Ring Shopping = Engagement Timeline?

[Deleted User]

Hey girls! So as you all know, BF and I have been ring shopping! (Thanks to all of you for showing off your bling a couple weeks ago, it gave me some great ideas) Anyway we've found one that we both absolutely love  and it's well within the budget we discussed. Now I'm patiently awaiting the day he proposes - not expecting any time soon - but excited at the possibility it's coming within the next year or so.

Well, I mentioned to a girlfriend the other night that we'd been trying on rings and she got all excited saying "you'll be engaged within the next 6 months". Personally I don't feel ring shopping = proposal within 6 months. BF's brother is getting married in 6 months, and he'll be in his medical internship for another year so...not holding my breath here...

I was just curious...do most girls on here think ring shopping means your guy is proposing within a certain amount of time? Am I way off base here?

calindi

We went ring shopping last June.  He'll be buying a ring in the next month or so, and has told me he'll give it to me before June.  So around a year for me!

It's definitely exciting, but it's best not to let your friends get carried away. 

motoLyn

I don't think buying the ring will equal proposal within 6 months.  I've heard about some ladies here that waited almost a year or more for a proposal when their FI already had the ring.  Mine was within 6 months but that was because my FI told me he wanted to propose before the end of the year.  He got the ring in September and proposed in October.  Otherwise I could have been waiting till this summer if FI didn't have his mind set on before the end of 2010.  More than anything I thought he was more concentrated on buying a house than getting engaged. 

EStar73

Not sure. We went ring shopping in August ('09) and he proposed on Christmas '09 so four months, but it depends on your specific situation. FI wanted to be engaged before we started our long distance relationship (school/work reasons) so I knew it would be within 9 months of the ring shopping.

[Deleted User]

I love your siggy pic EStar...so pretty!

Moto - I don't think he's bought the ring yet. I could be wrong...but I really don't want to know if/when he gets a ring. We've been looking...and we found one we both like...but i'm not getting my heart set on anything. 

mookow86

I don't think you can make any generalizations about correlations between ring purchasing date and proposal date. It depends highly on each couple's situation. FI had the ring for about 9 months before proposing.

NurseyK

Ring shopping  = inevitable engagement. But no, ring shopping does not = timeline at all. IMO, it depends on life factors the most. Saying something or hinting might make him feel like you are taking the fun out of it for him, and make him wait longer for the surprise effect (this happened to me). Isn't the anticipation of anything in life the hardest part!

mana8503

I know we went ring shopping in July and he just proposed.  So 7 monthes for me.  A friend waited almost a year and a half (they bought a house between ring shopping and engagement).  It really depends on your situation. 

niknik15

He asked me what rings I liked a year ago, but we didn't go to an actual store till January of this year. Then he proposed a month later. Our biggest wait was money issues, but once we went ring shopping he just couldn't wait any longer.

It sounds like it will happen either very soon or after BIL's wedding. Although, I don't feel that waiting for someone else's wedding would be an issue. My FSIL is getting married this June. We are doing things on our own timeline and don't consider anything a competition or raining on her parade.

bourgehm

He bought the ring around Thanksgiving and proposed around Christmas. So, I guess he was pretty quick.

peekaboo2011

We went ring shopping this past summer, and when he came down to visit this past week he stole my promise ring (we got them when we went long distance) and said, "I promise you'll be engaged a year from today".  So, worst case scenario, we're talking next February, which is a year and a half for us from shopping to engaged.  

So, I agree with PP...it's different for everyone. It'll probably depend a lot on money and the rest of that practical stuff, but YAY

luvdncn90

We've been ring shopping plenty of times in the past 6 months, but I have no idea if he has bought a ring or not. He did tell me one day that he found my ring and gave me a hint to where it was from but I have no idea if he bought it. His lips are sealed.

But my gut tells me he won't be proposing until the end of this year or maybe the beginning of 2012.

KayGB2012

Like PP, I wouldn't say that ring shopping necessarily means getting engaged in 6 months. My sister and her boyfriend have been looking at rings for over a year and are still not engaged. It's coming, but they are waiting for the right time for them.

FI and I on the other hand are in the minority, I guess. We went ring shopping on a Friday and he proposed that Sunday.
We both already had a pretty good idea of what we were looking for, though.

Ember01

We went ring shopping a year ago. But, I knew we weren't ready for a proposal at that point.

We went again this past November. I knew at that point we were serious. I did expect the ring within a couple of months. We had talked timelines and knew we wanted to get married in December "11.

dawnkathleen

We went shopping in April/May..and I was asked in August. So, 3 months or so! I would say its right around the corner...

Elle1036

The first time we ever went ring shopping was about a year before we got engaged, but we weren't shopping too seriously.  I had no delusions that it meant he was going to run out and buy something.

We didn't start seriously looking for the ring until after our "unofficial" proposal discussion (*cringes and waits for flames from OG*) so, once he had the ring in hand, I knew that the proposal was near.  It still took 3 months.

CASK85

We went ring shopping and then he proposed 2 weeks later (much to Elle's dismay). I'd been showing him pics at his request for a few months before that. . . it definitely depends on your guy. 

PolkaDotBella

The first time we went looking at rings was a little over 2 years ago... we went looking so he could figure out what I liked. We'll pop into a jewelry store occasionally just to play around and to make sure our tastes haven't changed.

Elle1036

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ring-shopping-engagement-timeline?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:23990ce8-232f-4caf-b036-ca6471780045Post:d22ac6f6-c0e3-4533-b43e-ebbf9186fa36">Re: Ring Shopping = Engagement Timeline?</a>:
[QUOTE]We went ring shopping and then he proposed 2 weeks later (much to Elle's dismay). I'd been showing him pics at his request for a few months before that. . . it definitely depends on your guy. 
Posted by cschiano[/QUOTE]

Ha, yeah.  That was not cool.

deburnin

The first time we went ring shopping was in July. He'd already bought a ring at that point, but the hiccup with the ring he got brought his plans to a halt (screw you Kay Jeweler's!). His original plan was to surprise me with an earlier trip to Disney for our anniversary, but since the ring situation didn't work out, he's just waiting until this summer. So it'll be a little over a year if things go as planned.

desertsun

We'd been talking about getting married for over a year, and I had given my H some pics of rings I like. 

When he was ready, he went out and bought a ring, waited a couple days for it to get sized, picked it up, and proposed the next day. 

Everyone is different. 

purplelace

I can't say exactly, because my FI and I never went ring shopping together. He went ring shopping with his parents less than a week before he proposed to me and I never knew until he told me.

SKP82

We started looking at rings in October and finally agreed on one that we both like in January.  I'm not sure if he's purchased it.  I'm trying not to think about it as I'm not sure if it will happen in the next few months or not.

katanne9

Everyone is different. I think we started talking about rings a good 1.5 years before we actually got engaged. We never went ring shopping, so that's all I got!

mellimel19

I don't think that ring shopping equals a proposal within six months. FI and I first started looking at rings about 9 months before he proposed. But my ideas on the timing of his proposal were based on our timeline discussions, not on when we went ring shopping.