NEW YORK: While most men spend hours pondering over the perfect engagement ring before popping the question, John Elliott took a slightly different approach. The 27-year-old decided to hire a ring from a complete stranger to use as part of the romantic proposal he had planned for girlfriend Ashleigh. He splashed out £50 to use Jenni Parker’s £7,000 engagement ring after listing the unusual request for a ring online. The unusual idea came about because John wanted Ashleigh to choose her own ring but didn’t want to propose without one. The recruiter, who lives in Balham, said: “I wanted Ashleigh to pick the exact ring she wanted and this was the only way to propose without her knowing it was happening. “For the photos, I wanted it to be the calibre of ring she deserves.” John listed the ring request on Fat Llama , a website for lending and borrowing all different sorts of items. He admits Ashleigh was a bit sad when she realised she couldn’t keep the stunning ring, but says she now knows the kind of ring she wants. He said: “She loved the ring, she was a little sad it was only for the evening but ultimately it gave her a better idea of what she was looking for.” Jenni was given the ring by her grandmother after her own marriage ended. She said: “I love the fact that the ring is a piece of family history. For eight years it has sparkled on my finger, reminding me that I deserve good things. I knew I had to pass this ring on to do more good and to see the start of someone else’s new path in life, embedding a new story into the 100 plus year life of this ring. (Agencies)
