by Esther P. Chase

The Engagement

My 14kt gold engagement ring charm sparkles in the light as I reminisce about the time Steve asked me to marry him. It is one of my favorite gold charms for a charm bracelet, and as you know, I have many sterling silver and gold charms.

The night of my engagement really was special. Not only did I receive a spectacular engagement ring, I also received a 14K gold engagement ring charm for my charms bracelet! Steve was so thoughtful, never disrespecting my love, or rather obsession, for gold charm bracelet charms, or sterling silver charms for charm bracelets, representing my life's milestones.

Steve planned a "special date" to propose. I later found out about his secret meeting with my Dad to get his permission. While I thought Steve was sweet to honor the tradition, I felt "modern" enough to proceed without my Dad's approval. Actually, my Dad did not hesitate with his permission. My parents were already fond of Steve and looked forward to having him as a son-in-law.

Steve opted to select the charm for our wedding. He chose a beautiful 14kt gold charm from the love and marriage charms collection, another one of my favorite gold charm bracelet charms.

Since we were both getting settled into our careers, we did not immediately set a date for the wedding. Of course, this started my mother on her, "Be sure to give me enough time to plan the wedding," barrage. After a one-year engagement, we set our wedding date for June 15th. I was a "June Bride," but only because there was no conflicts with my school commitments. My mother was very happy, as this gave her almost 10 months to plan the wedding. She had already micromanaged the wedding arrangements down to the cocktail napkins!

Things were coming together. Gifts for my bridesmaids and maid of honor had been selected and Steve was deciding on gifts for his groomsmen and best man. We decided to honeymoon in Hawaii and I had already selected the pineapple charm jewelry in sterling silver for my charms bracelet.

Jane, my best friend, had agreed to be my maid-of-honor. I wanted a "special" charm to add to her charms bracelet. On www.chains-and-charms.com, I looked into customizing sterling silver charms and discovered that charms for bracelets could be engraved.

The wedding was beautiful- the honeymoon spectacular, in spite of the airline losing my luggage. I considered adding a luggage charm to my charms bracelet, but decided I didn't want to remember that traumatic experience.

I had given up my apartment and moved back home prior to the wedding. We planned to live in Steve's apartment while we looked for our first house. We wanted to be settled in our own house before starting our family. The search for a house was time consuming and very enlightening. Who knew the pitfalls of wet basements and leaking attics? We did learn about "location, location, location!" One of the professors at Steve's college was relocating, and we were fortunate to get the house before it went on the market. I distinctly remember "sticker shock" at settlement; I felt I would be in debt for the rest of my life. Today, the price of a new car is comparable to the price of our first house.

Before we even moved in, I had ordered my charm to celebrate our first home. My charms bracelet was getting very full, but I couldn't resist ordering a 14K gold charm from the selection of furniture charms. Rather than add a charm for each anniversary, we opted to add charms to my charm bracelet every five years.

Chapter 9 - Baby on the Way