver, so white gold was the obvious choice.

Rhea had mentioned she didn’t want anything to bulky or overly expensive so I kept that in mind.

What made you chose a salt and pepper diamond vs a different stone? 

different unique salt and pepper diamonds from dark to lightJake: Neither of us are fans of the look of classic diamonds but when discussing rings in the past, I still wanted something a little more traditional.

She put forward the idea of a coloured diamond but it wasn’t until she saw the Bonearrow website that we both discovered the existence of salt and pepper diamonds. We knew instantly that’s the stone we both wanted as it fits both of our criteria. 

Rhea also likes the idea that salt and pepper diamonds have imperfections within them.

Were you worried about anything when choosing a ring? 

Jake: As I had prior knowledge of what Rhea wanted, I wasn’t particularly concerned about the choice of ring. My main worry was finding out Rhea’s ring size. She doesn’t wear any rings so I had no clue how to measure her finger.  

"Rhea burst into tears when I showed her the ring."

How did you find out Rhea's size? 

Jake: I didn’t. I actually failed at that quite spectacularly. I tried working it out with a bit of string and even just asked her outright, but she had no idea (forgetting she had all her ring sizes written in a note on her phone…) I ended up ordering the ring in a Z just to be extra safe and knew it could be made smaller. I had a feeling I was way off the mark, and I was! 

Luckily Clare was more than happy to resize the ring for free and, as usual, was in contact with us during that process. We both really appreciated this. 

We ended up going to a jewellers in person the next day to find out both of our actual ring sizes.

How did you propose?  

lincoln cathedral christmas marketJake: Rhea and I were away for a long weekend in Lincoln to celebrate our 4 year anniversary. I decided to propose whilst we were there.
Lincoln is a place that means a lot to both of us, but especially me as I was born there and it’s where all my family are from.
On the evening of the 5th December I told Rhea I was taking her out for a surprise and a meal to celebrate our anniversary. I mentioned to her that we both were going to dress up nice as it was a ‘fancy restaurant’. On the way to the meal I told her that the surprise was outside Lincoln Cathedral.
I stood her in front of me outside the main entrance. The whole cathedral was lit up pink from the Christmas market and there were Christmas trees and fairy lights everywhere. It was dark and very private, which is exactly what we both wanted. It was at that moment I decided to propose.

Describe how Rhea reacted when she saw the ring? 

salt and pepper diamond engagement ring alternative coupleJake: Rhea burst into tears when I showed her the ring which was followed by exclamations of excitement and “Oh my god it’s the one I was looking at…the one I showed you! You remembered!” 

How did you find the whole process of having a custom ring made? 

Jake: It was a very anxiety inducing but great experience. I left it a bit late to be honest, which wasn’t a bad thing. I had worked out that it would come in time however, due to the postal strikes, I was panicking every day that the ring wasn’t going to be here. Thankfully, it turned up the morning that we left for Lincoln. Talk about a close call!

Clare was extremely helpful through the entire process and kept me very up to date and was regularly in touch. She answered any and all questions that I had. 

I was involved in choosing the diamond for the ring which meant a lot to me and made the ring feel that much more special and personal. 

What advice would you give someone having a custom ring made as an engagement ring?
Jake: As soon as you know you’re going to propose, order the ring! The more time you allow for the ring to be made, the less stress on you.
Make sure you know roughly the correct ring size instead of guessing.
Have an idea of the kind of ring you know your partner wants i.e. The type of stone and metal used.

Thank you so much Rhea & Jake for sharing your story. 
🖤

If you have questions about a bespoke or alternative engagement ring get in touch at hi@bonearrow.com or browse the Darkly Beloved collection here.

 

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