NMJ Lovers | Teddi & Chris

After a night full of laughter and love, Chris proposed to his partner Teddi under the stars in a field that felt like home. Chris worked with our team to create piece that resembled Teddi's personality – a beautiful cluster ring with a blue Topaz centre.

Join us as Teddi and Chris share more about the proposal and what their special day will be like, including BYOT (bring your own tent) for those who want to experience their love for the stars in the very same field where it all began.

 

Let's go back to the beginning, how did you meet?

We met online actually. Our first date was camping. Teddi cooked and I brought wine that I had made. We immediately connected and spent the next morning working on a project together. She came over for dinner a few days later, and we haven't been apart a day since, even living 45 minutes away from each other.

 

You recently got engaged, congratulations! Can you tell us a little bit about the proposal?

As a little backstory, we love to camp and often look at the stars and converse about astronomy. We also started hosting farm to table dinner events together the past fall, which was our first serious endeavor together as a couple. The area is located on a hilltop on the farm with wide skyline views of the sunset and night sky. Fast forward to the engagement...

Teddi had mentioned it would be fun to take dance lessons together, so I told her to leave a certain date open on the calendar and surprised her with dance lessons. We had a ton of fun and grabbed a drink and dinner afterwards. On the way back, I started mentioning how beautiful the night sky was. I pulled into the field and drove on to the hilltop where we host the events together. I opened Teddi's door and led her out into the field to view the stars.

I told her "I would love nothing more than to look at the night sky with you for the rest of our lives." And asked her to marry me. 

Teddi, what was your reaction when you saw your engagement piece for the first time?

I couldn't love the ring more. It is representative of so many facets of our relationship. It's incredibly unique with attention to detail. The asymmetry reminds me of an elegant and simple bouquet of flowers (I love to stop and pick wildflowers). My favorite color is blue and one of the center pieces has the slightest blue tint--something you only notice up close. The ring is beyond anything I could've imagine and is simply perfect. I have gotten so many compliments on it and love to wear it. There is nothing like it!

 

What does marriage mean to you both?

Marriage is a full embrace of the person you are with, good, bad, and everything between. It is not hoping for change from the other person, having expectations, or being disappointed for what they are or aren't doing for you. It's about loving them fully for who they are and knowing you are loved back the same way. There isn't a timeline or a goal, just sharing and enjoying all the moments that life brings. Ups or downs, marriage is about using those tides to lean on each other and grow closer. It's about knowing how much greater having an open, honest, and loving connection with someone is than worrying about who took the trash out or why we are running late to an event. In the end, there's nothing more fulfilling then knowing your partner wants to be in the relationship because there's no one else they could imagine sharing life's celebrations and struggles with, no matter how hard or easy those may be. Love in marriage is reciprocated naturally, fully and without expectation or conditions.

 

Chris, we’d love to know why you chose NMJ to help create the perfect engagement ring for Teddi. How was your experience and how did you end up with the cluster ring that you did?

From a very early point in our relationship we had known marriage was in the picture. We had discussed engagement ring styles so that I knew what Teddi liked and did not like. I came across a piece by Natalie Marie (not the one that I ended up chosing), and I immediately noticed how unique and elegant it was. I looked further into the collection, and was very impressed with the bold but classy and one-of-a-kind feel to each ring. I knew I would find a ring Teddi would love through NMJ.

I knew Teddi's favorite color was blue, and at the time that we had looked at rings she mentioned it would be neat to have a gemstone other than a diamond as the main piece. When I was looking through the collection, the cluster ring immediately made me think of Teddi. It was as best of a reflection I could think of in a piece of art. Like Teddi, it truly is unique and one of a kind. The arrangement of the stone is very elegant and beautiful. It reminds me of a bouquet of wildflowers, which she loves to pick. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful ring for an even more beautiful bride.

From start to finish my experience was professional, exciting, and helpful. NMJ was more than accommodating with changing out a center piece for the blue Topaz. My excitement to receive the ring couldn't have been any higher, yet seeing the ring in person still exceeded my highest expectations.

 

What are you most looking forward to on your special day? Have you decided on a particular wedding style?

To being able to have all of our friends and family in one location, celebrating how fortunate we are to spend our lives together. We hope everyone has a relaxing and fun day, and can take a moment away from all of our busy lives to enjoy the happiness that we share every day. 

We farm full time and raise pastured heritage meats for our area. We are using our own Berkshire hogs to do a French style hog roast with a huge variety of hors d'oeuvres, salads, charcuterie, and sides. While we have vintage apparel planned, we want to keep the wedding casual and fun. There will be live music, plenty of dancing, a bonfire, and BYOT (bring your own tent) for all those that want to stay over and camp in the fields!

 

At NMJ, at the heart of everything we do is love. Tough question, but tell us, what do you know about love?

Chris: I thought I knew what love was until I met my fiancee. It is truly effortless for me to give 100% and feel that it is reciprocated back fully. There are no expectations or pretenses. It isn't conditional at all.

Teddi: I know that love is sacrificial and forgiving. It is when you derive your own happiness in seeing the other person happy. I know that love is not a smooth ride, or always happy or easy. It is being in it for the immediate moments and also the long haul. Loving someone is a separate entity inside of you, and the more whole heartedly we lean into it, the more it pulls the other pieces and parts of us towards it. It is finding more joy in giving than receiving, and it is looking at the other person knowing you want to be the one that knows them inside and out 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 50+ years from now. 

TRUE love is when all of these things are easy. Instead of forcing them, you can't imagine another way to exist.

 

PC: @rnolanphoto