Category — Engaged

Groom’s View on Non-Diamond Engagement Ring Styles

by Chris Easter

If you’re thinking of popping the question soon, you’ve probably already started to consider what kind of ring you’ll be giving her. After all that’s been drilled into your head about diamonds being a girl’s best friend, is there any way you can possibly give her an engagement ring that doesn’t include a diamond. Surprisingly, that answer is yes.

We’ve partnered with our friends at Whiteflash.com to identify four of the most popular non-diamond engagement ring styles that grooms and brides are targeting in 2010. Here are some quick descriptions of tanzanite, sapphire, emerald and ruby straight from the experts at Whiteflash:

Tanzanite – a rare gem only found in the Merelani Hills which was discovered in 1967 in Tanzania. This stone is a newcomer to the gemstone market and is referred to as the “Jewel of East Africa.” Tanzanite is typically brown with reddish, orange, yellow, or bronze hues and is a unique variety of the mineral zoisite.

Sapphire – is the ultimate blue gemstone that represents the soul and fidelity. Sapphire is an extremely durable gemstone that comes in a variety of colors, the most common being blue – a color associated with friendship and loyalty as well as harmony. It is known as “The Jewel of the Sky” and is the birthstone for September.

Emerald – an intense green gemstone, its magnificent green color speaks volumes as well as being May’s birthstone. It is known as the “symbol of spring.” In the ancient world this gem was believed to symbolize hope, arrival of spring and rebirth. Emeralds come in various varieties of light and dark shades of green and sometimes having background hues of different colors like yellow, blue, brown of gray. In its finest quality, an emerald is more valuable than a diamond.

Ruby – the birthstone for July is also known as the “King of Gems”. The ruby is considered the ultimate gemstone associated with love and passion and its sometimes referred to as the “blood” gemstone representing courage and bravery. It is rare to find in its top quality which displays all the characteristics of a precious stone: pure brilliance, lasting hardness and stunning color, which is noted as ruby’s most appealing feature.

Non-diamond engagement rings aren’t for every woman. We strongly recommend sitting down and spending some time talking with your fiancé-to-be about what ring styles she likes. She is, after all, going to be the one wearing the ring for the rest of her life.

: Gemstone Engagement Rings

: Gemstone Enagagement Rings

: Gemstone Engagement Rings

: Gemstone Engagment Rings

February 25, 2010 4 Comments

Pop the Question with Style

by Chris Easter

So you’re ready to take your relationship to the next step by getting engaged. Congrats. The easy part is over: finding the girl you want to spend the rest of your life with. Now comes the hard part: deciding how you’re going to pop the question.

As the man, it’s up to you to set the tone for the engagement and marriage with a memorable proposal. Remember, people are going to be asking about the proposal for the rest of your life. You don’t want to have a boring or disastrous story to tell.

Here are a few ideas to help get your creative juices flowing:

Go for Nostalgia

Do you remember where you had your first date or what the first movie that you watched together was? You better. Try to incorporate some of your top memories as a couple into the proposal.

Go for Adventure

If you’re a thrill-seeking couple, plan an outing that takes you and your bride-to-be on an adventure. Possible ideas are hot air ballooning, hiking or even skydiving. The key to this type of proposal is having fun (and keeping track of the ring).

Go for Romance

If you’ve gotten this far, you probably have at least half a clue about being romantic. The ladies dig romance (especially on the night they’re getting engaged). Picnics, romantic restaurants, long walks on the beach at sunset are all cliché, but yet somehow suitable for popping the question.

Go Big

Two words: scoreboard proposal.

Chris Easter is a Weddingish guest blogger and co-founder of TheManRegistry.com.

February 17, 2010 3 Comments

YOU’RE ENGAGED! NOW WHAT?

Congratulations on your engagement! I’m sure you’ve heard it a lot already and you will hear it many more times to come. But now that you are engaged, there are going to be a lot of questions and things that you need to figure out before you can take that walk down the aisle.

For many of these things, enlist the help of a wedding planner to make sure you stay on budget and still have a wedding you and your guests will enjoy and remember. Although a planner may seem like an added expense, the time and money a good planner will save you will be worth it in the end.

So, now that you’re engaged I suggest you nail down 3 key details first. These details are:

1. Your budget.
2. Your wedding date and location.
3. Your guest list.

I put these three things in a specific order for a reason. All things from your wedding will flow from whether or not you can allow for it in the budget. That has the potential to shift your date and change your location as the location you may want might be out of your budget. And finally your budget will definitely be key in finalizing your guest list.

The budget:

As of 2007, experts report that the average cost for a wedding is now $30,000.
If you don’t have $30,000, don’t worry; many beautiful weddings have been done for less. However, it is imperative that you nail down this budget. Begin with an overall cost for the entire wedding and then later, with your planner, you can break it down in to specific categories. Keep in mind that typically half of the budget is spent on the reception.

The wedding date and location:

This might have been the first thing you decided on because it might have already been on your mind. There’s no problem with that, however there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

- weddings held on or around popular holidays tend to cost more

- weddings held on the weekend, especially in the evening tend to cost more

Knowing this, try to remain flexible with your date, time, and location. That way you can get the best deal and still have an awesome venue.

The guest list:

While you may or may not want to invite many people to share in your special day, the fact remains is that the more guests you have, the more they are going to cost you when you sit down and discuss numbers with the caterer.
Even still, there may be people parents on both sides want to invite but you, as the couple, don’t necessarily want to invite. Instead you might feel more comfortable sending them an announcement of some sort.

To avoid hurt feelings and misunderstandings, make sure you bring in your wedding planner on this so that she can properly handle the delicate issue of the guest list with diplomacy.

Above all else, the more flexible you can be, the better deals you are likely to get. Once you get these three key details down, you’ll be better prepared to handle the rest of the planning process – with your planner by your side.

Congratulations, again, and happy planning!

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Wendy Stewart is your Go-to-Girl for being in the know about photography, event planning and personal style. For more free tips on photography, visit her blog, Baltimore Wedding Photographer, at http://baltimoreweddingphotographer.wordpress.com

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