Ouch!

Well said . . . I just proposed to my wife without the ring . . . times were tight for both of us at the time. Several years later after we were married her father died and we came into a bit of money . . . she ended up going out and buying an "engagement" ring with some of that money and some of the money we had put into savings since being married -- she always says she preferred it that way since she felt as though it was a gift from both me and her father and she was able to get the exact ring she wanted.

Truthfully . . . she could have bought a half dozen rings if she wanted . . . she is so much more frugal than me.

Incidentally, our marriage was just as low key . . . and my friends still mention how much they enjoy it . . . we invited just a handful of our close friends to a ceremony at the local park beside the lake . . . had a Justice of the Peace . . . I wore a suit and she wore a borrowed wedding dress . . . we said our vows in a wicked short ceremony, signed the paperwork and then went to my Uncle's house for an afternoon of BBQing, eating and swimming . . . even told our friends to not bother with gifts since we were all set.