How Jason proposed to Karina

I think trying to find a ring for a girl is just as nerve wracking as actually proposing. Luckily, Karina was pretty forward in this regard, and about 2 years before I proposed to her, she had stuck up a picture of a ring that she wanted. “No pressure” she says. That picture never changed or moved for all that time, so it was a pretty strong indication of what design of ring I needed to buy.

So off to a few jewelers to get quotes on a ring - big diamond, 8 small ones, 4 on each side, white gold / platinum. In the end, with some help from Karina’s work colleagues in American Swiss, I had managed to get a really amazing price on a platinum ring, with a 0.54 carrot diamond. (Rule of thumb guys - if you serious about getting married, make sure that ring is at least 3 x your salary. )

It took around 3 weeks to design and manufacture and when I went to pick it up I was totally blown away. I think it was a combination of seeing it sparking and realising this ring would go on Karina’s hand…

The big day

After I picked up the ring, it was about 10 days until her 23rd birthday, which was the day I planned to propose to her. I hid the ring away deep inside my cupboard, but every evening before I went to sleep, I opened up the box to marvel at the amazing creation I was going to propose to Karina with.

I took Karina to the V&A Waterfront for a cruise on the Tigger 2. Remember, it was her birthday, so any surprises I had for her, she thought where birthday related!

I hid the ring inside of camera bag, that Karina carried onto the boat! Little did she know… After walking around the boat, I took her to the back of the boat, and told her I had a surprise for her and that she should close her eyes. I took out the ring, and asked her:

“Will you love me forever, will you marry me?”

She opened her eyes, and the first thing she said is “Is this what I think it is? Is this the moment very girl dreams of?”. No answer of Yes or are you serious. She stared at that ring much the same as I had been staring at it every evening for the past 10 days and said “Yes!”.

We met up with my folks later that day who where over the moon! The big thing was I still had to ask her folks if I could marry their daughter, and since Mr. P was at work until 7pm, we had to hide the ring away before we could announce to anyone else in the family.

So after we got home that evening from watching Tiago’s Christmas concert, I asked Mr. P and Mae if I could speak to them. We sat around the kitchen table with Karina around the corner listening. I asked Mr. P the big question, and his answer was “well we need to talk about it”. Oh boy.

So after giving me a speech (well it was more of a chat) Karina entered the room with tears running down her cheeks. She sat down and showed her parents the ring I had given her and Mae also started to cry. It was a very emotional chat, and one I will remember for the rest of my life. Mr. P is a simple man, and although English is not his first language, he expresses his wisdom in his own special way. So after much talking, he agreed to let me marry Karina! I thanked Mr. P and kissed Mae and promised them I would take care of their daughter for the rest of my life.