PW Reader Ring: Diana & Rocco!

Diana’s ring!

The couple: Diana Schimmel and Rocco Avena, from Philadelphia.

The ring: My ring has a pear-shaped diamond set in white gold. The diamond itself was my Mommom’s stone that we reset into a more modern setting that suits my style.

When I initially inherited the stone, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to set it into a ring. But after talking about it and working with my trusted jeweler, Chrstine Smith at A Gem for You, I was convinced that setting it into an engagement ring was the way to go. Rocco knew that I was attached to the stone and when he asked told my parents of his intentions to propose and asked for their approval, they confirmed that this would be the ring I would want to receive.

The proposal: Rocco and I spent the majority of our relationship as a long-distance couple as he is from Northern New Jersey, and I lived in Philadelphia. We had been getting more and more serious and knew we needed to make a decision about where we would live soon. This fall, we decided to officially take the next step and move in together and began discussing and making those plans.

Getting engaged was mentioned, but not firmly decided upon. When we talked about it, I said I wanted to get engaged before moving in together, but Rocco wanted to make sure that we got engaged not because we were going to be living together, but because we really wanted to. Little did I know that this was Rocco’s way of throwing me off the scent. He told me later that as soon as he realized that he wanted to see me daily in our new apartment, that he knew he wanted to see me daily for the rest of his life, and that he was going to propose.

The weekend that we moved into our new place, we planned to go out to dinner to celebrate this new chapter of our lives. I had thought maybe this would be a good opportunity to propose, and talked about it with my Mom—and my mom did an awesome job throwing me off the scent (despite knowing Rocco’s plans) and convinced me it would not happen that night. So then I really thought it would happen either on my upcoming 30th birthday or on New Year’s Eve.

For dinner we went to a little restaurant called Blu in Montclair that had an intimate setting and only about ten tables in the whole place. Rocco had told the staff he was proposing that night, but I still had no idea. After most of the meal, talk turned to our relationship and future. All of a sudden Rocco took my hands and began giving the most heartfelt proposal. He took the ring out of his clenched fist and asked, “Will you marry me?” I was so caught off guard! I answered, “WHAT?! Oh my God! YES!”

We excitedly finished dinner and went back to our new apartment to celebrate more and start calling people. But Rocco wasn’t done with his surprises—he had some family waiting for us with champagne, desserts and flowers. He also took that moment to give me yet another gift—a pair of diamond earrings!

The band: I know it will be hard to find a band that fits the shape of my engagement ring’s stone, but I do not want to do a band that fits around the diamond. I would like something with diamonds that compliments it, perhaps set in prongs as opposed to channel set.

Read other PW Reader Ring stories here. 

Wanna submit your ring? Here’s how: Show Us Your Bling! 

Like PW on Facebook | Follow PW on Twitter | Sign up for the PW newsletter

Getting married? Start and end your wedding planning journey with Philadelphia Weddings' guide to the best wedding vendors in the city.