I have been with my SO since we were in college. I've been talking about wanting marriage for about half of our relationship. 3-4 yrs ago I brought up marriage though not as often and not as serious. The past 2 yrs I kept asking when will we look at rings, asked about marriage, etc.

Last yr we had our first appt at Brilliant Earth after he asked me how does a ring appt go. Had a bad experience there... SO knew the exact ring I wanted and I waited all last yr for it, thinking he was going to propose. It didn't happen. On our 8 yr anniversary (after celebrating) he could tell I was upset and we talked more about timeline etc.

I was so upset from last yr to this yr but I didn't want to keep bringing up the same topic. Earlier this yr he asked me when's our next ring appt. I told him he has my Brilliant Earth wishlist and he could just buy from that. He didn't buy anything. And I'm glad he didn't.

Fast forward to last month, we were catching up with a friend who got their ring custom made at a local jeweler. My SO asked for them to send us the local jewelers info. I made us an appt for last week. And then we had our second appt just yesterday... When shown the diamond my SO said "looks good, wrap it up". My heart sank. Of course, I still looked at it more and then decided yes as it fit what I wanted. He put down the deposit and I'm getting my bridal set custom made to be exactly what I want! I was very detailed with my collages and wrote down exactly what I wanted, though some things were changed around just a little after consulting the designer. I've had an idea in my head for so long but Brilliant Earth was only able to provide some parts of the ring I wanted. With all the horror stories about Brilliant Earth coming out now, I just feel so much relief. I can't wait to see the CAD design in a few days! I also almost cried in the elevator when we were leaving...

TL;DR after a little over 8.5 yrs of being together and going back and forth on when the ring will be bought etc... He finally put down a deposit on lab grown diamond we saw together yesterday. Getting bridal set custom made at a local jeweler. Now to wait for the proposal!