Two years ago on this date I walked out of the office into the bright sunshine. It was the first Friday of the summer hours schedule at Coastal Carolina University so it was just past 1 p.m. I hopped in my car and instead of driving back to my apartment to hang out at the pool I battled traffic en route to Coastal Grand Mall.

I walked inside the shopping center and went straight to a certain store. I approached the counter, pointed at what I wanted, and made the purchase. For the price and significance of the item, the quick way I went about doing my business surprised the clerk just a bit. However, I was a man who knew what I wanted.

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The buying of an engagement ring is not something a guy takes lightly. As I mentioned above, it carries with it far more than just financial implications. The act of purchasing that rock is the first step to securing a life of happiness with the girl of your dreams.

Buying the engagement ring allows you to take a huge step toward marrying the woman of your dream.

With so much riding on the big purchase, the added anxiety of wondering whether you are getting your hopeful fiancé something she actually wants to wear the rest of her life could send any dude over the edge. Because I wanted to prevent a heart attack, I had picked Sidney’s brain beforehand to gauge what type of a ring she might want.

Well, to be honest, “picked Sidney’s brain” doesn’t truthfully describe it. It was more like tell me exactly what you want.

This photo is from the night I asked Sid to marry me. Because I asked Sid exactly what she wanted, I didn’t stress over whether she would like the ring or not (instead, I stressed over whether she would say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’).

Some men are fly. They have great fashion sense, smoke expensive cigars, and speak numerous foreign languages. They also know jewelry. This type of guy can discuss the finer points of diamonds and identify a ring his partner will waste no time showing off to all her friends.

This is not me. Until my wedding ring was slipped on my finger, I had never worn a piece of jewelry in my life. Because of this, Sidney and I started talking about engagement rings the moment we thought our relationship might be heading in the direction of “til’ death do us part.”

Luckily this wasn’t an awkward discussion. Sidney was very honest and told me exactly what she wanted. At first, she had a ring picked out online that she wanted. However, fear of purchasing something so important from the internet combined with the advice we received from a jeweler friend turned us in a different direction.

This is the actual photo Sidney took inside of Zales once she put the ring on for the first time. She then sent me the photo so I knew exactly what she wanted.

Sidney found a ring she liked at Zales. She went to the store by herself, tried it on, and took photos. A short time later we went to the mall and looked at it together. The ball was now in my court.

A few weeks later on that sunny May day, I confidently purchased the ring. The moment I walked out of the store I had an overwhelming fear come over me…You better not lose that little box. After taking my own photos of it when I got home, I stuffed it into a corner of my apartment closet. About six weeks later, I presented it to Sidney.

I had a celebratory beer after I bought the ring when I got back to my apartment. I thought it was a really cool idea at the time to take a photo of the ring with the bottle.

Listen up guys, don’t be embarrassed to ask your girlfriend about her ring preference. It is imperative that you get it right. Sure you will show your cards a bit about your future plans but at the same time it will give your girlfriend reassurance. Be sure not to neglect that important conversation. Don’t Blink.