Adam & Amy

I caught up with Adam and Amy a few months after their proposal to hear how it went and to find out more about their experience commissioning a bespoke piece of jewellery from me.

1. Congratulations on your engagement! How did the proposal go? Did everything go according to plan? It looked amazing! Adam, were you nervous?

Adam: Really, really to plan. Well.. I did make Amy walk through a field of mud to get to the castle where I had planned to ask her.

 

Amy: Yes! And I had my NEW sheepskin cream and suede Doc Martens sandals on!!

 

Adam: She knew something was up when I didn’t want to go to the pub first, just straight to Camber Castle. But in theory all went to plan! Minus the mud...

2. Amy, did you have a sense of what was happening?

Amy: No, I had no idea. I was so confused! 

3. Adam, were you nervous?

Adam: Yes, very! I was surprised by how nervous I was. I kept looking back at her and thinking, she might be annoyed now (about the mud), but she has no idea what is about to happen. She also kept stopping to read all the signs, and I was just keen to get to the castle! The ring had been burning a hole in my pocket for so long.

4. Does the castle mean anything to you? Adam: No, it didn’t yet.

Amy: When I asked him why he chose Rye after the proposal, he said he wanted to choose somewhere we could come back to and it could always be the place where we got engaged. Also, on a separate point; Rye is so nice!

5. Adam, when it came to commissioning the ring, did you know what Amy would want? 

Adam: I definitely had an idea in my head. But it took you, my sister and my best mates to help bring the idea to life. I knew I wanted something classic and timeless from what Amy had shown me already. But I didn’t want it to look dated, which I feel some antique rings can. But I knew I wanted it to be chunky, because Amy always wears chunky jewellery.

 

Amy: I don’t like subtle or dainty pieces.

 

Adam: When I spoke to you, we were able to come up with a way of setting the stone in a hybrid setting which ensured the centre stone was visible and not fully bezel set, but in a way which was still clean and modern. It felt Art Deco too which was the style I was going for.

 

Amy: When I first saw it, I was so shocked that I just saw blackness. The shock of it all! Adam had gone down on one knee to ‘change a film canister’ so when he asked the question I couldn’t process it all at once!

6. Amy, had you ever dropped any hints about the style of ring you wanted?

Amy: At Adam’s sister's wedding, that was the first and only time I ever spoke about it out loud and expressed that I would want a yellow stone (yellow is definitely my colour). I wanted it to be ‘me’, and so Adam going bespoke meant that it feels now like a reflection of me by the people who know me best. So it feels different to a shop bought ring which lots of people could have. Mine is very unusual, it’s very me.

7. Adam, how did you find the process of making Amy’s ring?

Adam: Really fun! I would do it again if it wasn’t for the cost!

 

Amy: Birthday!? 

 

Adam: I like the fact that we did all our meetings face to face, because I am terrible by text. I need to visualise it and see what you think as well. Then if I came up with a crazy idea I could gauge how crazy it was by how you and especially my sister reacted. I really liked seeing the drawings and watching the ideas come to life as we spoke. It gave me a really clear sense of what you were doing, and was a lot of fun as well. 

8. What were your highlights of the process?

Adam: That Amy had no clue what I was doing all along! Also, you knew where I was going with the idea. I could use terms like ‘chunky’ or ‘old fashioned’ and you were able to translate these into designs which I loved for Amy.

9. Amy, did you have an idea of what Adam might commission for you? 

Amy: I really had no idea! We never spoke about it! In my head it would either have been an heirloom, or if it was new I always knew he would get me something which looked good. I was very surprised it all happened, but not surprised at all, if that makes sense?

 

 

10. Are you glad you went down the bespoke route? And if so, why?

Adam: I’m very glad, because it matches Amy’s personality in a weird way that I couldn’t have achieved otherwise. Also, it meant that when I set a budget, you didn’t try and upsell me like a high street might. You sourced the stones in line with my figures, and gave me options that were more too, but with a rationale behind these. I did end up spending a bit more than I had originally planned to, but this was only because I understood the rationale and chose the option I liked best. I’m really glad I did it, you just got it and had a clear understanding of what I was after.

 

Amy: Can I say why I’m glad? I’m so glad, because I have gotten so many compliments on it! And the number one thing people say is it’s so different, and when I tell them it was made bespoke, by my partner and his sister, it becomes a story in itself; the ring story. I have honestly had so many compliments on it! So much so that when one of my other friends saw it on instagram, she showed the picture to her partner and told him “I want this!” 

11. Amy, were you sad to miss out on the experience of making it? 

Amy: I wasn’t sad, I was just surprised that he managed to get away with it without me knowing! I love it. It’s me and it’s chunky, and I love it from every angle!

 

Adam: You have to work on the wedding rings now too!