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From friends to lovers, Karena and Jason sowed the seeds of love over three years before officially becoming a couple. After a decade of being together, they took the next step, literally, when Jason proposed at the end of the hike trail at Múlagljúfur Canyon in Iceland. Despite 17 km/hr wind speeds and extremely cold weather, their custom sapphire and diamond engagement ring made it onto Karena's left hand with a resounding 'Yes!' 

Find out more about their love story and read what they had to say about their Black Finch custom design experience below.

When and how did you meet one another?

Jason: We met all the way back in 2014 in our first year of medical school. I swear my first memory of Karena is hearing her voice in the back row of the laboratory and thinking “Wow, her voice is so deep”. We formally met in some other tutorial classes and eventually became a part of the same friendship group. We were friends for about three years before we got together and started our romantic relationship. 

When did you know you had found your special person?

Karena: Jason and I were lucky enough to be friends for a long time before we started dating so I always knew I could trust him with anything. I first knew Jason was the one for me when he was there for me during a tough period in my life. I realised I could be vulnerable with him and be totally myself in a way I hadn’t been with anyone else. Since then, he has helped me through countless more hard times and shared in even more blissful times!

Jason: Although we were friends for a long time, we took the next step when we started to become more vulnerable to each other. Now don’t get me wrong, Karena has always and will always be a comedian. She could make you laugh just by existing. It was when she was going through a tough time, that we saw different sides of one another, and I realised that Karena was a lot more like me than I had imagined. Everyone goes through a lot in their life. Sometimes we build defence mechanisms to wall ourselves away from emotional hurt. I knew Karena was special when she led me to unlearn those sorts of habits without knowing it myself. She did this unintentionally just by being who she was – positive, loving, forgiving, and sharing her amazing insights. By continuing to be herself, growing both herself and us as a team, Karena reinforces why she is special to me on a daily basis. 

How did the proposal go down?

Jason: Proposing was a struggle because I knew I wanted to do it in the summer of the otherworldly nature that is Iceland, but there were so many wonderful places there I couldn’t decide! In the end, I settled on the end of the hike trail of Múlagljúfur Canyon. The view was spectacular, but so were the wind speeds at 17 km/hr at the peak! I was so scared that the wind would blow away the engagement ring. I got down on my knee and held it so tightly with my hands which were numb from the cold. Luckily, she said yes and our friends were there to capture the moment! Karena knew a proposal was along the way because we had designed the ring together, but she maintains that she kind of saw it coming during our hike. I think her reaction in the pictures we took are good enough proof that she really had no idea.

What are the wedding plans?

After our incredibly rewarding but expensive Iceland trip, we think we’re going to take it easy for now. We both have decided to focus on passing a few hurdles for our careers before we go through the experience that is wedding planning. Having said that, we have some ideas of having a relatively small wedding at a winery perhaps somewhere in the Yarra Valley area. 

Can you share some words on your Black Finch experience?

Jason: Black Finch has been amazing and I’m so glad they have been part of our story. The entire process was so easy but, as it should be, what matters the most is the final product which is the ring. It turned out phenomenal and I have to really stop myself from ranting but: Oh. My. God. It is just so perfect for Karena. Even though Karena is so well put together, she is organised chaos. A good example is that if you give her ten condiments like pepper, sriracha, a mushroom sauce, sesame paste, spring onions, garlic, and chilli oil, you best bet that she’s putting everything on it. That’s why I love what Black Finch has created for us. Karena was like in a buffet picking all her foods and condiments and Ebony helped us pick our gems. We worked as a team to arrange them beautifully in a way that Karena liked and it turned out phenomenally, like it’s from a movie. I can never forget the day that I came to the shop and picked up the ring after seeing it for the first time. Thank you so much to Black Finch for all the emotions you’ve allowed us to experience!Inspired to create your own custom piece? Book a complimentary custom design consultation here.