Long Distance Love

A little earlier this year we received a wonderful enquiry. Brooke was keen to design a perfectly personal engagement ring and surprise her partner, Kate! As lovers of love here at EWR we were keen to help and so our relationship with them began.

Not being fans of anything too flashy, Brooke knew that she was looking for something casual yet personal for Kate. Both are vegan and try hard to live a sustainable life together so looking into wooden ring ideas came naturally and there we were! 

‘I was researching wooden rings and came across your website. It was so highly rated and I loved all the stories and pictures on Instagram.’

By exploring our Instagram, Facebook and website, she realised people were able to customise existing designs and create beautifully bespoke rings from scratch, so she got in touch. 

 

Feeling Lost

Brooke met Kate in the USA back in the summer of 2018 when they both worked at a summer camp in Maine. Kate had come over from Scotland and Brooke was back home for university holidays. Brooke was at a low point in her life, not enjoying her studies and struggling with truly accepting herself. ⁠

‘I was still in the closet at age 19, I wasn’t ready to tell anyone until I had fully accepted myself.’

Love at first Sight

From the moment Brooke saw Kate she realised she’d never been so sure of anything in her life. Her feelings were clear. This was who she was, she knew she wanted to share life’s adventures with Kate and it felt wonderful.

They hit it off immediately and less than 10 days after meeting each other, Kate gave Brooke the confidence she had needed in order to come out to her friends and family.

‘We ended up having that magical summer romance you read about; sneaking out of the cabins late at night, sitting next to each other by the campfire, spending our days soaking up the sun at the lake. It was wonderful.’

 

As the end of the summer approached, they had to begin to face the upsetting reality that they lived so far apart as Kate is from Scotland, nearly 3000 miles away. They ended up deciding to try making a long-distance relationship work, and if it didn’t then they would just have to hold on tightly to the memories made during their most magical summer together. Before their time together was over, they went on an incredible month-long road trip with two other friends from camp, travelling from Maine all the way down to Florida from where Kate then flew home. It would be fair to say it was a life changing trip! Their relationship intensified to a point where Brooke made a BIG decision. She decided to leave university for good and follow her heart.

Brooke flew to Scotland just after Christmas 2018 and they were reunited after 3 months apart. They then travelled to Paris, Amsterdam, and ended up buying one-way tickets to Australia where they then spent a year travelling and working. 

‘The feeling of seeing each other again was just indescribable. She is the reason I wake up in the morning. I spent so long being unhappy and in the closet, I never thought I would be happy with anyone. Kate has given me the best three years of my life. She has made me a better person, and she has allowed me to finally love myself for who I am.’

 

They went on to face and overcome the many hurdles of being from different continents during Covid and, after 3 blissful years, they are finally settled together in Scotland with their gorgeous Jack Russell, Wilson. 

BIG Decisions

It was in the lead up to Brooke being issued her visa that she made another huge decision… Having grown so tired of waiting for things in their relationship; waiting to see each other, waiting to live in the same country, waiting to be reunited again, she felt enough was enough and reached for the phone and started searching for rings. 

‘We were and are still young, but I have never been more sure about anything. From the moment I saw her walking across the field at camp I knew she was the one I was going to spend my life with.’

 

Brooke wanted a dark bentwood ring with a lovely contrasting lighter wood liner. Bogwood and light oak were therefore a winning combination for this custom piece. She then provided a piece of pine from her backyard in Maine to give the ring a really personal finishing touch. 

She also chose to have the letters “ilymtyek” woodburned on the inside. They mean “I love you more than you’ll ever know” which is what Brooke would say every night when they were apart for so many months.

We’re delighted to report that Kate said a very enthusiastic ‘YES!’ earlier last month and we look forward to hearing all about the wedding in due course. Congratulations to you both and thank you for asking us to be a part of your journey together. We absolutely love being able to enable people's ideas to become reality and this one has been an absolute pleasure!

If you're feeling inspired, have a look at our bespoke page for some more ideas to help you create your perfect, bespoke ring for any occasion. 

Alternatively you can fill in our design enquiry form and let us guide and inspire you further. We love nothing more than helping customers turn their ideas into reality!

 

If you or someone you know is struggling with coming to terms with their sexuality there are many places online where support can be found. 

In the UK, Mind has useful information about mental health support for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer or questioning (LGBTIQ+) and many more organisations can be found on the NHS website.