Today’s featured couple have come full circle: they met while taking care of kids and now they’re married and taking care of two children of their own. Learn about how they got from there to here below.

1. Fred and Shiori, you are a very laid-back couple who is certainly very comfortable and happy with each other. Let’s look back and give us romantics a brief glimpse at your story. Did you guys start as friends? Hit it off right away?

Shiori: We met when we were university students. We both worked at a summer day camp, and I liked him because he gave me all the fun shifts! We stayed friends for a few years before dating and got married 5 years later.

2. Was your ring shopping process as seamless? Did you choose Shiori’s engagement ring together, and if not, Fred how did you go about it?

Fred: I knew I wanted something unique, and something Shiori would love. I proposed with a 20 carat ring pop and then we went shopping for the real ring together afterwards. 

3. We like a man who proposes marriage with sugar. Nicely done, Fred. Shiori, what were your thoughts/feelings to see your (non-edible) ring for the first time, and when you started wearing it?

Shiori: It was perfect! My ring is exactly what I wanted. I’ve had family jewelry and costume jewelry, but this was my very first “real” jewelry that meant something very important to me. So it felt amazing to be wearing something so special and beautiful.

4. What did you want your wedding bands to look like?

Fred:  We both wanted our rings to be simple and elegant, but more than just a plain regular band.

5. Why did you choose white gold bands and diamonds and sapphires as your gems? How much did tradition, personal preference and practicality play into your choices?

Shiori: I did want something slightly different to my engagement ring so I added the sapphires, but I still wanted something classic hence the diamond. I knew the wedding band wouldn’t fit under my engagement ring, but I loved the thick band. Also, I’ve just never seen a wedding band like it. I wear it on my right hand.

6. So you two met in your early 20s, and in this time you’ve “lived a lot of life,” as they say. What has it been like individually and/or as a couple to go through dating, getting married, and having children together?

Fred: As we grow through the different stages of our relationship we’ve learned about the importance of making time for ourselves and as a couple, especially now that life is crazy with kids. All through this though, we’ve grown stronger together.

Shiori: It really does feel like we’ve been through a lot in the last 10 years, especially after having children.  As it currently stands, we don’t have a lot of time for each other because we are so busy with kids, work…life! It’s definitely an adjustment period, and we are still learning. I guess our relationship will continue to evolve with every milestone and hurdle, but we have been good at tackling them together so far!

7. Do you own any jewelry or accessories from your family, and would you want to pass your wedding jewelry on to your kids one day?

Shiori: I have jewelry from my family that I will definitely pass on to my kids, as well as my wedding jewelry. A lot of the pieces I got from my grandmas on both sides tell a story and it’s so neat to be able to pass on these special pieces to my own kids.

Fred: It’s something you are going to wear forever, so for men: make sure you know her taste or get her approval before making the big purchase!

Thank you Fred and Shiori for sharing a bit about your wedding jewelry and your life together! We especially love the way Shiori rocks her wedding band on her right hand.

Fred’s ring: 18k white gold band with a cut channel down the middle.

Shiori’s rings: 0.86ct diamond and Sri Lankan sapphire engagement ring and a wedding band with 12 pave-set 0.72ct diamonds, both set in 19k white gold.