How many people dream of that perfect proposal moment with the ring of their dreams? Brad Reed created just that for his girlfriend Ashley Lewis.
Brad and Ashley, both Michigan natives, met through mutual friends at their favorite bar. After their initial introduction and subsequent run-ins on the town, the two became fast friends. After a time, and the urgings of their friends, Brad realized that there was something very special about his friendship with Ashley, so he asked her on their first official date in October 2011.
A little over a year later, Brad knew it was time to ask Ashley to marry him. After he began designing a custom ring with Rachel, our Design Manager here at Brilliance, his next thoughts were about setting up the event. He knew how important Ashley’s family is to her, so he wanted to be sure to include them in an experience that they would remember for the rest of their lives. Luckily, the family’s tradition of getting together every other month for a family dinner provided the perfect opportunity.
Brad asked Ashley’s cousin Ami Morrison, a professional photographer, to shoot the event in an area of downtown Detroit called Campus Martius, where the city sets up an ice skating rink, lots of lights, and a huge Christmas tree ever year. Since Ashley knew that Brad had never been, he knew that she wouldn’t be surprised or suspicious when he suggested that they go.
Ami and Brad chose January 12 for the date, and he went about getting Ashley’s relatives to arrange an off-month family dinner. Cathy and Doreen, two of her other cousins, were happy to arrange it, and with 25 family members set to attend, including all of Ashley’s immediate family, the plan was coming together perfectly.
With Ami and her camera hiding behind the bushes, Brad brought Ashley to Campus Martius before dinner on the 12th. Ami’s husband and Cathy watched on with a video camera from a nearby restaurant while Brad brought Ashley to the arranged spot by a fountain at 4:30 PM. As Ami snapped pictures from the bushes, Brad dropped to one knee and asked Ashley if she would let him love her forever.
In between tears and with a beet-red face, Ashley said yes!
After a surreal moment, the crowd around them began applauding and congratulating the newly-engaged couple. After Ami captured a few more close-up shots, the couple made their way to dinner, where Ashley’s mother immediately noticed the sparkle of the ring on her finger, jumping out of the chair to give her daughter a hug.The rest of the night was a great celebration that Brad and Ashley will remember forever.
Congratulations Brad and Ashley! Thank you for allowing Brilliance to be a part of your lives together!
If you’re interested in creating a custom design of your own, please visit us at Brilliance.com, or call one of our diamond and jewelry experts at 866.737.0754 to get the ball rolling on your unique adventure.
We here at Brilliance take pride in our work, but when it comes to custom engagement rings, we cannot take all of the credit. Sometimes the truly beautiful and special creations come, not from the minds of our designers, but from the love and commitment that our customers have with each other.
Such was the case with this beautiful, non-traditional engagement ring that we brought to life for Peter this holiday season. Hidden inside the bright, eye-catching design are statements of the love that he feels for his girlfriend.
Done in versatile and classic 14K White Gold, the ring features an infinity symbol on the top, symbolizing his everlasting love, cleverly disguised by a beautiful row of diamonds and amethyst gemstones as well as an intricate floral detailing. In the center of each side of the infinity symbol rest a deep red ruby and deep blue sapphire, Peter and his girlfriend’s birthstones.
When Peter came to us, this blueprint was already brewing in his mind. While he considered a traditional engagement ring with the classic center diamond framed by his designs, the Brilliance team of designers and jewelry experts worked with him to bring his true dream to light. The result is a beautiful and unique ring with a touch of vintage feel and a modern twist, unlike any other ring we have seen before.
The best part: she said yes! Peter is already working with the custom design team at Brilliance to create an equally unique pair of wedding rings. Save the date!
If you’re interested in creating a custom design of your own, please visit us at Brilliance.com, or call one of our diamond and jewelry experts at 866.737.0754 to get the ball rolling on your unique adventure.
When Tim Brown decided to propose to Michelle Alland, he knew exactly what he wanted for an engagement ring and stumbled upon Brilliance. Together, we created the ring of his dreams, and ultimately Michelle’s! After completing a custom diamond search, Tim selected a beautiful 1.50 carat Cushion Cut Diamond, G color, VS2 clarity, GIA certified. To enhance the diamond, Tim wanted a custom diamond halo engagement ring setting in 950 Platinum. He had the ring engraved with Michelle’s name and the phrase “All You Need is Love”. He proposed to Michelle in the summer of 2011 on a romantic getaway, and she said YES!
Michelle loved her engagement ring so much that they decided to come back to Brilliance to create her diamond wedding band. After going back and forth about different ideas, Michelle decided on custom enhancer eternity bands on either side of her engagement ring. We engraved each band with a significant date: July 22, 2011, the day they got engaged and August 11, 2012, the day of their wedding. Congratulations Michelle and Tim from all of us at Brilliance!
Oppan Gangnam Style! The newest and zaniest dance craze ever to have hit American shores is a catchy Korean pop song released this past July by South Korean rapper and hip-hop artist PSY. The music video quickly became viral due to its highly addictive beat and unusual dance choreography. After debuting at #1 on the Gaon Singles chart in South Korea, the music video for Gangnam Style, posted on Youtube, garnered enough views to be named the most viewed K-pop song on the popular video-sharing website.
PSY performed Gangnam Style for this year’s MTV Movie Awards pre-show, and was even featured on the Ellen show to teach the “dress classy, dance cheesy” choreography to host Ellen DeGeneres and fellow guest Britney Spears. But what, exactly, is Gangnam Style? The title of the song refers to the affluent Gangnam district in Seoul, South Korea. The choreography can only be described as wildly comical yet addictive to watch (and even imitate). In the music video, PSY appears in unexpected locations of the song’s namesake district and proceeds to dance in the manner of a man riding a horse. We’re not doing it justice by describing it in words, so check out the official music video yourself:
One celebrity was so overcome with Gangnam Style fever that he commissioned Brilliance to create a custom pendant in honor of the wacky dance. This diamond pendant, in the shape of a man doing the signature horse-riding Gangnam Style dance, contains over 600 diamonds for a total of 6 1/4 carat total weight set in 18k white and yellow gold. The Gangnam inspired diamond pendant is now available for purchase through our website.
This past month we were privileged to have the opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind men’s ring for one of our local customers. He arrived at our showroom in South Florida and requested a unique skull-shaped ring in 925 sterling silver.
Our master jewelers got to work right away and spent many hours carving a skull out of a single piece of wax, all by hand (ring was inspired by a couple of pictures provided by customer). The ring featured a skull head, a full set of teeth, and arms, which served as the band and also contained a natural diamond ring on one of the fingers. This ring was definitely the most unique ring we have ever created, and we had a great time doing it! To create your unique ring or custom jewelry, please contact one of our custom diamond and jewelry experts at 866.737.0754.
Branson Landing became the scene of a romantic and quirky wedding proposal last weekend. Brilliance, the trusted online retailer of diamond engagement rings, was in pride of place at the memorable event!
Forty-one year old Lewis Holleman, a widower and father of five, came up with the “brilliant” and unforgettable idea of proposing to his girlfriend Lorena Winegartener whom he met on a dating site nine months prior. He planned the event with the single-mindedness of a man on a mission. As an opening act to the musical-like proposal, he envisioned their friends and family sitting on benches all over the park. These “bench sitters” were actually going to be part of a flash mob for the proposal.
When Lewis first though up this idea he did not think that many people would say “yes” to helping him with the proposal, however everyone wanted to join him in this event. All the participants practiced the dance moves at a local dance studio for a couple weeks prior to the proposal date (they worked on a total of three choreographed routines).
He ordered a diamond engagement ring from Brilliance with a beautiful loose diamond to present to Lorena. Lewis corresponded with Tracy Powers of Brilliance by email and laid out his proposal plans to her.
“She’ll be escorted to the bottom near the lake to sit and enjoy the flash mob until I appear to offer my proposal. Once the music starts, the water show will begin, along with fire that comes out of the barrels sticking out of the lake”, he wrote in one email.
And the result? A picture-perfect execution at Branson Landing:
The 33 year old bride-to-be, who works as a master control operator at KY3, stood in the middle of the park with a surprised look on her face as each of Lewis’ kids gave her a flower while the dancing continued. Then the groom-to-be himself appeared and gave a speech about how much Lorena means to him. On bended knee, he presented the dazzling diamond ring and asked for her hand in marriage.
“Thank you to everyone that showed up here. I’m so flabbergasted and honored and I’m just very happy right now”, Lorena said in a KY3 interview.
You know what they say: a Hollywood star with a sparkling career deserves a sparkling rock for her engagement ring! Actress Jessica Biel was recently seen with her fiancé Justin Timberlake going for a walk after having lunch at The Tavern in LA. The sunny day made the huge rock glisten and wink on her ring finger, prompting people to wonder if the bling is custom-made or a true vintage piece. Either way, most Hollywood watchers agree that the engagement jewelry must have cost a pretty penny.
The actress has become engaged to Justin Timberlake in December 2011 after an almost five-year on and off relationship. Jessica reportedly said in an interview that she believes she is finally in a relationship where she can still be herself while making time for her partner.
“Maintaining my individuality is really important to me because otherwise I can easily slip into somebody else’s life”, she said. She also acknowledged her parents when it comes to learning about how a loving relationship should be, and how the people in it must invest time and effort to make it work.
Though details about the big day are still being kept under wraps by the couple for the most part, it is revealed by an insider that Jessica plans to wear a Monique Lhuillier gown on her wedding day. It is also speculated to be a summer ceremony at a private venue.
Celebrity watchers are on their toes wanting to get more than a glimpse of the sparkling jewelry, especially since both Justin and Jessica are not exactly known to be media-hungry stars. This is the biggest reason why people only got a look at the engagement ring months after the proposal. However, it was reported that Jessica Biel showed the engagement ring to Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig last February, during a Saturday Night Live after-party at New York City’s Ristorante Asselina.
That sun-drenched day in March, paparazzi managed to snap pictures of what appears to be a princess-cut diamond set in a diamond studded band of either white gold or platinum as the engaged couple went for a walk. Jessica Biel’s dazzling engagement rock is sizable, and has a halo of smaller diamonds surrounding it. The actress herself revealed in recent news that Justin hand picked the engagement ring on his own without consulting her. In an interview with InStyle, Jessica said: “I had no say whatsoever (in the ring). I don’t micromanage. He is fearless in his choices and has a real eye for design. And I’ll be honest: He has better taste than I do.”
It seems like Justin knows Jessica’s preference in bling like the back of his hand, then, judging from the photos of her engagement ring nestled comfortably on her ring finger. And if it is true that Monique Lhuillier, known for her classic silhouettes and timeless lace designs, will design the soon-to-be bridal gown, then the stunning ring is bound to be the perfect match to the wedding finery.
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