Friday, December 23, 2011

First Class Proposal

A month ago we featured this proposal in the sky. Since many of you are likely traveling this week for the holidays, we felt the need to share another proposal at 30,000 feet.

We think the Air Canada one below trumps the Delta one from last month because:

-They had better seats...they were in the first row. Can't tell if it was first class or not, but it's definitely better than the Delta couple had
-Flying her family in to greet them at the airport...classy move
-Photography: Nice job by the camera person. Not sure how this man arranged for that to happen, but it seemed better than amateur. In addition, there seems to be ample pictures of the family's reaction in the airport, plus they got the necessary shot of the couple with the flight crew on Air Canada.
-We didn't get a good look at the ring, but she seems to be just fine with it!

In our estimation, this was a "first class" proposal all the way...pun intended!


Happy Holidays from James Levinson Jewelry!!


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Client Proposal Stories - 1st Edition

CLIENT PROPOSAL STORIES - 1st Edition

We are proud to announce a new feature on the James Levinson Jewelry Blog that called "Client Proposal Stories."

At least once each month we will feature one couple and share their proposal story. We've found each couple has a unique proposal story and each is worthy of sharing. Since we already share video proposals and other stories, we wanted to add a personal touch to the blog by showcasing our own clients and their stories. We hope you enjoy the series!

This month's featured couple is Randy and Alison who were married this past fall. Here is their story...



How they met:

As members of the CrossFit Chicago (CFC) community, it was inevitable that Alison and Randy would cross paths. The CFC community is a close knit group that is guilty of “monitoring” each other’s performance posts and Facebook pages. These two people were no different. Randy and Alison were well acquainted with each other even before meeting formally for the 1st time at the CFC bowling social on March 7, 2009. Their social personalities and mutual admiration for each other’s CF results created an immediate bond that quickly developed into a budding friendship. As Ranison spent more time in and out of the “box” their relationship blossomed and they were dating by April 2009. Since then they both will tell you they have never been happier!



The Proposal

On October 28th, 2010, Alison came home to four bouquets of flowers sitting on the dining room table with a framed note saying "The last 4 days have been stressful (including, in part, the events that occurred with their dog's surgery - day of and post-op) ... I wanted to find four ways to make you smile."


The note also stated that she should NOT move the flowers off the table or attempt to put them in a vase. Alison immediately texted Randy and asked why she couldn't move the flowers as they 'are going to die.' Randy stated to just listen to him for once! Alison waited almost six hours until Randy got home from work to find out why she couldn't move the flowers!
The note Randy left

When Randy finally got home he explained each flower is different and is in a specific order. He took out a sheet of paper and began to read the names of each flower ... wild flower, iris, lilly, lisianthus ... and so on.
Alison thought 'What the hell is going on and why does he know the names of these flowers. He is being WEIRD!' After Randy explained the flowers Alison looked at Randy and said "Cool babe ... thanks?!"
Randy then explained he wanted to do something nice given the recent events in their lives and it being the same day they celebrate their yearly anniversary.
He proceeded to thank her for taking a leap of faith (Alison took a big risk moving in with Randy given her past experiences). She needed to know moving in with Randy was not a means to an end.
Randy told Alison while the future is uncertain he can promise they will continue to take steps forward in their relationship. Moving in, getting a puppy, being by her side as she graduated...and their parents meeting each other were all examples of the promise he made.
Randy said he and Alison 'are like the flowers.' They started as individuals ... much like each flower in the bouquets. "When you us together, just like the flowers ... they just work. They fit. They're perfect. THEY JUST MAKE SENSE when they are TOGETHER."
Randy handed the sheet of paper with the list of flowers to Alison and repeated, "US together make sense - just like the flowers make sense when they are put TOGETHER."
W ild flower
I sis
L illy
L isianthus

Y ellow football mum
O ncidium orchid
U perum (blUperum)

M onte casino
A lstromeria
R ose
R ed hypericum
Y ellow solidago

M illet
E cheveria
The names of Flowers


Alison took the sheet of paper and went speechless after reading the list of flowers.
Randy immediately dropped to his knee and said "Yes this is happening. I got tired of waiting for you and decided I needed to do this myself. You made it OBVIOUSLY clear you would NEVER propose to me!"
"Alison ... W.I.L.L. Y.O.U. M.A.R.R.Y. M.E.?"

Ring from James Levinson Jewelry

She said yes...
Married November, 2011
Here is their testimonial on our website.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Planes, Trains, Automobiles...and sometimes buses

A lot of pre-holiday traveling to be followed up by holiday traveling for us. This is always a busy time of the year! Like Steve Martin though, back in Chicago now!

Wondering if anyone can share a story about you or someone you know buying an engagement ring or piece of jewelry far from home? If it involves either Vegas or John Candy, it'll be all that much better and you might win a prize from us!

Happy Friday from James Levinson Jewelry!


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Picture or Video?

Over the short life of this blog, we've posted a bunch of proposals caught on video. Some have been pretty awesome/creative, others not as exciting. We recently read this article in the New York Daily News about a man who captures proposals on his camera for a living. Not surprising he used to be a part of the paparazzi.

 

He is actually serving a very interesting market, one that seems to be getting bigger and bigger. With YouTube and Facebook we are obviously sharing videos and pictures at unprecedented rates. There are 48 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute and eight years of content every day! As for Facebook, there are 6 billion pictures uploaded each month! 

The ease of transferring visual information today has to contribute to the number of marriage proposals being caught on video, and through pictures. 

For those of you who aren't engaged, do you want your engagement captured either on video or through a camera lens? Will we get to the point where it's more the rule than the exception for there to be visual evidence of the actual engagement? For those who are already engaged or married and didn't capture this moment as it happened, would you do it over again to record everything if you could?

If you're in the camp of having evidence of your engagement, would you prefer to have it be on video or through a plain, old camera?

 or?

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Would you marry Lady Gaga?

Having a hard time understanding this article about Lady Gaga rejecting marriage proposals. That's marriage proposals, plural! Our thoughts are simple:

-Why are there MULTIPLE men lining up for Lady Gaga's hand in marriage? We don't know her personally, but based off of the interviews we've seen and the way she's acted in public, Lady Gaga doesn't exactly seem like the "settling down" and getting married type.
-If you're a guy is Lady Gaga A) Really that hot and B) worth all the baggage/nonsense that goes along with being married to her.
-What does Lady Gaga bring to a marriage other than money and dresses made out of meat? She's pretty talented but there is way too much else going on with her. 
-If you're married to her do you refer to her as "Gaga" or "Lady Gaga?"
-Let's be honest, does a Lady Gaga marriage last long than Kardashian's 72 day sham of a marriage?

What would be a good reason to marry Lady Gaga?



Monday, December 5, 2011

Man-gagement Rings

Just read an article about a trend where women are giving men engagement rings. We've put pictures of a couple of examples. At James Levinson Jewelry we've never sold one, but we are happy to serve this section of the female (or male) population if they'd like to get a "man-gagement" ring.

After some more research we have found this to be a common practice in countries like Argentina and Brazil. Now more and more people are adopting this trend in the US.

Along the way, was there a woman who got tired of waiting for her boyfriend to propose and decided to jump the gun and do it herself? Will this now become a trend among gay men...or is it already?

What are your thoughts on the man-gagement ring?? For the ladies (or men), is this something you'd want your fiance to wear in addition to you wearing an engagement ring?



Friday, December 2, 2011

Good Advice

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Happy December from James Levinson Jewelry! This is a busy time of the year for us with the holidays rapidly approaching, but it's also a popular time of the year for engagements. If you're thinking about proposing in the next few weeks we found a great article in the Huffington Post.

We want to highlight a section from it that we think is really important for you to keep in mind whenever you, or someone you know, decides it's time to look for a ring. While we hope you'll come to us for advice and to purchase the ring, you should keep this well written section of the article in mind no matter where you decide to go:

"I've never been a huge fan of the saying "diamonds are a girl's best friend." If you scrape away all of the marketing slogans that have been used to peddle engagement rings over the years, you're actually left with a custom dating back to the 1400s that symbolizes the desire to commit to one woman for the rest of your life. Because she'll be wearing the ring for the rest of her life, you should do your homework on what style she prefers. This can be as simple as taking a window shopping trip with her or interrogating her friends and family on whether or not she's mentioned which specific stones and settings she's a fan of. Finally, do yourself a favor and don't succumb to the pressure to spend several months of your salary on the ring. Your financial decisions are yours and yours alone to make. Remember, the ring symbolizes commitment rather than the size of your wallet."


Like the article states, you should always try and find out what kind of ring she might interested in. That will make the process of buying the ring much easier and less stressful. There is no shame in asking her friends, sister etc. They will probably view it as a great move on your part!

If you or someone you know is thinking about starting the engagement process we are happy to offer our advice which comes from 40+ years of experience. Whether you buy from us or not, the advice is always free. You will always deal with the owners, never any sales people!  Be sure to visit our website for our contact information including our direct numbers. Enjoy your holiday shopping!

PS...here is a link to the entire article we referenced. Happy December from James Levinson Jewelry!