PW Reader Ring: Tricia & Jon!

Tricia’s ring!

The couple: Tricia Brophy and Jon, from Philadelphia.

The ring: My ring is a white-gold band set with turquoise stones and a sparkly diamond solitaire. Because I’m a wedding photography, I have seen many beautiful rings, and always felt that I wanted something different than a diamond. Colors were always just more appealing to me for my own personal ring.

A few months before we were engaged, I told Jon I thought I would like turquoise. I have always loved turquoise, and when I looked into the meaning I kept seeing that it represents luck, happiness and trust. Without me knowing, Jon ended up contacting a jeweler in New Mexico and worked with him directly to design my ring. When I saw it, I definitely felt like it was made for me and made me change my mind about not wanting a diamond!

The proposal: Jon and I had a big trip to Maine planned for the first week of July—we were going to hike Mount Katahdin, and then go on to spend time with his family at a house we rented in Baxter, where Jon used to vacation with his family growing up.

On the morning of June 27th, though, I was cruising on my bike down the bike lane of Spring Garden when all of a sudden, I was struck by a car, flipped off my bike, and as I lay on the ground, I watched the car take off. At the hospital, I found out I had shattered my Olecranon (my elbow), and that I would need surgery. Jon and I were scheduled for our hike on July 5th. And while I didn’t know it at the time, it turned out that along with our hiking plans being ruined, so were Jon’s proposal plans. He was going to propose to me on the top of Mount Katahdin.

Obviously, things don’t always work out as planned. I had surgery four days later, and my parents and everyone around me were very insistent that I still make it to Maine. I was surprised everyone was so passionate about me still going on the trip, but figured it was just because we had rented the house with Jon’s family. We arrived only a few days off schedule—skipping the hike and heading right for the house.

One morning, he woke me up for a walk, and I was eager to get out of the house, as it one of the first days I felt better since surgery. As we reached North Pond, he said that if there was one thing I had taught him it was that you can’t always plan everything, and that he didn’t plan on doing it this way, but … and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. (This was all extremely fitting, as Jon is “The Planner,” and I would be considered the more spontaneous one.)

Jon had told his brother and father that he was proposing, but not his mother, which meant I got to surprise her. When we got back to the house, I told her that something was going on with my hand—she’s a nurse and had been caring for my injury—so she came right over and was investigating my palm when I flipped it over and showed her the ring. It was a really wonderful moment to get to see the look on her face, as I’m sure that’s how I looked when I realized that Jon was proposing.

The band: As of now, we are planning on going with the same jeweler for our bands—I hope to have some more beautiful turquoise in mine.

Read other PW Reader Ring stories here. 

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