Couple: @chet_champ, @sydney_michelle7
Location: Proposal
In their words:
An unlikely pair - a farm boy from rural Texas and a city girl from NYC met, per chance, like many modern love stories--on a dating app in Denver. Music has always been a big part of my life, so when he showed up to the first date and said he also knew the band "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard," I was intrigued. For our second date, I invited him to a Red Rocks concert with me on a Sunday night with 30+ of my friends. To my surprise, he said yes. What initially started out as dating practice after mutual breakups (we joked about "if we ever actually dated,") soon turned into "why wouldn't we do this?" Together we chase powder in the mountains, dance (and thrash) at concerts and music festivals, try our hand at cooking authentic cultural cuisines, share belly laughs till 4am, camp under the stars, and take turns pointing out when our fur babies are looking especially cute. Chet and I are a perfect balance - he grounds my chaotic energy, lets me pick and order at every restaurant (and finishes the food I don't eat), and continues to say yes to my spontaneous whims. His instinct is to balance the risks, while mine is to chase the adventure. Meeting in the middle is where we create our favorite experiences. We share a love of Japanese food and culture (he has shown me anime, I taught him what uni is) and going there had been a dream for both of us since before we even met. For the majority of our relationship, I had been in graduate school, so time and finances restricted international exploration for a while. We planned Japan as not only a graduation trip, but a celebration of us starting a new chapter in our lives together. It was the perfect setting and moment for a proposal.
The proposal itself occurred in an intimate moment during one of our Ryokan stays in the Japanese Alps (shoutout to Mozumo!) after we were served an incredible Kaseiki-style meal in our traditional room (that had its own private onsen). He even learned how to ask in Japanese :). He said he knew it was the right place because I cried when we got there because of how beautiful it was. A few days later, he planned an engagement photoshoot in Kyoto where we got to dress up in traditional Japanese wedding outfits and take some amazing photos. Every moment in Japan felt perfectly curated and aligned. For a moment, it felt like the world existed to celebrate us. It was a truly perfect trip of a lifetime. We've returned feeling totally fulfilled and stoked for this next chapter. And to go back to Japan for our honeymoon (this time to ski!).
We chose KDD because I knew I wanted a vintage-style ring, something that was unique and truly me. Despite wanting a vintage ring, we had a modern love story that included picking the exact ring I wanted. I had a family heirloom ring that had a similar ornate/hollow basket as my ring (Skyla w/ rubies) that I used to wear as a little girl and pretend it was my wedding ring. When I saw the Skyla, I knew IMMEDIATELY that that was it. Luckily, I found you guys via targeted IG ads, and it's the first time I've been REALLY grateful for an ad! I loved that you guys are a boutique shop, and made in NYC, where I'm from (of course, we HAD to get something from the diamond district!). We actually had planned to fly out and come see the store in person on a trip home, but ended up getting sick and not making it. The fact that every ring is handmade/customizable is also a major bonus. I am someone who does exorbitant research before any purchase (or trip, which really paid off in Japan) and everything I read online was really positive. Chet also said he had a positive experience working with your team. It was hard to make such a big purchase site unseen, but we we're able to really trust you guys. (Seriously, your social media and website are so good!).
Thank you so much for being a part of this special moment, and for creating a work of art that will live on my hand for a lifetime! This ring is a show stopper and I have been getting non-stop compliments and cannot stop staring.
