A jewelry store in Texas is where we lay our scene

Joanna Gaines, who stars with her husband, Chip, on the hit HGTV show Fixer Upper, may love to upgrade houses from drab to chic, but she’ll never upgrade her engagement ring.

In an excerpt from the Gaines’ new book, The Magnolia Story, Joanna shares the story of the Texas-based couple’s engagement. Chip actually proposed in front of Holder’s Jewelers, a Wichita Falls, Texas, jewelry store owned by a friend of his parents. She said yes, and then they went in and designed her ring with jeweler Billy Holder.

“I was able to pick out a nice round diamond and a beautiful, antique-looking platinum setting,” Joanna writes. “I had a blast sitting there with Billy, designing the perfect ring. Chip just sat there, patiently observing every second of it.”

Twelve years later, and Fixer Upper a success, Chip invited Holder to the couple’s home for their anniversary party. Holder brought Chip’s anniversary gift to Joanna, a string of pearls. But he also brought something else: a tray of diamonds. Chip wanted to buy Joanna an upgraded stone for her ring.

“So Billy showed me all of these beautiful diamonds and told me I could have my pick. That’s supposed to be every girl’s dream, right? But I looked him in the eye, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, but no. This is the original diamond I picked, and it’s perfect just the way it is,’ ” she writes. “It wasn’t a ‘perfect’ diamond, but it was perfect for me. I felt bad that Billy wasn’t going to make the big sale he was hoping for that day, but I don’t ever want to replace that diamond or that ring. To me, my ring is part of our story.”

Fans wanting to re-create the experience with an engagement ring design session of their own at Holder’s Jewelers will have to make do with a couple of small changes: Holder has retired, and his store is now under new ownership. 

(Photo by @chippergaines)

JCK