This song can be interpreted in a plethora of ways, and I don't want to negate anybody else's; but this is how I interpreted it:
The narrator is talking to his lover, whom he is about to depart with and break off his engagement to (hence the "talk about talk of a gold ring". He loves her, but for whatever reason, the relationship just couldn't work. So he wants her to know that despite their relationship's failure, he wants to thank her for helping him grow as a person (you brought me one step closer to the heart of things.) and to reassure her that he still thinks she's a wonderful person who will continue to grow and become even more beautiful (speaking in a broader, spiritual/ethical sense of beauty, not necessarily a physical one).
This song can be interpreted in a plethora of ways, and I don't want to negate anybody else's; but this is how I interpreted it:
The narrator is talking to his lover, whom he is about to depart with and break off his engagement to (hence the "talk about talk of a gold ring". He loves her, but for whatever reason, the relationship just couldn't work. So he wants her to know that despite their relationship's failure, he wants to thank her for helping him grow as a person (you brought me one step closer to the heart of things.) and to reassure her that he still thinks she's a wonderful person who will continue to grow and become even more beautiful (speaking in a broader, spiritual/ethical sense of beauty, not necessarily a physical one).