Oanh & Marteene
Q: When did you first meet and how?
A: Oanh - Marteene and I first met in graduate school where we both studied film production in Denver, Colorado. She had said goodbye to good ol’ Florida, a place in which she spent her whole life while I ventured an hour and a half north of my hometown. It was truly serendipity. Our love grew from a close friendship.
Marteene - Oanh and I first met the day of her birthday in 2015 at our grad school orientation. She invited us out for her birthday that night. I remember when we got to the bar, I saw her out front with her best friend and I just thought “wow." Honestly, in the moment I wasn’t even sure why I was so struck by her, but I was and I just thought, well, we are definitely going to be friends. It actually makes me giggle because not for one second did I think I’d fall so much in love with her.
A: Oanh - Marteene is a unique soul, inside and out. I wanted a ring that reflected her personality and her style. F&B had one of the most creative collections that I’ve seen. I chose the "Katherine" ring because Marteene has a liking for crown jewelry as well as rose gold. The more I did my research on it, the more it became clear that she would adore this ring and I would be ecstatic to give it to her.
Marteene - When I decided that I was going to propose to Oanh I knew it needed to “feel” like her. She’s unique, modern, yet simple. There isn’t a soul like hers.
I knew what type of rings she liked: solitaire and traditional. But I couldn’t just get her a round solitaire ring, I needed it to feel sleek with a twist (literally, haha). I chose the emerald cut for its modern yet traditional aesthetic and then I set it east-west because, we literally come from polar opposite ends of the earth. She was born in Vietnam and I was born in Florida. Somehow, we both ended up in Denver at the same place and time for similar passions. If that isn’t the best meet-cute you’ve ever heard of then I don’t know what is!
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: Oanh - I wasn’t planning on proposing right away once I received the ring. But from the moment I set eyes on it in person, I didn’t want to wait any longer to put it on her finger. So I started planning my ass off because I didn’t have much free time away from her. I lied and bailed from a game-night with friends to prepare her gift. I left her to fend for herself with my teenage cousins at a BBQ so I can pick something up from the store. And then I made her get up at 5:30am for a short sunrise hike because this was when I decided to propose. She was so sleepy and a bit cranky given the early rise. But I knew she wouldn’t be complaining once we got to the top. Haha.
We made it to our favorite spot with a view of the mountains. I set up the hammock while she rested on the bench nearby. I had written lyrics from songs on our playlist - the same playlist I played her when I told her I loved her - inside the panel of the hammock. I called her over to get inside and I enclosed her inside the hammock so she can read it. While she was reading my message, I arranged the glass geometric terrarium with sand, flowers, and sea shells with the ring placed in the center in the sand. I brought it over to her and gave her my speech, “...from the mountains to the sea, will you marry me?”
Marteene - Oanh is a VERY difficult person to surprise. I really think she has mind reading abilities at times. She always manages to figure out what I’m planning to surprise her with. So, when I ordered the ring from F&B I suddenly had this lightbulb moment that it would be in my hands by our anniversary. It was “my turn” to plan our anniversary day so I took FULL advantage of doing all the cute things that day disguised as anniversary shenanigans. What she didn’t know is that our best friend Stefan was at our apartment while we were out setting everything up. Needless to say, after a day of shenanigans she was VERY surprised to see the apartment had been transformed into romantic oasis.
Q: How was your overall experience with Fire & Brilliance? How did you first hear about us?
A: Oanh - F&B was seriously a joy to work with. You guys answered every single one of my stupid knit picky questions. Even more than that, Rachel made sure the ring was in my hands by our anniversary. Without her, my proposal certainly would not have been as good of a surprise!
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: If you could describe your partner as an astrological element, which would it be and why (fire, earth, air, water)?
A: Oanh - Marteene would be air because her love is like the wind; I can’t see it, but I can feel it. Haha. She'd laugh at this "A Walk to Remember" reference. In all seriousness, the moment I saw her, she shook me. At the time, it wasn’t romantic but she was definitely a breath of fresh air every time she walked into a room. She was the cool and outgoing woman that made everyone laugh.
Marteene - If I could describe Oanh as an astrological element it would definitely be earth. Oanh is grounded and nuturing. Whenever I find my self feeling lost or overwhelmed she has a way of bringing me back to a centered grounded place.
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