"We met in the waiting area and hit it off immediately. He was genuinely engaging and he had such a sincere smile," Joanna said.[rsnippet id="3"] When the time came for Chip to pop the question, he took Joanna to jeweler Billy Holder, a friend of his dad's, to custom design her engagement ring. The jeweler gave Joanna a big, fake diamond to wear as a placeholder while he created her real ring. And everyone who knew Joanna immediately recognized the temporary ring was so not her style!
"It’s funny to me that, even way back then, they all seemed to realize that a flashy ring just wasn’t my style. They expected to see me wearing something a little subtler, a little smaller, a little more classic maybe," Joanna said.RELATED: 4 things we can learn about marriage from Chip and Joanna Gaines Joanna's real ring was ready in time for their wedding in 2003, and it was just perfect!
"He [Chip] knows you love the setting, but he wants you to be able to pick out a better diamond like your mom did,” Billy told Joanna.RELATED: Wife's response to the friends who tell her that her ring is 'too small' But Joanna Gaines refuses to upgrade the ring that means so much to her. She looked Billy in the eye and flat out told him no!
“It wasn’t a ‘perfect’ diamond, but it was perfect for me. I felt bad that Billy wasn’t going to make the big sale he was hoping for that day, but I don’t ever want to replace that diamond or that ring. To me, my ring is part of our story,” Joanna wrote in the couple's new book, The Magnolia Story.Chip Gaines, you've got yourself a keeper. But then, you already knew that! Bigger isn't always better. What makes a ring special is the love behind it. So, just rack this story up as another reason to love Chip and Joanna Gaines! [rsnippet id="2"]