An Oregon Engagement#
Haleigh and I met shortly after we had both independently moved to Oregon a little over 7 years ago. We each arrived in the Rogue Valley for work in the spring of 2019, within just 1 week of each other, and connected online a couple of months later. For both of us, nearly our entire Oregon experience has been a shared one: we have explored the state together, built a community together, and supported each other when both of our families have been so far away. For all of these reasons, I wanted my proposal to encapsulate our Oregon experience. I wanted to create a definitive milestone for this chapter of our lives, so that if we ever left, we would always have something special to remember our Oregon time by.
The Ring#
The first step in creating this Oregon moment was finding the right ring. For months I wrestled with the dilemma of giving a ring that was handmade, unique, and local or something more timeless, traditional, and diamond. Most of Haleigh’s rings are from thrift shops or Etsy, so I knew she would appreciate an alternative style. On the other hand, an engagement ring is a special piece of jewelry, so a part of me wondered if she would want something classic and durable.
My final decision was made when I considered the time and place that I chose to propose. I knew for months that I wanted to propose sometime during the summer of 2026 during an outdoor trip to a place that meant a lot to both of us. It was only about 10 days before a planned trip to Eastern Oregon that I realized this would be a perfect place to ask the question. We had made some great memories in the high desert of Eastern Oregon over our years of exploring, and this trip was our first time heading back in several years. As I thought about proposing during this trip, it hit me that the Oregon state gemstone, the Oregon Sunstone, is found and mined in this part of the state. How perfect would it be to propose with a stone that literally came out of the ground mere miles from where I was planning to ask!
With this spark of an idea, I started searching the web for any jewelers working with the Oregon Sunstone. I quickly found an Oregon-based jeweler that made a stunning ring with a twisted sterling silver band and a deep red sunstone. I instantly knew Haleigh would love it. The catch was that being only a few days from leaving for the trip, I was nervous about ordering the ring and it not showing up in time. I noticed on the website that the jeweler is based in Bend, so I emailed them to ask if they had the ring available for pickup in the next few days, fully prepared to make the 6-hour round-trip drive to make this idea work. To my delight, they replied quickly to say they could have the ring ready within a day or two and they were actually in Grants Pass, a mere 30-minute drive from the house! This plan was all starting to fall into place.
The last hurdle was making sure I sized the ring correctly. I have no idea what size Haleigh’s ring finger is, so one day while she was gone I borrowed 3 or 4 of her rings she wears a lot. Using a ring-sizing tool borrowed from dear friend Alexi, I was able to make a guesstimate at the right size. It was crude and I figured I’d most likely be off by a size or two, but this way I would at least be close.
Within just 3 days of hatching my idea, I had a unique, locally sourced, approximately sized, Oregon ring. The stage was set, and the only thing left to do was present it to Haleigh.
The Moment#
Finding the right ring wouldn’t mean much if it wasn’t presented in a special way. The trip was planned for 3 nights, giving me plenty of opportunity to find the right window. We had invited our close friends, Grace Ann and Sascha, to join us, but I intentionally kept them in the dark because I wanted the moment to be a genuine surprise for everyone.
My original plan was to pop the question on night 2 when we were planning to backpack into a high alpine lake. However, the mountains don’t care about special engagement plans and poor weather conditions forced us further back down to car camp at a lower elevation. While not critical, this started the clock to find the right moment on night 3.
The third night was spent on the surreal Alvord Desert playa. This moon-like landscape is so flat and vast that it is immediately disorienting. With roughly 80 square miles of playa to explore and camp on, we found a spot sufficiently far from other campers so that we were isolated under a massive sky with an impressive view of the westward Steens Mountains.
As the sun dipped and golden hour light flooded in, my nerves heightened as I knew the moment was approaching. Everyone was just lounging around camp: Sascha playing with the dogs, Haleigh and Grace Ann working on dinner, and I was playing with my camera trying to act natural. As everyone was wrapped up in their activities, I went to my travel bag and pulled the ring box from its hiding place, slipping it into my pocket. Even in these last few minutes, I tried to maintain the surprise, casually asking Haleigh if she’d like to take a picture together while the lighting was perfect. I asked Grace Ann to take the photo, but because she was in the middle of chopping veggies for dinner, she passed the job to Sascha. We lined up with the mountains and glowing sunset in the background, and the moment was finally set.
We snapped a couple of nice pictures, and Sascha tried to hand me back my phone. I told him, “You may want to hang on to that,” and turned back to Haleigh.
Now arriving at the moment, my nerves kept me from getting out my next words clearly. I stumbled through telling Haleigh how much I loved taking these adventures with her and wanted to continue exploring with her for the rest of my life. Then, I dropped down to a knee and pulled out the ring.
As anticipated, everyone was very surprised. Haleigh, after saying yes, kept repeating “Is this real?!” Grace Ann was so shook that she had to go lay down for a minute. Sascha, to his absolute credit, remained an unflappable cameraman and captured the moment perfectly. Somehow in the stir, Charlie dog joined us for the moment, sitting next to us and looking up as if he were waiting patiently for Haleigh’s answer too.
It was an incredible moment and everything I was hoping and planning for. Haleigh loved the ring, and amazingly, it fit perfectly on her ring finger. We were in a beautiful place, one of our favorites, with some of our closest friends. Tradition says I took my time proposing to Haleigh, waiting almost 7 years, but I think the long wait and careful planning made the moment something we will remember for the rest of our lives. I’m ecstatic that she said yes, and I couldn’t be happier to move into this next chapter of life with Haleigh!