Becoming engaged is a milestone for many couples. The happy time before your marriage. What did your engagement mean to you? Planning? Excitement? The RING?! Sadly for some, the ring is even more important than the whole love part.
Thankfully, a beautiful bride named Ariel Desiree McRae is reminding us all that the ring should really be the least of your worries with a very proud Facebook post that is now being shared by media outlets across America:
“My husband doesn’t have a lot, neither of us do. We scrape and scrape to pay bills and put food in our bellies, but after almost 2 years of dating we decided that we couldn’t wait anymore, so we didn’t.
I wasn’t even thinking about rings, I just wanted to marry my best friend, but he wouldn’t have it. He scraped up just enough money to buy me two matching rings from Pandora. Sterling silver and CZ to be exact. That’s what sits on my ring finger, and I am so in love with them.
While we were purchasing my rings however, another lady that was working there came over to help the lady selling them to us. She said, ‘Y’all can you believe that some men get these as engagement rings? How pathetic.’ When she said that I watched my now husband’s face fall. He already felt bad because he couldn’t afford the pear-shaped set that so obviously had my heart and covered my Pinterest page. He already felt like a failure, asking me again and again ‘Are you sure you’ll be happy with these? Are you sure this is okay?’ He was so upset at the idea of not making me happy enough and of me not wanting to marry him because my rings didn’t cost enough money or weren’t flashy enough.
Old Ariel would have ripped that woman a new one. Mature Ariel said, ‘It isn’t the ring that matters, it is the love that goes into buying one that is.’ We bought the rings and left.
Y’all I would have gotten married to this man if it had been a 25¢ gum ball machine ring. When did our nation fall so far to think the only way a man can truly love a woman is if he buys her $3,000+ jewelry and makes a public decree of his affection with said flashy ring? Sure they are nice, sure the sentiment is wonderful and I’m not trying to cut down any of your experiences, but when did it come to all that? Why do material possessions equate love??
My husband was so afraid of me not wanting him because he couldn’t afford a piece of jewelry. He was afraid that the love I have for him would pale because he couldn’t afford the wedding set I wanted. The world has made it this way and it is so sad. Ultimately we couldn’t wait any longer.. so we eloped. I’ve never been this happy in my life and I couldn’t imagine spending it with anyone else ever. Here I am, Court-House married, $130 ring set, the love of my life by my side and happier than I could ever imagine.”
When I asked Ariel how her and her husband are handling the attention she stated:
“We have been overwhelmed and over joyed at the support this post has gotten! Mostly, we are just happy that people have identified so much with this post and that they are reaching out to us to tell us their stories. We have been blessed.”
Can you imagine being in a jewelry store and having a jeweler say something so rude? How would you have handled it. Ariel handled it so elegantly, but I asked her if she wishes should would have said anything more that day:
“No, not really. Only because I don’t believe that it would have made a difference. Honestly, I think her reading this (because I am sure she has seen it by now) and understanding how rude she actually sounded has been her biggest wake up call.”
So young or old couples learn a thing or two. A ring is a symbol of your marriage. Don’t put so much emphasis on it, but rather on focus on the love you share.
And lastly when asked if she could offer any advice for men looking for the perfect ring, Ariel’s husband stepped in and answered this important question:
“Honestly, I think a groom to be should be attentive when searching for the perfect ring. Listen to her likes and dislikes. Heck, even ask her friends and family about what she likes, then just go out and search for something you know will make her swoon! Picking the ring is easy, it’s just detective work! The asking is the part that’s the nail biter, but, to be honest, with my wife it was easy because I knew she was my best friend and love of my life. There isn’t anyone else I’d want to burst out into dance in public with or spend countless hours watching Netflix series (Mostly Friends because that’s all she ever wants to watch over and over again) with other than her! So my best advice for a groom is to worry about the love first and the ring later. Everything falls into place with the right person!”
This folks, is real love! I hope you are all so lucky to experience it!
Images used with permission from Ariel Desiree McRae