A young woman has spoken out against a shop assistant who ridiculed her partner for his choice of budget wedding rings, saying that it’s not the cost of the ring that matters, but the relationship.
When Ariel McRae and her partner Quinn went in to look at wedding rings, soon-to-be husband Quinn had pooled all of his money to buy a pair of Pandora rings. However, while in the store to pick the rings up, they were criticised by the shop assistant for their “pathetic” ring choice for such an important milestone.
In a Facebook post about the difficult situation, Ariel outlined how much it hurt her and Quinn to be treated that way by the shop assistant, and explained why she felt that you didn’t need a big ring to make a lifelong commitment.
“[Quinn] doesn’t have a lot, neither of us do. We scrape and scrape to pay bills and put food in our bellies, but after almost 2 years of dating we decided that we couldn’t wait anymore, so we didn’t.”
“I wasn’t even thinking about rings, I just wanted to marry my best friend, but he wouldn’t have it. He scraped up just enough money to buy me two matching rings from Pandora. Sterling silver and CZ to be exact.”
However, she explains that when they were in the shop a sales assistant approached them as they were finishing up the sale.
“She said, “Y’all can you believe that some men get these as engagement rings? How pathetic’.”
Immediately Quinn’s face fell. Ariel said he “already felt bad because he couldn’t afford the pear-shaped set” that she’d had her heart set on, and that he kept asking her if she still wanted to marry him even with the cheap rings.
“He was so upset at the idea of not makingme happy enough and of me not wanting to marry him because my rings didn’t cost enough money or weren’t flashy enough.”
So, Ariel stood up to the shop assistant, and curtly told her:“It isn’t the ring that matters, it is the love that goes into buying one that is.”
She went on to lament the society where men felt like the love they felt for their partners wasn’t enough to justify marrying them without a big flashy ring:
“My husband was so afraid of me not wanting him because he couldn’t afford a piece of jewelry. He was afraid that the love I have for him would pale because he couldn’t afford the wedding set I wanted. The world has made it this way and it is so sad.”
But, Ariel and Quinn didn’t let the world get them down. They went on to have a courthouse marriage ceremony, and are settling into life well as a married couple, even with their $130 rings.
People all over the world have jumped on Ariel’s story, praising her for her down-to-earth attitude and focus on what really matters. Many came forward with their own stories of being on a budget for their engagement and wedding, and noted that Ariel “couldn’t have said it any better”.
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