PW Reader Ring: Alexandra & Joe!
Alexandra’s ring!
The couple: Xan Weitzel and Joe Zimatore from Philadelphia
The ring: My ring is a radiant-cut canary diamond set in white gold, which is something I’ve always wanted. My father gave my mother a canary diamond for their 20th wedding anniversary, and I have always wanted something different just like hers.
Joe did some research and discovered that my mother’s ring was from a local jeweler in Haddonfield. Unfortunately, he also found that this jeweler, Stephen Wisely, had moved to Colorado recently—but that didn’t stop him from reaching out.
Stephen flew into Philadelphia to show Joe some canary diamonds and help design the ring. I am in love with everything about this ring and it means so much that he designed everything himself.
The proposal: It all started with a Facebook message from Joe to Andy Cohen, who is one of my favorite celebrities. For those of you who may not be familiar, Andy is the executive producer of Bravo TV, the creator of the amazing Real Housewives reality series, author and fellow Boston University alum. Joe thought incorporating Andy would be a great proposal idea given that Andy hosts and films his live late night talk show Watch What Happens Live nearby in New York City.
When Joe heard back from Andy less than 24 hours after sending his message, this once farfetched idea grew legs, and Joe started planning the epic proposal.
The first task was convincing me that he had scored some Watch What Happens Live tickets and that we would be a part of a small 15-person audience. To put things in perspective, WWHL is filmed live at 11:00 p.m. with some Bravo celebrities along with real celebrities. It’s a very interactive environment with an open bar, dancing, and cheering. Getting tickets is an extremely difficult task. Joe told me he was able to obtain tickets through “a friend of a friend from work who happens to work on the WWHL show,” and I was sold; looking back I don’t know how I never questioned that sketchy fib.
Around 4:00 p.m., Joe told me that he had a surprise, and that we were also getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the WWHL studios a couple of hours before the live show. I was so excited, but also nervous! As we arrived, we were met by two production assistants who greeted us and started us on our tour. We saw interns making videos that would be played on the show later that night, reels of reruns of old Bravo shows, a calendar of celebrities that would be guests for later shows, Andy’s dressing room, and finally, the actual set where the show is filmed.
It was so cool to finally be standing in the clubhouse where I had seen so many episodes. I was so captivated by all the WWHL memorabilia draped all over the clubhouse that I did not realize the production assistants had left the room. Joe asked me to join him behind the clubhouse bar, and it was there that he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!
The band: I would love to get two bands with pave diamonds to accent the canary diamond.
Read other PW Reader Ring stories here.
Wanna submit your ring? Here’s how: Show Us Your Bling!
Like PW on Facebook | Follow PW on Twitter | Sign up for the PW newsletter
Getting married? Start and end your wedding planning journey with Philadelphia Weddings' guide to the best wedding vendors in the city.
