Caitlin & AJ

Q: When did you first meet and how?

A: Caitlin - AJ and I met the first morning after moving into our freshman dorms in college. I remember he and his roommate approaching my roommate and I in the cafeteria at breakfast and asking if they could join us – of course we said yes. Neither of us knew anyone yet so we were eager to make friends. We had the typical ‘teens getting to know each other’ conversation, and when we parted ways I left not remembering either of their names, but that AJ played the bass guitar, which I thought was pretty cool.

My roommate and I decided to brave the public transportation system that afternoon to get some odds and ends for our dorm room, and just so happened to run into AJ and his roommates at the bus stop attempting to do the same thing. The group of us managed to turn what should have been a 20 minute bus ride into a 2+ hour ordeal before finally getting on the correct bus and making our way to Target, but it was probably two of the funniest hours I’ve ever spent.

AJ wasn’t very obvious about his interest in me (his roommate managed to snag my number before he did!), but after hanging steadily hanging out in all of our free time for the next couple of weeks we quickly fell for each other and started our ‘official’ relationship.

AJ - The morning after moving into our first dorm my new roommate and I made our way to the cafeteria to get some food. Since we didn’t know anyone at school yet, we saw a pair of ladies sitting across from some empty seats and we asked if we could join them. They said yes and we got to talking about what major we were looking at and our hobbies and we all got along really well, then we went our separate ways for the day. I remember hoping the two we met got along with us just as well, and it left me feeling a lot more comfortable in this brand new college setting.

Fast forward a couple hours and my roommate and I are going to venture into the city to find a Target because people said it was nearby (spoiler alert it wasn't). As we walk up to the bus stop we run into Cait and her roommate again and they too were on a mission to find Target. It's important to note that no one in our company had ever been to Columbus before nor had any experience with bus routes or public transit so our trip took about 2 or 3 hours! After the Target adventure me and Cait spent a lot of time just talking and hanging out around campus late into the night. We very shortly after started dating and the rest is history!

Q: What about the design made you choose this ring to be the one?

A: Caitlin - When it came to my engagement ring I’ve always wanted something unique, and for me that was a pear-shaped stone. Apart from my shape preference, I wanted my fiancé to handle everything else – and AJ did a wonderful job!

AJ - I knew that she liked how the pear-shaped stones looked so I kept that in mind as I browsed the site looking through all the different styles and accents. After reviewing the countless number of hours and days and years we have been together the one I picked just seemed to be the perfect fit for her personality and style.

Q: In each your own words, can you describe what the days leading up to the proposal were like? Can you tell us about the proposal? (Feel free to be as detailed as possible!)

A: Caitlin - Unfortunately, the days leading up to the proposal were pretty tough on me, as my grandfather had just passed away. I was none the wiser that AJ was planning to propose to me at our Alma Mater on April Fool’s Day (he’s a jokester that one), but his plans were postponed for obvious reasons.

Once things had settled down and we were back in our routine, AJ took full advantage of how predictable I can be. Every day when we get home from work I always run upstairs and put on some comfortable clothes. While I was upstairs changing, he quickly erased our whiteboard calendar we keep on the refrigerator and wrote ‘Will You Marry Me?’ on it and looped the ring around the dry erase marker. I came back downstairs and immediately plopped down on the couch wanting to do a few things on my computer. AJ asked me if I would feed our cat, Stella, which required me to get in the fridge to get her food.

I walked over into the kitchen while AJ watched from our living room, and completely looked past the board! I got in the fridge, fed the cat, put the food BACK IN THE FRIDGE, and proceeded to stand in the kitchen watching Stella eat. I managed to open and close the refrigerator TWICE and not even notice AJ’s message! AJ made his way into the kitchen and hugged me, told me he accidentally messed up everything I’d written down on the calendar, and spun me around to look. It took me a second to realize what was happening and when I turned around AJ got down on one knee and asked. Of course I said yes!

AJ - I waited until one day after we got home from work (she always has to run upstairs and change into sweatpants). While she was upstairs changing I erased our dry erase board calendar on our fridge that she fills with all the stuff we have to do that month and wrote "Will You Marry Me?" Then hung the ring onto one of the magnetic dry erase markers right below it, so that it would be hard to miss. I sat on the couch and waited for my plan to unfold. But, she came back down and started working on her computer for some reason.

In an effort to get her to notice the message, I told her Stella (our cat) was whining for food (this required her to get into the fridge). So, she got up and walked to the fridge, opened it up, got the cat food, fed the cat, and then put the rest of the food BACK into the fridge, closed it and turned around obviously not noticing my message at all. So, at this point I thought ‘I guess it's not as noticeable as I thought’. I go over to her and gave her a big hug while trying to think of a sly way to get her to look at the board. I ended up saying " Oh yeah I accidentally erased all the stuff you had on the calendar." As she was starting to ask "Why?!!?" she stopped and saw it and when she looked back at me I was already on one knee. She said "Yes."

Q: How was your overall experience with Fire & Brilliance? How did you first hear about us?

A: AJ - My experience was great. I first heard about F&B when my best friend was ring shopping for his proposal and I always liked their options and prices, so it was the obvious first place to look.

Lastly, we wanted to ask something of each our clients (for yourself or for both of you to answer) to be featured a question that is unique to their story.

Q: What do you two do for fun individually and together?

A: Caitlin - AJ and I do all kinds of things together, but our ideal fun moment is binging something on TV and relaxing on the couch together – comfort food in hand.

On my own, I really enjoy listening to true crime podcasts (My Favorite Murder is my absolute fav) or watching true crime related movies/tv shows. I can’t get enough, sometimes I think I have a problem!

AJ - Cait and I have a personal mission to watch every single show on every streaming service we can find Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now – you name it we are gonna watch it. JK, but we love watching shows like The Office (US), Parks and Rec, Criminal Minds, House, Game of Thrones, just to name a few.
On my own I have way too many hobbies. I play bass guitar, skateboard, and play video games. I am also an avid comedy nerd.