beloved couple: lauren and jeff

we caught up with lauren and jeff to hear all about their journey together and the romance embedded in lauren's beloved engagement ring.

 what is the most symbolic aspect of your engagement ring from bluboho? 
why did you pick the ring you chose? 

jeff: when looking for a ring i wanted something that was classic and timeless. to me this ring is exactly that. it is clean, beautiful, and will never go out of style. i think that this is representative of my love for lauren - timeless and forever.

lauren: for me, the symbolism lies in the effort that jeff put into finding and customizing my ring so that it was perfect and exactly what he knew i would love. my mother has passed some of her most precious jewelry onto me over the years, and i hope that my ring becomes an heirloom in jeff and i's family someday. i look forward to telling our children about how special it was that he was able to choose the diamond out himself and be a part of the process of how this ring came to be.

think back: how did you describe jeff to your best friend after you had your first date? 

 lauren: i met jeff at a university halloween party in his first year of architecture school and my last year. we ended up hitting it off and he came to my studio space the very next day to ask me out on a date. i was talking to my sister all morning about him and i think i even said to her that very day that he was marriage material. i just couldn't seem to get him out of my head. it seems crazy but all i know was i was right and he has continued to prove to me every day he is marriage material! my sister even saved all the messages i sent to her that first morning.

was there a pivotal moment in your relationship that made you realize it was the real thing? 

 lauren: to be honest, not really. there was never an "aha!" moment. from the beginning, i had this gut feeling that jeff was somebody i was going to have in my life forever. not only is he the most loving, kind, smart, funny and handsome person i have ever met, but he knows me and understands me better than anybody. i am sure a lot of people have laughed at my expense over the years because even a few months into dating i would say "oh i will be marrying that man". 

jeff: similar to lauren i don't think that there was an "aha" moment for me. i feel like i skipped the "falling in love stage" of our relationship and just went straight to the real thing. from the beginning she was just the most kind, loyal, intelligent, beautiful person i had ever met, and i knew that one day i would ask her to marry me.

top city (or country) you have traveled together, and why? 

both: last summer we went to the island of kauai in hawaii. we rented a car for the whole week. every morning we hopped in the car, grabbed a coffee and zipped off to a new part of the island to explore. it was amazing! 

one thing you both have on a bucket list? 

 both: we would both love to complete a long distance trail or mountain climb, like the west coast trail or the inca trail in peru.