I also loved the ‘placeholder’ idea of giving a ring that is obviously not the engagement ring and telling her you want to pick the real one out together. (And by together, I mean get her what she likes within your means to do so.)
I'm late to the party but here's my two cent's worth...
I agree with this. My sweetie proposed with a small platinum ring with 8 small but very good diamonds sitting flush in a row across the top. At that time, I wanted a flush diamond setting because I do a lot of outdoor work and I didn't want anything catching on the diamonds. This is the ring I had told my mom and grandmother that I wanted, and he bought it, knowing it was a good ring and a good value, from my grandmother, who with my mom, was in the antique business.
I also paid half the price ahead of time, because I knew what his budget was and I didn't want him to have to spend the total of what it cost. I told him about this many years later, and he loves the story!
Years and years later, at an antique show at which my mom and grandmother and I were selling, I found a nice 1 1/2 round diamond in a ring setting I didn't care for but was a good buy, so I bought it and reset the diamond onto a gold band as a solitaire. Now I wear it along with the original engagement band and with my gold wedding band.
Point being, I ended up with exactly what I wanted, and after over 30 years of marriage, I'm very happy about it. If my sweetie had bought a ring I didn't want, I'd have felt obligated to wear it because i love him, but know I would have felt regretful every time I looked at it. Having your sweetie pick her own ring knowing your budget (and like me, being able to add to it herself if she wants to) would be my advice. But then again, you know her better than we do, so you'd know if she wanted to be surprised by you with a ring or would rather pick her own.
Congratulations! I hope you let us know what happens! We love a good romance story!
