Jan 20, 2021#shesaidyes

ENGAGEMENT FEATURE: KATE & WILLIAM

First meeting as teenagers during a family holiday at the beach, Kate and William began as 'holiday house neighbours'. As fate would have it, these two lovebirds were to meet again five years later through mutual friends. Beginning as a sweet friendship, Kate and William soon realised their bond was something very special and worth developing into a relationship. And we are so happy their relationship blossomed! William proposed to Kate on their 7th anniversary with a stunning 18-carat rose gold emerald cut diamond, set into our Perlina Engagement Ring design. Our first meeting was way back in 2007 when we were both teenagers! We met through close family friends, down at some beach shacks at Black Point, which we were staying in neighbouring houses. I remember being introduced to Will and later found myself thinking to myself ‘man, that boy next door with the dark curly hair is super cute’, but I quickly convinced myself that he wouldn’t have noticed me! Turns out however that he didn’t necessarily forget me! Fast-forward 5 years, and mutual friends of ours decided to put together a mixed netball team which we were both a part of. He recognised me from our encounter at Black Point all those years ago, which kind-of shocked me and made me feel quietly chuffed! Over that period of 2 years, we both dated different people but became really good mates through playing netball and hanging out with our little crew at the pub after games or on weekends at various events and catch ups. We made each other laugh, found that we easily clicked on a lot of things, and that we could talk to each other about anything for hours on end. Soon enough, feelings slowly but surely developed.In November of 2013, he sent me a text asking me if I would like to eat food in the same room as him sometime, which we did. And the rest, as they say, is history.

I have been following Cassandra’s work since around 2016. My dad, of all people, knew Cass and her amazing work and he ‘subtly’ directed me towards her Instagram page to give her a follow. Un-surprisingly, I instantly fell in love with her gorgeous and unique designs and was drawn in by seeing how passionate she was about her work and her team. I found myself changing my mind every 2 months as to what design I liked best because so many took my breath away - I always had to give Will an update on my favourite one every now and then just in case! There was no other choice in my mind - my heart was well and truly set on a Cassandra Mamone design. For Will, the idea was not to do anything to grandiose or flashy, but intimate and comfortable. A few plans came and had to be scrapped, but in the end, he decided to subtly organise drinks and a picnic somewhere intimate. On our 7 year anniversary, both of us had half the day off. I had booked dinner for us later in the evening, but Will said that he wanted us to do something in the afternoon while we had the time off - a pre-drinks of some kind.He drove us to one of our favourite wineries in McLaren Vale, Down the Rabbit Hole. We had a lovely tasting in their iconic double-decker bus and then decided to help ourselves to a bottle of rose on the lawn before driving back to town. It was a cold day, and being a weekday the winery was very quiet, so we had a private spot for ourselves away from the wind where we almost felt like we were the only ones there. While finishing our bottle and munching on some Moon Macadamias (my favourites), he asked me to close my eyes for just a minute. I had an inkling of what was about to happen, but I tried my best to stay calm and not ask questions. When I opened my eyes, he was down on one knee and before I knew it the happy tears started flowing and my body was filled with internal happy screams. While I had closed my eyes, he had set up a tripod with his phone so that he could capture this amazing moment which was truly special. Everything about it was magical - it was private and personal, with the most stunning backdrop in our favourite part of South Australia. We were incredibly loved up from celebrating our seven years together, and everything just fell into place effortlessly. I remember sitting there while Will was still on one knee - listening to his beautiful words all whilst I was crying, giggling, shaking and feeling an overwhelming amount of love. The biggest and easiest ‘yes’ of my life.

Will and I went to go and see Cassandra together to design the ring. As mentioned, my mind did tend to want to change in terms of what design I wanted to have permanently on my left hand - hence why Will insisted I come along with him to make the final decision! One way or another, I kept coming back to the same design - The Perlina. I was smitten with the one single, striking and bold emerald cut diamond, along with its unique and elegant twisted rose gold band to compliment it.My favourite part of the piece is the way the diamond hits the light, and the stunning colours that hypnotise me at each angle. It’s colours change depending on the colour and intensity of the light. I truly struggle to take my eyes off it on a daily basis, and it’s honestly the most perfect ring I could have ever hoped for. And Will gets to wear it whenever he asks so we both get to enjoy it.

SHOP THE 'PERLINA ENGAGEMENT RING' HERE

We are currently looking at booking a date in February 2023, which gives us enough time till then to plan our day and still enjoy being in our little engagement bubble for a while! We haven’t worked out any specifics of what we want, but our only criteria is that the day has overflowing gin & tonics at every possible moment! We are so excited to celebrate with our nearest and dearest, and we can’t wait to come back to see the CM team so they can help us design our dream wedding bands! Kate: Cassandra and her gorgeous team were an absolute dream to work with! We were welcomed into the studio with widest of arms, and Cass went above and beyond to create the ring of my dreams. She took the time to talk both Will and me through every possible detail and design option to make sure the ring was just as perfect as we could imagine it to be. And the end result truly surpassed our expectations and beyond. Will: Cassandra's enthusiasm was palpable on the day we met her, and the whole CM team’s excitement for us as we celebrated our engagement plans was contagious. I also had a great discussion with Cassandra on the diamond industry, grading and industrial uses - she was more than happy to answer any and every question I had both professionally and personally! The whole team made the whole process so special and enjoyable!

💕 The CM Team

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