Mackenzie Shaffer was having a great time at a music festival in Pennsylvania when she suddenly noticed her engagement ring was missing. She immediately began searching her pockets for the custom diamond ring before getting down on her hands and knees, hoping it had just fallen on the ground beneath her. "I was completely panicking," says Shaffer. The 26-year-old, who got engaged to Matt Garasic last August, noted that her hands tend to swell and shrink, causing the ring to be loose at times. "I often fidget with it when I’m anxious," she added.
Shaffer says she was picnicking and kept apologizing to her fiancé, but he reassured her, saying, "It’s okay, it’s not your fault, we’ll find it." A few days later, Shaffer and Garasic returned to the festival site to search for the ring again. With no luck, they then turned to TikTok.
Shaffer's post about the missing ring went viral, garnering 23,000 views. "I didn’t expect it to go viral," she says. "I just hoped it would reach the right people so that if someone had found it, they might be compelled to return it." That's exactly what happened, as Shaffer eventually received a message from someone who knew about the ring. It turned out that a girl had found the ring in the festival bathroom and, after considering pawning it, decided to return it after seeing Shaffer's post.
Shaffer was overjoyed to have her ring back, and she and her fiancé quickly purchased ring insurance to ensure they'd never have to panic again. Shaffer noted that marrying Matt was her main focus, and she would have been willing to use a different ring if necessary. However, her fiancé was particularly glad they wouldn't have to get married with a "fake ring."