1. How did you meet?
We met in the summer of 2015 (10 years ago this year!) at a bar in Lincoln Park. Ankush was only living in Chicago for the summer doing some research before business school and Shannon was home for the summer from college. We feel like the way we met was extremely serendipitous because Ankush had no ties to Chicago (he grew up in Atlanta and didn't have plans to leave the south, but the research opportunity came up at the right time) and Shannon was supposed to stay in DC that summer to work but she decided last minute to come back to Chicago for a few months.When we met, we instantly connected over our love for Italy and good food. After that summer, we remained good friends until Ankush reached out during the pandemic (in August 2020) and asked if Shannon wanted to give dating a try. She said yes and the rest is history!
2. Tell us what you love about your ring(s)?
I love that my ring is a reflection of the love we share and that we designed it together ❤️ It is also the most beautiful piece of jewelry and art I have ever worn/owned. I look at it every day and find something new I love about it: from the milgrain detailing to the shape (elongated hexagon), to the sparkliness of the ring. I also love how well it was made: I have so many friends who have issues with their engagement rings and diamonds falling out from big box jewelers/retailers and because we worked with Adornment and Theory & Viviana Langhoff, the ring setting was made for the stone (not the other way around) so it is extremely well designed in terms of structure. I love having an engagement ring that is both structurally well-made/built as well as it just being a stunning piece of artwork!
3. How was the process of designing your ring?
We initially went in during Engagement Ring Extravaganza in September 2023 just to start browsing and getting an idea of what kinds of rings Shannon would like. What we thought was just browsing turned into a whole design session! We sat down with Madison that day and we instantly trusted her because she told us it's more about what we like than how big the diamond is, how expensive it is, etc. It's so rare to find a place that isn't constantly trying to upsell or get you to spend more money just because it's "cool" or "trendy" or the "right thing to do." We felt so comfortable and Shannon actually felt empowered and encouraged to design with Ankush the ring of her dreams instead of just getting the ring she thought she "should."
4. How did you propose?
