What’s Next When She Said Yes

When we were kids, we got excited when we saw a freshly married couple leaving the church or court house. At that time, I admired the beautiful gowns the most. I wondered how long they knew each other before getting engaged, and now married. There is something interesting about engagement stories. Just think about Prince William proposing to Kate Middleton with his Mom’s former engagement ring in the foothills of Mount Kenya in October 2010. Here, I share my engagement, wedding, and anniversary rings story.

Discolsure: This post is sponsored by Shesaidyes.

Where We Met

My husband and I were introduced by one of our former theoretical meteorological instructors a a Conferences. A couple of years later, we met at a workshop again and chatted casually about our research for quite a while. Again a couple of years later, we met at another conference. There he invited me for dinner. I ordered a Salad Nicoise, my absolute favorite dish among salads. After dinner, he brought me back to the hotel. He invited me for a drink at the bar, but I declined. About 3 months later, I had to give a talk at his institution. Thereafter, we started dating.

What I Said When He Proposed

It was on our third date that he proposed to marry him. I was like “Are you kidding me?” and declined. We only met on the weekend because we lived in for Germany far away towns (8 hours drive). The second time, he proposed I responded that I am sure that I want to spend the next time with him, but I wouldn’t see that as a reason to get married. For four weekends in a row, he proposed to marry him, and came up with new arguments why we should get married.

On the sixth time, I thought “When it is so important to him to be married, why don’t you marry him? I can file for a divorce any time.” As a result, I said “Yes”.

What He Did When I Said Yes

He looked happy as a clam. Then, he invited me to go to the jewelry store to buy our wedding bands. In Germany, you wear the wedding band on the left hand when you get engaged. After tying the knot, the groom pulls it from the left ringfinger and puts it on the right ringfinger.

I would have liked one of these wedding bands with a pressure-hold diamond. However, diamonds were way out of our league pricewise.  At the time, when we shopped for our wedding band, the similar looking, but much less expensive moissanite bridal sets weren’t yet an option to chose from. Diamonds have been incredibly expensive in Germany. Nevertheless, he promised that he would get me such a ring on our fifth wedding anniversary.

My Second Anniversary Rings

When we got married, he switched the band from the left to the right. However, before our wedding dinner, we decided to wear the rings on the left hands like it is custom in America and many other European countries.

On our second anniversary, he gave me a pair of pearl studs, one for each year. Of course, he hold his promise, and I got a wedding band with a little diamond on our fifth anniversary. It required saving for it.

Why He Made a U-Turn To Pick Up My Solitaire

After immigrating to America, I often have baked bread on the weekends. One Monday moring on our way to work, I said “Oh, I forgot to put the solitaire back on my finger yesterday.” He immediately made a U-turn at the next opportunity to drive back home. Being irritated I asked why he did that. His answer really surprised me. “You look so non-married without the rock.”

Note that the solitaire was a gift from him. I had picked it, when he asked me to choose a ring to celebrate my being awarded tenure. In other words, it had nothing to do with being married. Interestingly, I had never thought that the solitaire together with my two wedding rings looked like a bridal set.

.

When He Gave Me Anniversary Rings

Like in Germany, anniversary rings for her are a Do in the US too.  Eventhough the number of anniversaries differ amoung the countries. My husband gave me one on our 10^th, 15^th, and 20^th anniversary. For my American readers, in Germany, husbands usually buy anniversary rings for the 25^th anniversary.

Photo of our Wedding: H. Mölders

Other photos: Courtesy of She Said Yes

© 2013-2022 Nicole Mölders | All rights reserved