PW Reader Ring: Lauren & Ben!
Lauren’s ring!
The couple: Lauren Ellis and Ben Scott, Philadelphia
The ring: My ring features Ben’s 90-year-old grandmother’s diamond from her engagement ring. She gave it to Ben, and then one of their relatives who works in a jewelry shop where Ben is from in Maryland custom-made the ring in a Tiffany design from the 1920s. It has six diamonds altogether in an 18-karat-gold setting.
The proposal: Ben and I met three years ago at the American Institute of Musical Studies festival in Graz, Austria. We’re both violinists, and became friends when we were assigned as stand partners (when two violinists share the same music stand) for one of our concerts.
This past summer, we were at the same festival in Austria. The Schlossberg — or “Castle Hill” — and its clock tower are iconic in Graz. Its history dates back to the 10th century and today it is a public area complete with parks, gardens, performance venues, and restaurants. Although we are usually frugal in our travels, Ben had promised me a nice dinner in Austria, and I had suspected that he would take me back to the place where we took me for our first date — the Schlossberg Restaurant.
We got there early, and he proposed as we were enjoying the view and walking around the gardens. Unbeknownst to me, he had asked one of our friends from the festival to take photos, so I have those moments captured forever. We had an amazing dinner and continued the celebration the next day at the festival’s opening concert.
The band: Many people assume that I am wearing my ring on my right hand because it didn’t fit on my left, but that is actually not the case. Traditionally, women in Poland and Germany (two countries in our heritage) as well as Austria (where we got engaged) wear their wedding rings on the right hand, but more importantly, wearing my engagement ring on my right hand means it will never be irritating or an obstacle when I am playing my violin. When we get married, both of us will wear our rings on our right hands.
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