Bespoke Journey: Louis & Katie

Bespoke Journey | Louis & Katie | Ethica Diamonds BlogLouis and Katie met 11 years ago at school and then moved from Essex to Cardiff for uni. After 10 years of being in Cardiff, they recently welcomed a new arrival, George, pictured above! Here's their proposal story... DID YOUR GIRLFRIEND KNOW ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL PLANS? After being with Katie for 11 years, I think she had given up hope that I would ever propose! I was sneaking around for months to make sure that it was a total surprise, keeping my mobile with me at all times, and deleting WhatsApp messages to the Ethica team, once I had replied lol. The proposal, when it eventually happened, was a complete surprise (just as I had planned). DID SHE HELP YOU WITH THE CHOSEN BESPOKE DESIGN OR DID YOU CHOOSE IT YOURSELF? I had no help from Katie with the design, apart from ideas that I had mentally noted that she gave me over the years. I also managed to get a look at Katie’s Instagram feed and saw that there was a particular designer “Anna Sheffield” that Katie had been liking. From these images, I got the idea of a double claw and knew that she loved a trilogy ring. The green tourmaline stones were a bit of a gamble, to be honest, but luckily she loved them! Bespoke Journey | Louis & Katie | Ethica Diamonds Blog The Bespoke Ring: Stage 1 and 2 of the design process. DID YOU HAVE ANY IMAGES/INSPIRATION THAT HELPED YOU WITH YOUR DESIGN IDEAS? The inspiration for the ring was a sunflower with the Ethica Diamond representing the centre of the flower, with the green triangles being the leaves. My favourite colour is also green, and Katie has green eyes so green became the theme! The most important thing to me when designing Katie’s ring was to design a completely unique ring that I wouldn’t come across on anyone else. WAS THE PROCESS MORE ENJOYABLE AND LESS STRESSFUL THAN YOU IMAGINED IT WOULD BE? Your service really was second to none. As a complete novice in anything jewellery related who knew he wanted something unique, you really supported me in getting a hazy vision in my mind into something beautiful on my girlfriend's hand! The team were always quick to respond and happy to help with a number of ideas and iterations. I never felt rushed even though the whole process took about 8/9 months for me to make a final decision. WERE THERE ANY FUNNY/MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS? Trying to write a description was quite hilarious… I was trying to be direct but it all ended up being a bit “out there” with artistic quotes, eye colour and inspirational description. Ethica had to completely cut through my blurb to find out what I actually wanted, as all my ideas were a whirlwind of ideas, that needed translating. I didn’t make it easy for the designer! WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE AN ETHICAL DIAMOND FROM US? I was the best man for a couple who had already used Ethica for their rings, so you came recommended. Your stones were also so much cheaper as well as being an ethical stone, so a perfect mix of price and ethics! Bespoke Journey | Louis & Katie | Ethica Diamonds Blog Find out how you can create your own bespoke ring here: Ethica Bespoke HOW DID THE PROPOSAL GO? After starting the process in march I finally got to ask my girlfriend to marry me on Christmas day. The proposal went down a storm and really made what could have been a gloomy Christmas something special and to remember, not only for us but for our family (on zoom). The ring itself really went down amazingly! I think she's chuffed to bits with. Interestingly said the green stones wasn't something she ever thought she would want, but loves it! So the gamble there paid off and green is now the colour for our wedding! I felt a bit stressed on Christmas Eve as Katie was suggesting we leave some preparations until the morning but I knew I only had a 2-hour window to get the presents exchanged, meal preparations and to fit in a proposal. I also wanted to pop the question before the family Zoom calls so we could share our news, as no one at all knew of my plans! After rushing through all the presents …. the moment came …the last present (the ring) was sitting under the tree. I stumbled over my words and managed to get on one knee. Katie’s response was “Are you joking? Is this for real?” before saying “YES!” Bespoke Journey | Louis & Katie | Ethica Diamonds Blog