Hunter & Lindsey

Q: When did you first meet and how? 

A: We met in high school in 2011. I was 15 and he was 17 at the time when a mutual friend introduced us. It wasn’t all perfect from the beginning. We were two completely different people, and it took a lot of work and compromise, but we somehow knew all along that we had found something special in each other that wasn’t worth giving up on. After a few years, we decided to move out of state together to go to college. This would be the first time either of us had lived out of our parents' house. We learned so much that year about being a team, from cooking to cleaning, paying bills, and making decisions. We grew up together and got to show all versions of ourselves to each other from the good, to the bad and even the ugly, but that brought us much closer. We got to grow up together. On our 5th anniversary, I got us matching leather bracelets made with the coordinates of that first apartment we shared together. We both wear these daily. I know that was the exact location that I fell in love with my best friend.

A: I have been looking at rings for a LONG TIME now. I mean we’ve been together 7 years, and I have been ready for that ring for a while, so I had been looking at possible designs. My fiancé is who introduced me to Moissanite. (He researches EVERYTHING to get the best bang for his buck.) At first, I was totally against Moissanite, if I am being completely honest. I wanted that classic diamond ring that everyone knew signified “love.”

My fiancé explained to me that, actually, diamonds actually aren’t all that rare and there is a lot of conflict involved in the mining of them. He expressed that he wanted to get me a ring that not only I was proud of, but that he was proud of too, and he simply could not afford a diamond ring with the cut, clarity, and carat size that he would be proud of and that I deserved. I finally did my own research on Moissanite and found out how BEAUTIFUL they were, and how it was originally found. I thought it was so cool that Moissanite was first discovered in the rock of a meteor crater over 100 years ago.

I quickly realized that this stone would be perfect to signify our love because of how different it was. Nothing about our relationship has ever been conventional (we always do what we want, no matter who agrees or disagrees), so why would we choose a traditional diamond ring as a constant reminder of our bond? One day, he spontaneously wanted to look at designs with me online so he could get an idea of what I wanted for when the time came, and we stumbled across Fire & Brilliance. We found a lot of rings that either I liked or he liked, but we couldn’t find one that we both loved until we came across the Snowflake Halo design on your website! The price and size of the ring was perfect right off the bat, but we both fell in love with it because it was a halo (which I have always wanted), but it wasn’t a normal halo engagement ring. It was so different and fun, and I had never seen another engagement ring like it before, and that is why I wanted it.

I wanted something different that not many people had. It is so perfect and literally makes me smile daily by just looking at it. It is also very comfortable and very rarely gets caught on anything. (I am always doing things with my hands in classes, at work and even at home, and my fiancé stressed from the beginning that we needed a ring that would be comfortable and allow me to do this without getting in the way, and this one is PERFECT!)

A: We have a very fun-loving relationship, and rarely take anything too seriously. After we finally decided on a ring, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and talking to him about it, and he made a joke that the more I talked about it, the longer he would wait to propose (we like giving each other a hard time). He had told me that it would probably be another year or so, but I didn’t really believe him because he still had that joking tone in his voice. Whenever he gets something on his mind, he always goes through with it pretty much immediately (he’s very impatient), so I tried my best to stop thinking about it constantly, hoping the time would go by faster and make the moment even that much more special. (Although, I did keep a watch on the Fire & Brilliance website regularly, not only to look at my ring, but to also send him links when the promo code of the day was extra rewarding haha.)

We go to the University of Georgia and it was nearing the end of the semester and our Christmas break when we normally go home to spend a couple of weeks with our family. We had been talking about a few places to go as a little getaway on our break, but never had anything set in stone. He then surprised me with a spontaneous trip to Chattanooga, had gotten us a nice hotel and said he had everything planned, but it was a surprise. I quickly became suspicious and got butterflies in my stomach because I thought this might really be it! I told my best friend and my sister what I was thinking, but there was no way I was going to tell Hunter that I thought he was going to propose, because he likes to mess with me, so that would have definitely made him put it off. (I also didn’t want to get my hopes too far up in case it didn’t happen, so I just focused on having fun with my best friend on a little getaway.) However, I could tell he was acting a little different.

He was being extra sweet to me the days prior and was just overall acting a little off (like he was anxious or something). I kept asking him if anything was wrong, and he constantly assured me that everything was fine. We finally set off on our trip to Chattanooga and enjoyed the ride (we love long car rides together) like we normally do with laughing, talking, listening to music and finding good food along the way. Once we got to Chattanooga and got checked into our hotel, we left to go out to dinner, and it started to DOWNPOUR. We were planning on walking around the town so this kind of put a damper on our plans, but we got an Uber instead and went and had a nice dinner and shared some flights of beers (we love tasting new beers and talking about them together).

After leaving dinner very full and a lot more giggly (because of the beer), it was still raining, so we got another Uber to a pedestrian bridge that Hunter had read about having Christmas lights on it, and thought it would be fun to walk across it and enjoy the view. We had picked up an umbrella on the way so we wouldn’t get too wet. Upon arriving at the bridge, there were a lot less lights that we had originally expected, but the bridge was nearly empty, and the view was still beautiful, so we set off walking across it.

We were walking and talking and about half way across the bridge, stopped to take a selfie together. After the selfie, we turned to look out and enjoy the view, and I heard a sniffle and a, “hey, what’s your thoughts on making me the happiest man in the world?” And he had the ring in his hand! I honestly don’t even remember if I actually said, “yes,” because of the pure excitement and the shock of what had actually happened. I quickly tossed the umbrella and enjoyed the special moment with my best friend. It was literally like time had stopped and the sweetest moment that I will remember forever. The ring was BEAUTIFUL and my hands were shaking.

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

A: My fiancé said that Fire & Brilliance was super easy to work with. The ring was made and delivered in a reasonable amount of time, and he ended up buying on one of the days where you also got a pair of Moissanite earrings with a ring purchase, so I got a pair of earrings too! He was super impressed with it from the moment he got it in the mail and first opened it up. The quality was amazing and the ring was beautiful!

What is your favorite place to visit with each other?

A: Our favorite place to visit with each other is in the car. We LOVE going on long rides together. It’s where we have the best conversations because it's free of the everyday distractions. Hunter loves to drive, so he is always behind the wheel, and I am riding shotgun. Sometimes we literally just get in the car and leave our house and whenever we come upon an intersection, Hunter asks me if I want to go left, right, or straight and we do that until we get tired of driving, and then find our way back home. Hunter also loves music and this is where he has taught me a lot about artists and genres (especially that of the Classic Rock nature).

We play games where when a song comes on, I have to guess who the artist is as soon as possible. At first, I was pretty slow, but now I’ve gotten to where I know and recognize a lot more bands, and we now play to see who can guess the right answer the quickest. We love going to concerts and often pick those that are a few hours away so we can not only go see one of our favorite bands, but also get to enjoy the long ride together.