ENGAGEMENT STORIES - CARLOS AND NINA
Meeting and chatting with all of you in our shops bring us so much joy, and our hearts always beats a little extra when you tell us about your proposal and engagements! You inspire us to share the longer versions of your sweet tales and how the Caroline Hjerpe rings have made it from our bench to your fingers. Today's beautiful engagement story is told by Carlos, here's how he proposed to his love - Nina.
¨Nina (Norwegian) and I (Spanish) met in Denmark over five years ago. We are lucky enough to share a relationship where we can be vulnerable, brave and silly together. We enjoy nature, creative expression and to stay curious. We try to travel often but also enjoy the beauty around us. In Copenhagen, where we live, we spend our time with friends, attending cultural events and theatre, doing yoga, climbing, dancing, swimming, and trying to enjoy nature whenever possible. Marriage wasn’t necessarily something we thought we needed to do, but rather an opportunity to celebrate what we mean for each other and share it with our friends and family (that are spread around the world and don’t really get to see each other). Having this future celebration in mind, I started thinking about an engagement ring for Nina.
I ran some of my ideas through Nina’s mum and she told me that Nina had mentioned a very special goldsmith in Sweden: Caroline Hjerpe. From the first time I went into Caroline’s website I knew it was the place I was looking for. Beautiful design and genuine values, the perfect match. After a few calls and emails back and forth, I went to Malmö one sunny Wednesday at the end of September to finish the design and place the order. Emma received me warmly in the store and was a wonderful help throughout the process. I had based my design on the Golden Charlotte ring, which has a beautiful gold hammered band with small recycled diamonds. We found the perfect stone to add to it: an antique diamond with a unique cut from the late 1800s.
The weeks that followed, I saw the trees turning yellow while the birds began to migrate south. In mid October, Nina and I were planning to go to our favourite museum, Louisiana (a scenic modern art museum located by the sea north of Copenhagen). I thought it would be the perfect spot for us to get engaged. This is also the place where Nina asked me to move in with her a few years ago.
Once I had a specific date in mind, I called Emma to ask if they could finish the ring in time. And they did. The ring was ready in the Malmö store on Thursday, I picked it up on Friday, just in time for the proposal on Saturday. I couldn’t be happier with the process of ordering the engagement ring with Caroline Hjerpe!
Finally the day came and we were in Louisiana. Having spent the morning in art exhibitions, Nina and I saw the sun appearing between the clouds and decided to go outside. We walked between the trees and statues of Louisiana’s garden and got to a corner of the lawn that overlooks the ocean. From there we could see a pier that seemed like the perfect spot to sit by the water, and there we went.
Ahead of time, I had asked Nina’s mum to send me a copy of a list of future dreams that Nina wrote when she was little. In it, she had added a few requirements for a potential future partner; things like: being kind to animals and people, being sort of smart and good looking, and also not being a bodybuilder nor a couch-potato (haha!).
At some point, while chatting at the pier, I went through this list (in Norwegian) and Nina confirmed that I met every single requirement. It was only when I said the last item of the list that she realized that this, apparently random list of attributes, was something she had written many years ago. With all the checkmarks in order, I gave her the ring, hugged her and I asked her if she wanted to share her life with me. I am not sure in which order. She said yes. We both cried and laughed and enjoyed the moment we were sharing. It was perfect. As a note of advice to anybody reading this and planning to propose: bring paper tissues along with the ring. We did miss them between tears and laughter.
Still in the pier, we spent a long time talking about life and love, and how the ring came to be. Nina was surprised, happy and very touched. The moment was wonderful and she loved the ring. She loves the design and the personal story behind it. In her words: “It is perfect. A ring that is beautiful, elegant, handmade and well sourced. It reflects our values, who we are as people, and our relationship”.
Our wedding will likely happen in a couple of years. We want our family and friends to join us in an intimate celebration somewhere special close to the Spanish coast of the Mediterranean sea. A place where we can enjoy the outdoors, and celebrate together with plenty of local and organic food and wine.¨
Thank you for sharing this romantic moment with us!
We love chatting with all of you and hear about your proposal moments - big or small! Do you have a story including our rings that you want to share with us? Reach out at hello@carolinehjerpe.se
