A bride-to-be in Saskatchewan is feeling extra grateful after her fiancé partnered up with her goldsmith father to design her engagement ring.
Bryce Shaylee Sherring is still in shock following her boyfriend’s proposal earlier this month.
“He’s been pretending to propose to me. I guess his own strategy to get me off any idea that it’s going to be coming up,” she explained. “When he was doing it, I didn’t really believe it until he was down on one knee, pulls out the ring, tears in his eyes, and he asked me to marry him.”
Bryce soon realized her engagement ring had been handcrafted by her father, also named Bryce Sherring, who has worked as a goldsmith for decades in Yorkton.
“We made these little gold bands during COVID because there wasn’t much going on,” said Bryce’s finance, Dawson Leedahl.
“He kind of taught us how to make the rings so we shared that moment there we got to work with the gold and got see how he did everything. When I asked for his permission to marry Bryce, it was obvious I was going to use him to help me make the ring and make it super special.”
For Bryce, it was perhaps his most emotional project.
“I’ve been doing this for 40 years, but this one has got me,” he explained.
The ring is made out of pure Canadian gold and Canadian diamonds – sourced directly from the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories.
Bryce had to be creative to hide the surprise from his wife, who works with him, all to capture the special moment on film.
“Get some photography on this because I know my daughter is going to love it,” he explained. “She’s going to want to have these little pictures of dad doing this and that sort of thing so I made a video.”
The story of the engagement and the special ring made its way to social media – where it promptly took off.
“It was really cool that we made a video and it went viral because to me, it’s just what my dad does, but to other people they thought it was so cool, wholesome and what not – which it is. It’s a very special thing to me,” the bride-to-be said.
“I’ve always kind of known my dad was going to be part of the process, which is special.”
The special ring marks a strong start for the couple – who can’t wait to start planning for the future.
Some may recognize Leedahl from his time in the WHL and then professional hockey. The Saskatoon born Leedahl spent four seasons with the Everett Silvertips, becoming the teams' captain. He then played the 2016-17 season with the Regina Pats, putting up 89 points in 71 games then another 25 points in 23 playoff games. Helping the Pats to game six of the championship series.
Leedahl, who was signed as a free agent by the New York Rangers in 2017, then spent several years playing professionally in the ECHL and AHL before returning to Saskatchewan.
-With files from Drew Postey
