On January 11th, 2008 I arrived for what I assumed would be a typical Friday at work. After about an hour on the job, one of my bosses came in and handed me an envelope marked, “Katie.” My boss then instructed me to open the envelope and follow the instructions enclosed.
After opening the envelope, I found the first clue of a large scavenger hunt. This first clue, and three others I uncovered in order, eventually leads me to the top floor of a hotel on Carolina Beach.
In a room on the top floor I found the fifth and final clue, which instructed me go outside to the balcony, which looked out over the beach. When I ran to the balcony I looked down and saw “KATIE WILL YOU MARRY ME?” written in the sand, with my boyfriend Albie standing next to it.
I scrambled down to the first floor, but couldn’t find access to the beach from the hotel. I eventually just circumvented the building entirely and ran out to the beach to meet Albie with a beautiful ring in hand, and the rest is history.
After only one month of dating, Jenna’s mother and stepfather came to visit and met Brad. While Jenna was at work, Brad couldn’t pass up the opportunity to express his intentions of marrying her. After two months of dating, he began looking for the perfect ring and found it (he hoped). He consulted her sister and his own sister to make sure that he was on the right track and went with his original choice. Two weeks later, he drove all night to West Virginia to enjoy a Bob Evans breakfast with her dad. He made it back to Raleigh in time to have dinner with Jenna that evening, so she had no idea that he had been gone.
After exactly three months of dating, Brad bought the perfect ring (she agreed) and when the afternoon became free unexpectedly, he decided to propose that day instead of waiting any longer. He asked Jenna if she wanted to explore a hidden waterfall that they had discovered together previously and requested that she bring her camera to take some pictures. At 95 degree temperatures, Jenna reluctantly agreed. After a little walk on a forest trail, Brad asked Jenna to sit on a rock overlooking the waterfall. He presented her with a long box for their “three-month-iversary,” which contained a necklace and earrings. Much to her surprise, the box also contained a poem that he had written her two months prior. This time an additional stanza had been added. As she read the poem aloud, she noticed Brad fumbling around in his pocket. With the ring ready, Brad offered to read the final stanza:
It was an early Sunday morning when John proposed. John had gone downstairs to make breakfast and I had fallen back to sleep upstairs until my dog jumped up into the bed. When I opened my eyes I noticed my dog had a note attached to her collar.
I grabbed the note, opened it up, and read, “Mommy will you marry Daddy?”
John then walked into the room, keeled down on my side of the bed, presented me with the most beautiful ring I had ever seen and said, “Will you marry me?” Of course I said yes and we married on May 22, 2010!
Matt and Carrie were on a road trip across the northeast. They enjoy traveling, good food and trying different beers. Matt loves movies and Carrie is a wedding and fine art photographer (to view her work check out Richardson Fry Photography) and an environmentalist–and for this story, these are important details to know! On October 12th they traveled from Matt’s grandmother’s house in Philadelphia to Mystic, Connecticut (yes, where Mystic Pizza was filmed) seeing the sights along the way (America’s Largest Clock, the Holland Tunnel, the Statue of Liberty, the World’s Largest Tooth, etc).
They got to Mystic in the evening and went to a local oyster bar for dinner. The server recommended two pubs in the area, so after dinner was over they crossed the Mystic River bridge to visit pub #1 and enjoyed a local brew. On the way to pub #2, they had to walk across the bridge a second time, and Matt said “let’s take a picture on the bridge–we’ll use the timer on your camera.” Carrie set it to go, and while they waited on the timer, she kept telling Matt to put his arm down–she thought he was giving her bunny ears! When she went to check how the picture turned out, she saw something white in Matt’s hand. Carrie turned around to show Matt the image and ask what he was holding, and when she did, Matt was on one knee and said “Carrie, will you marry me?” Of course she said YES!
As you can tell from the picture–Matt was holding the ring box! Matt wanted to make sure to integrate Carrie’s photography into his proposal–it’s something she really loves and spends a lot of time on–and he was thrilled to see the perfect spot on their way to pub #1. Carrie is thrilled that he proposed in Mystic–she was looking forward to that stop on their roadtrip the most of all, and had chosen it because of the movie-landmark in the middle of town. And, Carrie is overjoyed that Matt went back to purchase the ring that they had seen at Joint Venture Jewelry! Carrie is excited about the eco-friendliness of buying estate jewelry, and Matt was pleased with the price tag. Win-win.
–Matt and Carrie
In February 2008, I realized I had gone a whole 31 years without owning one piece of nice jewelry. So, I decided I wanted a right-hand ring. I’d never worn rings before but felt my fingers could use the company. Being single and having had no luck finding Mr. Right, I wasn’t going to wait for someone else to buy this for me — I was going to do it myself.
After hearing about Joint Venture from a friend, I ventured into the store myself. It took me by surprise that I quickly fell in love with a beautiful vintage Edwardian ring. By the time I left the store, I had the ring on layaway and a special jewelry-loving bond with Donna and Jennifer who had helped me find the ring.
Over the next six months, I visited the store regularly to make payments on my ring, while admiring the new and old merchandise in the store. Finally, I paid off my ring. Now, maybe it’s my imagination, but I think this ring is good luck. This ring, the one I bought on my own, the sign of my independence was on my finger just a few short weeks before I met Kurt. Kurt admired my ring the first night we met. He asked me out on a date and we were inseparable after that. He was proof to the saying that “good things come to those who wait”.
Meanwhile, I kept up my regular visits to Joint Venture. I told the ladies about Kurt and told Kurt about Joint Venture. He even took it upon himself to do a little shopping there at Christmas. As our relationship progressed, there was no doubt in both our minds we wanted to be together for the long haul. Just for fun, I looked at engagement rings with Jennifer and Donna and they kept a list of my favorites. Unbeknownst to me, Kurt had been in to look at the rings as well.
Not knowing what sort of timing Kurt had in mind to get engaged, I wondered if it might happen during a trip we had planned to the N.C. mountains. By the third day into our trip I had forgotten all about my suspicions. On day four (our 9 month anniversary), we decided to take a hike along Blue Ridge Parkway, at the Lynn Cove Viaduct, until we came to a huge rock that sits right by the road overlooking the scenic valley. As I snapped pictures of the view Kurt asked if I would take one more. I turned around and there he was, down on one knee with the ring in hand. Without hesitation, I said yes.
Now I look down at my formerly-ringless hands and see two beautiful vintage rings and just like me and Kurt – they are perfect together.
–Kelly and Kurt
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