Music Friday: Chris Lane Sings About His Real-Life Proposal in 'Big, Big Plans'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you romantic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country singer Chris Lane shares his real-life proposal to reality TV star Lauren Bushnell in 2019's "Big, Big Plans."

In a music video viewed on YouTube more than 10.5 million times, Lane's fans get to see the actual moment he popped the question to Bushnell in the backyard of her parents' home in Oregon.

The video starts with romantic, smartphone-generated footage of the couple having fun in everyday situations and then transitions to his actual proposal, where he gets down on one knee and tells his girlfriend that she's the best thing that ever happened to him.

Written by Lane and two collaborators, "Big, Big Plans" offers a play-by-play account of how he bought an emerald-cut diamond ring and hid it in the bathroom.

He sings, "She don't know I already bought a ring / Hid it in the bottom left drawer right beside the sink / Shiny emerald diamond on a brand new band / Asked her momma for permission and her daddy for her hand."

“Even though I felt pretty confident I was going to get the ‘yes,’ I’ve never been that nervous,” Lane told People magazine. “When I got to the third verse of the song and knew it was time, I pretty much blacked out. The next thing I knew, she said ‘Yes’ and the nerves just lifted. It’s an explosion of excitement, pure joy, and love.”

The engagement took place in June of 2019 and the two married shortly thereafter in Nashville in October of the same year.

A second video for "Big, Big Plans" features footage from the couple's wedding day. That video earned 2.4 million views on YouTube.

Written by Chris Lane, Ernest K. Smith and Jacob Durrett, "Big, Big Plans" topped out at #33 on the U.S. Billboard Country chart.

Bushnell famously won the 20th Season of The Bachelor, during which she won the heart of Ben Higgins. The couple was engaged in March of 2016 and ended their relationship a little more than a year later.

Lane and Bushnell had been dating since 2018.

At the time of her engagement to Lane, Bushnell posted to Instagram a photo of the couple kissing, along with this caption: "I can’t stop smiling I feel so incredibly blessed that every misstep, mistake and heartache has led me to you. I couldn’t be happier to call you mine, forever."

Scroll down to see both the engagement-themed and wedding-themed videos. The lyrics are included if you'd like to sing along...

"Big, Big Plans"
Written by Chris Lane, Ernest K. Smith and Jacob Durrett. Performed by Chris Lane.

Just look at her sittin' there
Sweatpants t-shirt in a comfy chair
Her hair in a bun one hand on her mug
And the other one's playin' snare
To a George Strait vinyl
That Yes or No line’ll get her close
But I don’t think she can understand
Just how far I’ve been lettin' my heart
Fall and what’s in my head

She don't know I got some big, big plans
Build a little house out on some hand me down land
Find a little island where we go to get tan
I bet we take our kids down there one day
And I know she wouldn’t mind if I
Did a lil somethin' like find a flight
Over night to Paradise
And leave tonight
And I'ma put a diamond on her hand
She don't know I got some big, big plans
She don’t know
She don't know
She don't know I got some big, big plans
She don't know
She don't know

She don't know I already bought a ring
Hid it in the bottom left drawer right beside the sink
Shiny emerald diamond on a brand new band
Asked her momma for permission and her daddy for her hand

I got some big big plans
Build a little house out on some hand me down land
Find a little island where we go to get tan
I bet we take our kids down there one day
And I know she wouldn’t mind if I
Did a lil somethin' like find a flight
Over night to Paradise
And leave tonight
And I'ma put a diamond on her hand
She don't know I got some big, big plans
She don't know
She don't know
She don't know I got some big, big plans
She don't know
She don't know

Well here I go
Cause right now we’re back in her hometown
And I’m down on one knee
I guess she finally figured out
I’m gonna ask her to marry me...

I some big, big plans
Build a little house out on some hand me down land
Find a little island where we go to get tan
I bet we take our kids down there one day
And I know she wouldn’t mind if I
Did a lil somethin' like find a flight
Over night to Paradise
And leave tonight
And I'ma put a diamond on her hand
She don't know I got some big, big plans
She don't know
She don't know
She don't know I got some big, big plans
She don't know
She don't know

Engagement Video:

Wedding Video:

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com.

Survey: Jewelry Tops All Mother's Day Gift Categories; Spending Climbs to $5.27B

Lucky moms will be showered with jewelry gifts at an unprecedented level this Sunday, Mother's Day. Despite uncertain times, spending on jewelry items is expected to reach $5.27 billion, making it the highest-volume gift-giving category by far, according to an annual Mother's Day survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Jewelry spending is up from $5.19 billion in 2019, a modest increase of 1.5%. Special Outings, by comparison, will be down nearly 12% to $4.07 billion.

For the past 11 years, jewelry and special outings have been the top two categories in terms of Mother's Day dollars spent, with jewelry beating out special outings for six years in a row.

Overall Mother’s Day spending in 2020 is predicted to hit a record $26.7 billion, an increase of 7.2% from the $24.9 billion tallied in 2019. The 2020 total reflects a near doubling of the $14.1 billion that was spent for moms in 2009.

Exactly 34% of respondents said they will be buying jewelry for their moms this year, with the average spending per person pegged at $40.38.

While the portion of people celebrating Mother’s Day with a gift in 2020 remains the same at 86%, this year’s gift-givers will be spending more.

The average Mother’s Day outlay is expected to be a record $204.74, up from $196.47 in 2019. Consumers ages 35-44 are likely to spend the most ($296, up from $248), and men are likely to spend more than women ($266 compared with $146).

According to NRF’s Mother’s Day survey, $2.93 billion will be spent on electronics (to be gifted by 19%) and $2.87 billion will be spent on gift cards (49%). Other go-to items include flowers ($2.56 billion, 64%), clothing ($2.56 billion, 39%), personal service ($2.1 billion, 26%), housewares/gardening tools ($1.51 billion, 25%), greeting cards ($1.0 billion, 74%) and books/CDs ($0.71 billion, 24%).

NRF’s survey was conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics and reflects the anticipated purchasing patterns of 8,294 adult consumers. The survey was conducted April 1-6, 2020, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

Credit: Image by Bigstockphoto.com.

Birthstone Feature: 'Trapiche' Emerald Remains a Gemological Curiosity

Resembling a wheel with six spokes, “trapiche” emeralds may be the most unique variety of May’s birthstone. Found primarily in the black shales of Colombia’s western “emerald zone,” these gemological curiosities display alternating rays of vivid emerald green and deep black.

Trapiche emeralds were first described by Émile Bertrand in 1879 in a meeting at the Société Géologique de France, but even after more than 140 years of examination, gemologists have yet to reach a consensus regarding the mechanism by which the pattern forms, or the conditions required for it. In one interpretation, the black impurities are remains of the shale matrix in which the emeralds formed.

The name “trapiche” comes from the Spanish word for the cogwheels used in sugar mills. Apparently, the pattern of the gem looks very much like the cane-crushing gears used by farmers.

The distinctive six-spoked “trapiche” effect also has been seen in other minerals, such as ruby, sapphire, garnet, chiastolite and tourmaline.

Emerald is the most valuable variety of the beryl family. Non-trapiche emeralds famously display more subtle visible inclusions, which are referred to as “jardin” (French for “garden”). These imperfections do not detract from the stone’s beauty but, instead, give each stone a unique fingerprint and distinct character.

The name “emerald” comes indirectly from the ancient Greek word for green gem, “smaragdos.” Besides being the birthstone for the month of May, it’s also the preferred gemstone to honor 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries.

The extraordinarily rare trapiche emeralds are primarily found in the Muzo, Coscuez and Peñas Blancas mines of Colombia. The trapiche pattern is not an asterism, which is a six-rayed star pattern sometimes seen in cabochon-cut rubies, sapphires and other gemstones.

Credit: Image by Luciana Barbosa / CC BY-SA.