At Dianna Rae Jewelry, we enjoy sharing the love stories of our customers because your story is our story. Congratulations to Jarad and Whitney, and thank you for sharing your love story with us.

How They Met

Jarad and Whitney both grew up in Acadiana and attended UL at the same time, but never crossed paths. After graduating, Jarad moved to Virginia for work. A good friend of Jarad’s, Taylor Ducote, asked him to be a groomsman for his wedding which brought Jarad back to Lafayette for a little while. While in town for the wedding, Taylor invited Jarad to his family’s Christmas party. As fate would have it, Whitney is Taylor’s first cousin and was in attendance at that Christmas party. There was an initial attraction between Jarad and Whitney at the party and glances/smiles shared across the room at the wedding a few days later. They became friends on social media and would chat every couple of months for about a year until they decided they wanted to try a long distance relationship. After six months of long distance, Jarad decided to move back to Louisiana. Six years later, and they’re (finally) engaged!

The Proposal

Jarad proposed to Whitney on Saturday January 2nd, 2021. He wanted to start of the new year on a sweet note. He planned to take her out for the day to do some shopping, have brunch and eventually take her out to walk Rip Van Winkle Gardens and propose. While spending the morning together, Jarad found out that his appointment at Rip Van Winkle was cancelled due to a last minute wedding! Scrambling, he called the photographer he had hired to see if there was somewhere else he might be able to take Whitney. The photographer suggested Lake Martin. So, after a late brunch, Jarad drove Whitney out to Lake Martin. They walked a bit before Jarad stopped, gushed about their relationship, and then got down on one knee. Whitney totally knew it was coming and responded with a resounding “yes!” Even though Whitney had been a part of her ring’s design process, she was still absolutely stunned by how unbelievably beautiful it was. Jarad’s photographer was able to quietly capture the proposal and some fun couple shots afterwards.

The Ring

The ring is a custom design with a pear shaped center diamond. Smaller diamond accents create a partial halo until they meet the S shaped swirled shoulders on either side. Delicate intertwined swirled shanks meet up with the S swirls to complete the band. Jarad and Whitney designed the ring together with the help of the wonderful team at Dianna Rae. Whitney has always been attracted to pear shaped stones and filigree jewelry. There is a chance that the pear shape reminds her of her pet chinchillas as well ;). Whitney’s favorite thing about the ring is how unique it is to her. She feels that the ring reflects her favorite design elements of jewelry as well as her own personality. Even though Whitney had seen the renderings and 3D print of her ring, she was absolutely stunned when Jarad proposed, and she saw the ring in person for the first time.