When men propose, do they already have the engagement ring?

Question

When my husband proposed, he did not already have the ring. I know he had been planning to propose on that day for at least a few days before. He had no way of knowing what size ring I wear. He also would not know what I like.

On television, when men propose, they already have the engagement ring, and it fits perfectly.

I'm wondering what happens in real life. Men - When you proposed, did you already have the ring? If so, how did you know what size to get her? Women: when he proposed, did he already have the ring? Did it fit? Did you like the ring he chose?

Answer 1

We talked about getting married for ages and even went out and looked at ring styles and sizes. I had my heart set on one ring in particular.

Unfortunately, the one we had been looking at getting suddenly went up in price, and our financial situation went down hill. Plus we are both uni students, he is a mature age student on his 2nd degree and I am in my final year of a 5 year degree! So we didnt have much money lying around. So we decided to wait

Anyway he still wanted to propose, so he proposed without a ring. "The ring doesnt make the proposal" he said, and how true! And I swear it was all so romantic even without a ring. But for symbolism, we went out and brought a cheapie until we could afford the real thing. We were looking at getting a "better" one when our financial situation improved. But now I now love the cheapie too much to part with it!  

Answer 2

In real life, according to the jeweler I saw (who is repairing another ring), most guys bring their fiance to choose the ring.  I know my guy did that.  As you say, you don't know either her taste or ring size.  I mean think about it.  What if she says no?  If you spent the time and money to get a custom ring, you eat that because it is non-returnable.

Answer 3

Yeah... a real big one right through their nose...

Answer 4

Yes, my husband had the ring when he proposed.  No, it did not fit, but I do think it's beautiful.

He tried to size my finger with a string one time when I was sleeping (he later told me) but it didn't work too well.  I still had to get the ring size reduced by 2 whole sizes (I have baby hands).

As for knowing what you like, I would try to hint at it as far in advance as possible. Whenever we watched a movie or saw an ad for engagement rings, I would make comments like "Baby, you know I would never want a gold engagement ring, right?" or "Ooh, I really love that style."

However, there is no wrong or right way.  A lot of guys do wait so their bride-to-be can choose the ring herself.  I don't think that it is any less romantic...ring shopping together can be fun, I think.

Answer 5

He decided all by himself .He felt probably decided your choice.

Poor guy pardon him .If you want he will exchange

Answer 6

He did have the ring...in fact he had it for three months before asking me. He wanted the time to be 'right'. No, it did not fit, we just got it sized after I got it. yes I love the ring. Its not the traditional engagement kind I guess you would say. Its a small three stone and I could not be happier with it because I know that he picked it out for me.

Answer 7

When we knew we wanted to be together forever, I took him shopping and suggest he buy a lovely temporary engagement ring (cheap, 9ct Gold, Zirconia), so he could have it ready for whenever he chose to propose. I explained, he needed to be prepared & that I wanted a ring (ready to wear & to fit perfectly), this process did not spoil the mood or anything, infact he understood & liked that we were properly planning it! It was 6mth later he proposed.

A few months after the proposal we went looking for THE engagement ring together, which was a wonderful experience, as we went to all the top jewellers including Tiffanys to scout who we wanted to make our ring. Finally we found a fabulous designer, who helped us create our dream ring and source a lovely 1carat D VVS2. It was well worth it.

I know not everyone can do this, nor would every man have the patience, but we both looked back and saw that it was the best experience, as I got what I wanted, and was never once unhappy throughout the whole experience. Infact my now husband also learnt a lot and said he was happy, as he would NEVER have understood or guessed what kind of ring I wanted. Now he knows all about the 4 C's, and difference between Princess cut and Brilliant, VVS2 & SI1 etc...

I value the 'temporary' ring, infact I had it cleaned and will be wearing it for when we travel overseas, as my real engagement ring is too valuable to wear.

Good Luck.

Answer 8

My fiance didn't already have a ring. He did propose with 2 dozen roses though, which I thought was beautiful.  

Answer 9

We'd been together for 6 years by the time he'd proposed and we both knew it was more a matter of when as opposed to if we'd get engaged.  We had even stopped at a few jewelry stores and looked at rings (hence how he knew my ring size), but he picked out my ring completely on his own.  And I absolutely love it.  But I also trusted his taste and judgement and I like the romance of a suprise.

I think it all depends on the couple - some guys know what their girlfriends would like and other are just too overwhelmed to pick something out.  In the end the ring isn't what's important - you can be just as engaged without one!

Answer 10

Some do; the ring may need to be re-sized to fit.  Others don't, and some don't bother with an engagement ring: it is better to save the money toward a down payment on a house.

Answer 11

My FH and I went ring shopping about 3 months before he bought my ring so I could get fitted and pick out the style I liked. We were together for 4 years at the time, so it wasn't like getting engaged wasn't expected at some point soon.

He proposed with the style of ring I wanted and it fit perfectly.

Answer 12

Usually, the men have the ring. My fiance and I tried on rings first at his request so he could find out what I liked and then he had one custom made to my liking. So, obviously I love it!