The Story
Ross and I met in the summer of 2019 on Hinge. We’d both just moved to London from the U.S to start our careers, and on our first date, we drank two bottles of wine between us at a now-shuttered wine bar in Soho called 68 & Boston. After we bashfully parted ways at Embankment station, I knew I had to see him again. A few months later, the COVID-19 lockdown began and accelerated things: he moved into my Putney house-share to keep me company after my roommates returned home, met my family on Zoom, and became the resident chef during those strange months of isolation.
Dropping Hints…
We’d chatted about getting engaged, because we want to hopefully start a family one day and have careers to plan around. We agreed on a rough timeline that made sense for us; it’s important to have open discussions around these things. While I was able to drop some not-so-subtle hints about the kind of ring I wanted (I even directed him to Rachel Boston’s website), he was adamant that the rest of it be a surprise. If in doubt, I told him, go for anything resembling my mum’s engagement ring! When he started acting cagey with his phone, I knew something was up…
The Proposal
Ross had booked for us to go away for a late summer weekend at the Rectory Hotel in the Cotswolds, a personal favourite of mine. When I offered to ring up and make a dinner reservation at the pub across the road or get our train tickets, he simply said: “leave it with me.” That was the first hint, since we usually plan everything together. It was an unexpectedly warm Friday in September, so upon arrival, we headed straight to the pool. As we were getting ready for dinner, he was whistling incessantly as if to fill the silence, which was a bit of a giveaway about how nervous he was!
He suggested we have a drink in the garden before our dinner reservation, and as soon as I stepped out and saw a reserved table with an enormous bouquet of flowers and a bottle of Champagne on ice, I knew what was happening. Before I could react, he was down on one knee and popped the question. I burst into tears—nothing can possibly prepare you for that moment—and he scooped me up in his arms. Little did I know, he’d hired a photographer, Alicia Victoria, who was snapping away behind the scenes with her long lens! I was completely speechless, and “shaking like a leaf” as he put the ring on. It was a completely out-of-body experience.
The Ring
The ring is a beautiful Rachel Boston creation based on the Joy ring, with a tapered knife-edge band. My personal litmus test for engagement rings is: “will this still look elegant and not too gauche when I’m wearing this as a seventy year old?” I think a simple, round brilliant engagement ring fits that bill perfectly. Ross took Rachel’s advice and set the stone securely in a six-prong cathedral setting with a gallery rail, and I like that it’s not too high-set so it doesn’t catch on things and feels practical for daily wear. It was important to me that the diamond was ethically sourced and GIA certified, which Rachel Boston specialises in. I absolutely love it.
The Engagement Party
We had a small drinks gathering at our flat with a few close family members to celebrate, which naturally turned into an absolute hoot, and ended at 3am. We drank about a dozen bottles of Champagne between us, and lined our stomachs with sourdough pizzas from our favourite local pizzeria, Santa Maria. It was perfect.
The Outfit
I wore a rented Zimmermann broderie anglaise dress from Hurr — white enough to be vaguely bridal, but colourful enough to feel summery and casual. I rarely wear heels, but because I had a hunch about what was going on, I put on my trusty gold Loeffler Randall heels for maximum comfort: no risk of sinking into the mud with those! Rather presumptuously, I also took off all of my rings beforehand, and had a rare manicure ahead of the weekend. Perhaps I was manifesting it!
Wedding Plans So Far
We’re both eldest children and very Type A, so I’m happy to report that the planning process has been efficient and ahead of schedule so far! We secured our dream venue in Gloucestershire, found a stunning Catholic church nearby for the ceremony, and are so excited to welcome our family and friends to the beautiful Cotswolds in September 2025. It’s one of our favourite places to escape to, and we couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else. I’m particularly excited about the loaded fries truck we’ve booked for late night food — is there anything better than piping hot chips after a load of drinks?! Over the coming months, we’ll finalise our guest list, start looking at invitations, and iron out some of the finer details.
Photographer: www.aliciavictoria.co.uk/
Related article: Why Traceable Diamonds And Ethically Sourced Gold Are The New Jewellery-Box Must-Haves