Joe and Charlotte are the perfect example of childhood sweethearts, meeting back in 2011 through their summer course in the North Wales Youth Orchestra. Little did the two of them know then that they would still be together almost 11 years later. Joe actually got down on one knee ten years to the day that they first got together, it doesn’t get much more romantic than that! Many couples grow apart when they start dating at a younger age, but Joe and Charlotte have been quite the opposite, being in perfect harmony ever since their youth Orchestra days. They went to the same university and so have never been far from each others sides.. Despite 11 years being a huge amount of time, Joe says it feels like time has flown by - time flies when you’re having fun!
Joe, When did you know you wanted to propose?
I think I had known for a long time before this but it was actually at a family gathering during the Six Nations in Cardiff. A discussion about a recent engagement arose and I properly thought about what we were waiting for and realized there wasn’t anything. I was tuned out for the rest of the conversation as I began pontificating about when, where and how.
You’d think after 10 years she would be well within her rights to be bombarding me with hints at every opportunity, however, we’ve always been happy to take life at our own pace and it never felt like either of us were putting any kind of pressure on a particular timescale. In any long term relationship there are those inevitable, carefully tread conversations about marriage which crop up and I think there was just a slight shift in those conversations during the pandemic, when life was changing a lot for everybody. I think we both felt then that it was time.
How did you find Ethica Diamonds?
It was actually in a conversation with Charlotte. I think she had read an article online about ethical Jewellery which she found really interesting and enlightening. Something in my brain must have decided that was a nugget of information worth saving as when I began seriously planning our proposal, it was the first thing I looked into and I’m really glad I did.
What was the ring shopping experience like?
It would be fair to say I was a little more than apprehensive about the shopping experience. I am absolutely that person who will spend 20 minutes searching each aisle in the shop before asking a member of staff for assistance, so the idea of secretly spending a lot of money on something I know so little about, for a partner who will have had a good idea about what they want was scary to say the least. However, Claire and Olivia were really great and made the whole thing so easy and actually quite enjoyable. I made the trip down to Truro, with a few ideas of what I liked from the website, they had the rings ready to show me which was really helpful as a few were slightly different from what I had initially pictured. They were quickly able to show me similar designs which I actually liked much more and ultimately went for. I would definitely recommend to anybody buying an engagement ring to go and take a look, it was so valuable!
Joe chose the gorgeous Aria Ring (one of our most loved designs!) with a stunning 0.97ct lab grown diamond and set in platinum and lab diamond custom diamond set shoulders. A classic solitaire but with an elegant twist in the setting, this ring is effortlessly elegant and timeless, especially with the added sparkle!
Tell us how you planned the proposal!
Having to come up with the perfect proposal was one of those thoughts that I would always expel from my brain no sooner than it had arrived, the task of coming up with something worthy of the occasion without being on one hand too elaborate, on the other, understated, felt too great a challenge to think about. When it came to it though, it was actually very straightforward. I thought first about what makes Charlotte happier than anything, which in her case is undoubtedly time with her family. I thought having both her parents and mine there to celebrate with us immediately afterwards would make the occasion so special for Charlotte. The location was also easy. Our favourite place in the world to visit is Godrevy Lighthouse. Every time we’re in that part of the world we always try to visit this stunning location for a Sunset.
The real challenge was combining these too elements as all our parents live in North Wales and Godrevy is in Southwest Cornwall!
How did you combine all those elements?
I basically just filled both sets of parents in on the plan, which was for them to appear behind Charlotte and I while we were enjoying the sunset, then, while Charlotte was distracted by this initial surprise, I would produce the ring and propose. I gave them both very precise instructions about where and when they should arrive to avoid Charlotte recognising any cars prematurely. Both of our families had made trips to Cornwall for holidays when we were younger and luckily nobody required much persuading to come back.
Have you started planning the wedding?
We were on such a high after the engagement that we wanted to just enjoy every second without getting too stuck into the planning straight away. We have made a fair bit of progress now however and are both really excited for our wedding next year.
We are so grateful we could be apart of Joe & Charlotte's beautiful proposal and help them find the perfect ring, everyone here at Ethica wishes them a huge congratulations - we can't wait to see the wedding photos!
With love,
Team Ethica x
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