First of all, congratulations on finding the one! The process of ring shopping, engagement, and taking your relationship to the next level is one of the most exciting times in life. Usually, in relationships, secrets are considered bad. However, when it comes to date planning or, more importantly, proposing, secrets can keep things fun and be the best surprise!
How Do I Shop in Secret?
The first step of the proposal is finding the perfect ring. While this task can seem overwhelming, it is also very exciting. There might be pressure to find the ring that fits all 4C’s: carat weight, color, clarity, and cut. Most importantly, you want to find a ring that your girlfriend loves.
Shopping Online
The internet is a great tool you can use to shop for a ring. While this might seem like an easy way to keep a ring a secret, there are still some tips you’ll want to follow.
Clear your browser history
Whether you are using your own device or a shared device, make sure to clear your browser history. Erase the search, close the tab, and exit the browser. The last thing you want is for your soon-to-be fiance to grab your phone to search for the nearest restaurant and open the browser to find an engagement ring website.
If you are working with a designer to create a custom ring, make sure to hide those conversations. Whether it’s an email chain or a texting conversation, make sure to put those exchanges into a hidden folder. If you’re getting texts or calls from the designer while your girlfriend is home, make sure their contact name is something inconspicuous. You don’t want your girlfriend to see your phone light up with a phone call from “Engagement Ring Guy.”
Use a secure browser
For an extra level of privacy, consider shopping for rings using a private or secured browser. These days, it seems like if you even think of an item, it appears as an ad on your phone or laptop. If you are googling engagement rings, you can guarantee that you will start seeing ads for them, sometimes at very inconvenient times. To avoid a nosy, eager girlfriend from becoming suspicious, carefully select your shopping browser.
Plan the delivery date
When you’ve successfully found the ring, it’s time to buy it! If you are ordering your ring online, you want to ensure that you will be home to receive that package. The last thing you want is your expensive ring sitting on your front porch for hours or days. Ideally, you will be able to pick a delivery date or time when you know your girlfriend will be out of the house, especially if she’s curious about packages.
If you both work from home or you are nervous about a delivery, it might be a good idea to have the ring shipped to a family member or the jeweler, so you can pick it up from them. Another idea is having your packages held at the post office or with the delivery service. Most services allow you to pick up your packages from their brick-and-mortar locations during operating hours.
Shopping In Person
If shopping online and having a ring delivered isn’t for you, here are some tips for shopping for that perfect ring at a brick-and-mortar store.
Go when it’s not suspicious
The last thing you want to do is leave the house and lie about where you’re headed. Try to go ring shopping during times your girlfriend won’t notice. Some convenient ring shopping times would be: when she is out of town, during your lunch break from work, right after work if you can leave early or if you know she has plans, or on a day she works that you have off.
Know where she is
A risk you take while shopping in person is that your girlfriend will drive by and see your car, or walk by and see you inside the store. To avoid this mishap, make sure you know where she will be while you’re shopping. As an extra precaution, you can always park your car a few stores away, so she will assume you’re at Chipotle rather than three doors down at Grogan Jewelers.
How Do I Purchase the Ring in Secret?
Now that you’ve found the ring, it’s time to make that purchase! Here are a few tips to make sure you don’t give it away.
Cash
One way to ensure that your girlfriend won’t find out about your purchase is to pay in cash. If you have a shared bank account, take cash out in smaller increments so she won’t become suspicious and ask. It is a smart idea to get a receipt for such a large purchase, so make sure you keep that hidden so she doesn’t find it. If you need to, you could also have a family member or trusted friend pay for the ring on their credit card, and you could pay them back in cash.
Credit Card
If you’re paying with a card, make sure you do not have a joint bank account. If she sees a large purchase at a jewelry store, it won’t take a detective to figure out what is going on. Equally as important, if you get paper bank statements, make sure you get the mail when it comes. You don’t want her opening your mail and finding the purchase on your card.
How to keep the Proposal a Secret
Now that you have picked out the ring and purchased it, the fun begins. Now, you get to plan and execute the proposal, while making sure your girlfriend does not find the ring.
Keep the Ring Hidden
First and foremost, hide the ring. Don’t get careless and leave it out on a counter or in a drawer that you both open often. You want to hide the ring in a place she doesn’t use or won’t think to look. Wherever that location is, make sure it’s secured. Some tips to consider:
- Hide it off the ground so kids, pets, or Roombas can’t get to it.
- Hide it in a location that has a zipper so it won’t fall out.
- Hide it in a place she’ll never get into, like your golf bag or the toe of a shoe you don’t often wear.
- Wherever you choose to hide it, write down the location in your notes, or take a picture of the hiding spot so you won’t forget where you put it. This is especially important if you won’t be proposing for a while.
Keep Your Plans to Yourself
If you are going to need ideas or help with the proposal, make sure you only reveal your plan to your most trusted family or friends. Assume that each person you tell will spill the beans to at least one person. The more people you tell, the more likely it will be to get back to your girlfriend. If you want to involve her friends or family, that’s great! Just be sure that if her chatty Aunt Kathy can’t keep her mouth shut, she is not in on the surprise.
Tell the World!
Once you’ve proposed, the secret-keeping is over! You get to celebrate and show off the result of your hard work. Take lots of pictures, and enjoy how excited your finance will be to show off that sparkly, perfectly cut ring.
If you’re ready to get going on this process, don’t wait any longer. Whether you want to purchase a ring or design a custom ring of your own, Grogan Jewelers will be there to help you every step of the way. Reach out to Grogan Jewelers with any questions you have, and congratulations on finding the one!