LGBTQ+ Couples Share Their Engagement Rings

9 Beautiful Engagement Ring Stories From LGBTQ+ Couples

Jun 5 2020 by Sarah Wasilak

All LBGTQ+ couples are different, so when it comes to engagement rings and exchanging vows, there are no set rules about the bling that comes with the declaration of love. Some couples gift each other rings upon proposal, while others hand-pick their stones and bands together, ordering them from the same company or boutique so there's less of a surprise, but lots of room for personalisation. A lot of people have partners that don't like to wear jewellery at all, and that's cool, too. Just like with all of the other little bridal details, the options are endless.

I'll never forget when my sister sent me a text message: "How can I figure out Megan's ring size?" she asked me, after having already ordered her girlfriend a promise ring that ended up barely even fitting over the knuckle of her pinky. At least it wasn't a diamond! Luckily, they have time to practice and dream up some options, since they both want to wear engagement rings down the road but prefer very different styles. They may even learn a thing or two from some of the couples I talked to below — lifestyle blogger Allie sneakily hacked onto her wife's Etsy account to find out what designs she had been saving, while Bobby, senior market editor at Who What Wear, and his partner, Robbie, knew from the start they wanted something classic and timeless, thereby vowing to go on all future ring hunts together. The details are important, after all.

Scroll down to find a roundup of beautiful engagement rings from LGBTQ+ couples and shoot me a note if you'd love to share your own original story to be included here, too.

Image Source: Courtesy of Jay Leaf-Clark

June Hall and Rashida Joiner

The couple: Food blogger, photographer, and teacher June Hall and her partner Rashida Joiner.

The story behind the ring: "We had been discussing getting married and Rashida asked what type of rings I liked. I have never been a basic person who wanted a diamond. I told Rashida I'd love a ring that was rose gold with a morganite stone. Rashida began researching jewellery stores that offered that type of ring, but was not satisfied. She then began researching designers who could create something custom and stumbled upon Laurie Sarah, based in LA. Together, they started the process of customising the ring, and the end result was this handmade 14K rose gold ring with a radiant-cut 3.5-carat morganite stone sitting in a diamond-encrusted halo."

Bobby Schuessler and Robbie Shaw

The couple: Bobby Schuessler, senior market editor at Who What Wear, and his partner, Robbie Shaw.

The story behind the rings: "We both went for platinum bands from Tiffany & Co. to keep it classic and timeless. Now we're on the hunt for unique pinky rings to add into our rotations for when we actually get married as well."

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Allie and Sam Conway

The couple: LGBT travel vloggers ALLIE+SAM.

The story behind the rings: "I proposed to Sam first, and I snuck on to her Etsy account to see if she had saved any favourite rings. Sure enough, she saved the same one, a round morganite, a few times! I was very drawn to Evorden, since the are a Canadian-based company and could make the ring in time."

"I picked my ring out myself. I kept being drawn to the same pear-shaped aquamarine ring, which just so happened to be from Evorden as well. Sam ordered it and proposed back to me. We both went with nondiamond centre stones because it felt less typical and more 'us.' But both our rings do have diamond halos, and our wedding bands, from Hearts on Fire Co., are diamonds as well."

Jay and JJ Leaf-Clark

The couple: NYC-based Tech IT Jay Leaf-Clark and writer JJ Leaf-Clark

The story behind the rings: "Asking JJ to marry me felt like it was years in the making, even though we had only officially been dating a year. When we first met in 2015, we told ourselves that it 'wasn't the right time,' and when we found each other again, we always kicked ourselves that we didn't do it then. When I planned JJ's surprise engagement, I wanted his ring to not only be beautiful, but a representation of what I should have done years ago."

"The ring is a cushion-cut eternity band and is about 10 carats, set in white gold. It's not subtle by any means, but after all that lost time, neither is my love for JJ. For my ring, I looked for something simple that complemented JJ's ring and represented my personality. I settled on a gold eternity band with much smaller stones all around."

Kaitlin Chapple and Steph Burlton

The couple: Vancouver-based travel and lifestyle bloggers behind Lezseetheworld.

The story behind the rings: "All lesbian couples are different, but we both chose to wear engagement rings after Steph proposed! We have vintage engagement rings that each suit our individual styles. Kaitlin wanted a classic solitaire setting, and found a beautiful, traditional ring with a round diamond and a white gold band. Steph wanted something more intricate and chose a three-stone 'past, present, and future' setting, with round-cut diamonds and a white gold band. We both wanted vintage rings with their own character, and found them on Etsy! They suit us so well individually, and we love how unique they are."

Christina and Katie Bailey

The couple: LGBTQ+ advocates and family and travel bloggers The Baileys

The story behind the rings: "Katie and I each wanted to pick out a ring, instead of being surprised by the other person. We knew exactly what we wanted — or so we thought — so we went to Fred Meyer Jewellery and were helped by a sales associate who thought we were sisters (we're always nervous to tell people we're gay because the reaction isn't always positive). Katie thought she wanted a ring with a diamond lined by smaller diamonds and I thought I wanted a single, simple diamond but we ended up wanting what the other one had. We decided against getting bands since we had a budget to stick to for our small beach wedding."

"On the night before our wedding as we were watching the sun go down in Hawaii, Katie pulled out two bands and surprised me. One band was engraved with 'Forever forever' and the other with 'and always' — our favourite saying throughout our relationship. The bands were matching, each lined with small diamonds. On the weekends when we're around the kids, we just wear the bands, but when we go to work we wear our full ring sets."

Zara Barrie and Meghan Dziuma

The couple: Author Zara Barrie and her partner, Meghan Dziuma

The story behind the rings: "My wife Meghan proposed to me first on Facebook Live with a stunningly beautiful vintage diamond and platinum engagement ring from 1910! I have an extremely sparkly, wild sense of fashion, and had zero interest in anything simple. And this ring is not simple, it has insane attention to detail and is very art deco, which is one of my favourite jewellery styles! I was completely floored when she proposed and we hadn't even discussed engagement rings or any of that bridal jazz. You can imagine how wildly impressed I was that she intrinsically knew that a fabulous, one-of-a-kind, vintage engagement ring is my thing. In typical millennial style, she found it on the Doyle & Doyle Instagram (an amazing vintage jewellery shop in The Meatpacking District) and knew it was the one. 'Love at first diamond sight,' I suppose."

"A couple of months later I decided to propose back to Meghan. I chose a classic, sophisticated Cartier Love ring because Meghan, unlike yours truly, isn't super extra or ultra glam. She's very downtown Manhattan chic — a 'black leather pants with a black blouse' kind of girl — and I knew the gold in the ring would complement her all-black attire. The ring has a sexy, androgynous vibe to it, yet its symbolism of being 'locked up in love' is deep and romantic, like her. Purr! Lucky for both of us, we wear the same ring size, so the sizing was the easiest part of the whole process!"

Roxanne Weijer and Maartje Hensen

The couple: LGBT, travel, and photography bloggers behind Once Upon a Jrny

The story behind the ring: "I found the engagement ring I picked for Roxanne on Etsy. The ring is symbolic: Rox is my 'rock,' my raw diamond. She's not perfectly polished and neither is the engagement ring! It was very hard to buy a ring in secret, since we were travelling full time and were together 24/7. The ring is hand-crafted by Sirilak Samanasak, who has a cute jewellery store in Chiang Mai, Thailand (which is where I proposed during the lantern festival). Roxanne actually lost the diamond on her first engagement ring, but we had a new one made by Sirilak one year later. Our wedding rings are also made by her!"

Cassie and Alexa

The couple: LGBT bloggers behind Two Femme Gems

The story behind the ring: "I knew I didn't want an over-the-top ring. I don't really wear a ton of jewellery and was looking for something classic and minimal. Alexa and I went to look at rings together about six months before she proposed. I showed her the style I liked. What I really love about my ring is how Alexa took my direction and built off of it to put her own spin on it. She really made it the special piece of jewellery that it is. Every day I get to look down at this beautiful physical representation of our love and to me, that's just pure magic! A huge part of our proposal was the box the ring came in, which is a Mrs. Box, so you'll see photos of that ahead."