PW Reader Ring: Lauren & Bryan!

The couple: Lauren Larrieu and Bryan Davis, from Philadelphia.

The ring: My ring has a brilliant-cut round diamond set in a Simon G platinum setting with three rows of micropave diamonds on the band. Although the picture doesn’t do the setting much justice, it glitters from every angle.

We had popped into a few jewelry stores over the four years we have been dating, and Bryan had always preferred a classic setting over the ornate ones. On a sailing trip in Annapolis one time we saw the most beautiful Simon G engagement ring with the triple micropave setting and I was amazed. Little did I know he had already seen the same ring and decided that it was the one.

The proposal: We had just recently moved into our new home in Northern Liberties and were expecting the delivery of a couch on a Thursday. Then, we got a phone call telling us that the delivery was being pushed back to Friday and could come at any time from 3-6pm. Bryan is an extremely laid back person, but he got very upset upon hearing the news of it being rescheduled. He got the number to call and complain and said he would take care of it all. I was wondering why he was so upset about this—until he told me we had plans and that he had a surprise.

He asked that I be ready by 4pm to go to dinner on Friday, but to make sure I had something to eat to hold me over and to have some comfortable shoes as back ups. I got in the car and on our hour-long car ride towards Pottstown, I knew something big was happening, but I had no clue what it was. When we pulled into a small planes airport my jaw dropped. Our pilot greeted us at the car and asked if we were excited for our hot air balloon ride! I was blown away. He mentioned that the group of five that was supposed to be joining us had a cancellation, and that we would be taking the smaller basket since it was just going to be us. As much as I thought that this could be our big engagement, I started to question it after learning it was supposed to be a group outing.

He led us into his van and drove us to the field where the balloon was being set up, where he taught us all about our ride and we took some pictures before climbing into the basket. We waved to the camera—Bryan had somehow arranged for a drove to film our hot air balloon ride—and they cut us loose.

As we started floating up it felt so surreal, and as Bryan held me tight, I white-knuckled the railing for dear life and we waved to the drone as it followed us away from our launch site. The views were incredible and it was amazing to hover over the fields, seeing rivers and mountains in the distance. It was so romantic, although we had to ignore the fact that there was another person up there with us. Once we got stable the pilot taught us the “landing position”: We both had to turn in the same direction, stand centered in the balloon, bend our knees and hold on to the railings. It was easy to do, but terrifying to let go of my grip to move into position. We hovered along and as we finished pointing out all the sights the captain announced it was time to get in the landing pose. I was surprised the ride was ending so quickly, and thought to myself, I guess he’s not proposing up here, maybe he’ll do it at dinner?

But as I turned to get centered and brace my knees, Bry told me I was going to have to let go of the railing, and I said, “But what about the landing pose?” And he laughed, shook his head, got down on one knee, reached for my hand, and recited the most beautiful speech I had ever heard about what we mean to each other and our relationship and how he wants to spend the rest of his life making me the happiest person in the world. I wish we could have gotten his words on film because it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard, but the drone couldn’t reach our heights and instead we got an incredible photo snapped in between my sobbing and happy tears.

Our pilot congratulated us as the newly engaged couple and lowered us down to the tree tops to introduce us as such to every house we passed over in the nearby developments, with people who were outside shouting back up to congratulate us and wish us well. We felt like celebrities waving down to everyone and it was just so magical. We landed in a cul-de-sac in the middle of the street, and when we got back to our starting point they gave us a champagne toast. We wrapped up our night  in Phoenixville with an incredible Italian dinner at Marley’s that we swear we will return to every year on our engagement anniversary.

The band: We just purchased the matching Simon G Platinum micropave wedding band from Barsky’s on Jewelers’ Row and we are anxiously awaiting its arrival!

Read other PW Reader Ring stories here. 

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