[caption id="attachment_16236" align="aligncenter" width="283"] Photo courtesy of iStock/sswartz[/caption] Now imagine this: After months or potentially years of dating your significant other, they've finally gotten down on one knee. They make a sweet speech, telling you how much they love you and how they can't imagine spending their life with anyone else. Then they pull out that much-anticipated velvet box and open it to reveal a ring with a receipt attached—telling you what you owe for your half of the engagement ring. This is, of course, not how a traditional proposal would go down—at least it better not be! But it does reflect a new trend in weddings, where women are footing part of the bill for their engagement ring. Now the traditionalist in me is a little sad about this. Like the disastrous proposal above, buying your own engagement ring ruins some of the romance. I want my future husband to save up his hard-earned money and go to the jewelry store and pick out the ring he thinks I'll love. Or even better, the ring that reminds him of me. I'm already swooning. For me, an engagement ring is special because your partner puts so much thought and effort into purchasing it. But some of that specialness fades away when you have to fork over half the cash for it. Though, the practical part of me does see why women would do this. I have expensive taste. If you ask my dad, he would laugh and say I'm high maintenance, a trait I get from my mom. I don't purposely set out to pick the most expensive item--I just have this unfortunate habit of picking things that cost a bit more. But I don't want my fiancée to spend all his money buying me a ring to suit my expensive taste. So with that in mind, I completely see why I should pay for part of my ring. If you think about it, most couples split the cost of their wedding, so why shouldn't the engagement ring be part of that expense. And of course the feminist in me screams that I'm a capable woman who can pay her own way in a partnership. Damn straight I'm going to pay for part of my engagement ring! It's about time archaic traditions that place all the responsibility on men come to an end. Men and women should be equal in all things, even the cost of engagement rings. Now as I'm writing this, my brain is frantically nodding in agreement. But my heart is crying a little bit. I'm such a romantic and despite my feminist ways, I really do want my future husband to buy my engagement ring. I want that magical moment of being surprised at the proposal and awed at the beauty of the ring. I don't want to have any part of the proposal or picking the ring. Not because I don't think women should pay their half, but because I think women deserve a perfect moment from their perfect partner. Sorry in advance to my future husband for my expensive taste. Hopefully you think I'm worth it! What do you think about this trend? Would you buy your own engagement ring, or foot the bill for your half?