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DubDisciple posted:Just throwing this out there: Of course we're going to go on the trip, he later told me so himself. He doesn't want to throw a tantrum and quit over it if he can talk to the managers and his coworkers and see if something can be worked out. He doesn't plan on keeping this job much longer, but would prefer to leave on good terms so it doesn't reflect badly on him in reference checks. Where did you get the idea I'm not ready to marry him, though? I'd like to think you're being sincere but you're giving off troll vibes.
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Aug 19, 2008 21:19
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I just found out that I'm going to be a big sister at age 25. Exactly two weeks before my wedding. I'm thrilled, but worried that she will carry late. Her doctor said quote "If you're not done by then we'll help you along so you can go." (This is my Dad's third wife...but she's the best one, so whee!) I'll be playing the baby's birthday on roulette right after I get hitched! Faux Edit: Here is hoping to one husband always.
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Aug 20, 2008 00:23
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The key to keeping things cheap, in my experience anyway, is first deciding what your priorities are and what is important to you, and then figuring out ALL the connections you possibly can and using them! Now I grew up in kind of a different situation family-wise than most people. I come from a very large family, in a very small town. We spent every sunday as a family(all 100+ of us) and were together nearly constantly. An odd way to grow up for some, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It created problems in terms of finances for the wedding(amount of guests, etc.) but also helped in a lot of ways too due to all the odd connections we had. Our two most expensive items were my dress(just under 1000) and our ceremony venue(500). Our invitations(amazing) were all designed by me and my mum(a graphic designer and full time artist) and printed by my dad(who owns a newspaper and printing press) as were the programs, and other paper related items.   Click here for the full 640x496 image. Our guestbook we also designed and printed ourselves, it was a loving blast. We got some hilarious entries and some sweet ones.  Click here for the full 640x480 image.  Click here for the full 640x480 image. I still have no loving clue why my brother decided ninjas were an integral part of our day, did I mention he's 28?  Click here for the full 640x480 image. Our cake was made by an aunt who is a part time caterer and baker. You can also see some of the decor and the centrpieces in this shot. The napkins look really bad, but they were origami lotus flowers that had stones in them. Sooo not my idea.  Click here for the full 640x428 image. All the reception food was made by various aunts, myself, and my dad. Reception wine was made by my dad, and then we had a small beer/liquor bar. Rehearsal dinner food and beer was my brothers, just a simple bbq and lots of salads, rehearsal was really more of just a big party, like every other night of the week in my family.  Click here for the full 604x453 image. Cake topper was my mom.(see photo above of the cake) Honeymoon was a cottage rental I have been going to since I was a kid at Mont Tremblant. Expensive resort, super cheap cottage(350/week). Hair/Nails/Makeup was gifts and/or trades for advertising/graphic design work. Transportation: we were going to use our own car, but my neighbour owns a VW dealership and lent us a white EOS convertible.  Click here for the full 640x425 image. favours: we made ourselves, two different cooking 'rubs', or flavoured salts. DJ: would have had to pay for this, but my dad traded the DJ for free advertising. tablecloths: rented these from local hospital(NEVER would have thought of that) decorations: all done by my mum and her friends. Florist: went with one from a small town, paid 275$ for everything. rings: got dh's ring from titaniumera.com He loves it. I can't wear one due to allergies, but am getting a titanium one this year hopefully!  photographers: offered the job to an amazing photographer cousin and she accepted, but refused to let us pay, so that saved us quite a bit in the end. We are planning to buy her a shootsac(camera bag) in thanks though. I can't think of anything else. If anyone has questions or wants more details about anything, let me know. wow sorry for the overload! Just trying to help. This is the afterparty that the mister and I missed because we were... otherwise 'engaged'(and our friends got us stoned so we were dead tired by the end of the night) That is my bridesmaid in the middle, who showed up the next morning wandering the streets still drunk, still in her dress, hair to the nines and still had perfect make up.  for a few corny photos I put up for some friends, see here. http://elabela.k.googlepages.com/
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Aug 20, 2008 02:26
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Can anyone tell me what to do with a mother who does not want to help at all to plan a wedding? My parents are happy that I am getting married, but not happy with how. They want us to elope just like them. I know I don't want that, then again I do not want a huge extravagant wedding. Something small (no more than 50-75 people). My father doesn't seemed thrilled with me already looking at dresses and colors or what not, my mom doesn't want to go with me to look at venues. I know I should be looking at places with my guy, but we live in two different states right now so planning a wedding is going to be next to impossible, especially with no help  . My father's secretary has offered to help me the best way that she can, but I know I can't rely on her for every little detail.Sorry didn't mean to ramble. I already feel like I'm up a creek with no paddle and I've only been engaged for a few days.
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Aug 20, 2008 20:53
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I can sympathize with you. While my mom was thrilled to plan my wedding (for me oftentimes!), when I told her that we were starting a family soon, she totally flipped. She didn't think we were ready, and she didn't think she was old enough to be a grandma. So we talked about it with her gently, and over time, she got on board with things. So it may just be a matter of time before your mother gradually warms up to the idea. She may just be having trouble adjusting to the fact that her once young daughter is now older and getting married. It may just be an issue of adjustment. Which I know is hard when you guys are so excited about it. So I wouldn't avoid the subject with her, but I wouldn't fight about it either. Good luck!
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Aug 20, 2008 21:05
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Adri posted:Can anyone tell me what to do with a mother who does not want to help at all to plan a wedding? My parents are happy that I am getting married, but not happy with how. They want us to elope just like them. Why do they want you to elope? Is it a money thing or something else?
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Aug 20, 2008 21:26
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My father thinks that the money it would take for us to spend on a wedding would be better spent on a house or whatever---which we do not plan on having for awhile. I haven't even asked them for money yet, plus my fiancé and I were pretty much expecting to be financing this wedding ourselves. I know his parents will be helping us a bit, plus I plan on doing many DIY things, such as invites, decorations, hell even my bouquet. I just want to feel that my parents are actually happy for me and not just seeing this as a "stupid Adri" idea. We do not plan to spend more than 10k- including our honeymoon. I want to get everything booked and ready ahead of time so I will not be stressing out more so than usual at the last minute. Adri fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Aug 20, 2008 |
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Aug 20, 2008 21:58
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I have a lot of questions about timing. My bf and I are starting to talk about marriage and know that it is something we would like to do soon--probably next summer. We are not formally engaged yet; most of our conversations on the topic revolve around when we should get engaged. We've arrived at the whole planning thing kind of backwards--we know we want to spend the rest of our lives together, and we would like to have kids relatively soon (probably summer 2010 when I am finished with my coursework for my PhD). And we figure we should probably get married before we have babies. While not strictly speaking necessary, it is something we'd like to do anyway. Problem is: he doesn't want to get formally engaged until after I've met his parents, which won't happen until Christmas. We've been together for a year now, and moved in together in June. Under normal circumstances I would have met his family by now (he's met mine) but they live in Kenya, so its a big deal to actually get out to see them. I can totally understand the fact that he'd rather his parents meet me as his girlfriend than introduce me as his fiancee. So I guess my question is this: is seven months enough time to plan a wedding? We are thinking of a fairly low key, small event so that seems feasible. Keep in mind that I'm in grad school and he's working full time, so that impacts the amount of free time we have available for planning. Also, how much notice do we need to give our guests? While we could technically start planning and making arrangements before we do a formal engagement and announce our plans to the world, we can't start inviting people to the wedding before we are actually engaged. Our guest list, though it will be small, is scattered all over the place. His family is in Kenya and the UK, my friends and family are scattered across the US, and we are married in Atlanta. Is seven months enough notice for sending out invites and giving people time to make travel plans?
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Aug 20, 2008 23:03
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BRAKE FOR MOOSE fucked around with this message at 07:44 on Jun 12, 2012 |
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Aug 20, 2008 23:11
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Adri posted:My father's secretary has offered to help me the best way that she can, but I know I can't rely on her for every little detail. Do you know who your maid of honor is going to be yet? If you do, that is another option for going places with you & whatnot. That's basically what they're there for anyway...to go with you dress shopping, fittings, help plan parties, and most of the time they're able to help you stay organized, help you find & visit venues, help doing invites and a variety of other small things. But regardless, if you're looking for someone to window shop dresses/venues with you, bringing the maid of honor is a good option. TinuvielDancing posted:His family is in Kenya and the UK, my friends and family are scattered across the US, and we are married in Atlanta. Is seven months enough notice for sending out invites and giving people time to make travel plans? Send out "save the date" cards in a situation like that. Generally the actual (formal) invites go out 1-2mo in advance. But if you have guests scattered all over the place, you can send out save the date cards 6mo+ advance. That gives people the chance to mark the day & start making travel plans. And then once you're closer to the date, you can send out the formal invites to everyone.
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Aug 21, 2008 05:26
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7 months is more then enough time. I am getting married on the 30th on this month and we planned the whole thing in less then 3 months. You might not be able to get everything you want for the wedding/reception but if you are flexable you can get it done.
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Aug 21, 2008 21:43
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TinuvielDancing posted:time I planned my wedding in 10 months, and I had that crazy-rear end gigantic wedding on steroids. I would imagine that a normal wedding could definitely be planned in seven months.
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Aug 21, 2008 21:47
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Thanks to everyone who answered my questions. Now I can relax and just worry about the grand transcontinental trip to meet the parents!
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Aug 22, 2008 01:04
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My friend and I planned her wedding for 250 in 6 months, and it was great. You just have to remember to be VERY organized and not let things get out of hand. Be willing to edit anything if necessary.
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Aug 22, 2008 01:19
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She said yes! Yaaaay!
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Aug 28, 2008 05:14
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kick rear end....grats dude
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Aug 28, 2008 07:31
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goatse guy fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Jan 21, 2013 |
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Aug 28, 2008 21:51
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ellabella posted:Wedding stuff I take it you're elabela from the knot? I'll keep my knot identity under wraps, but nice to see another goon who posts there. I think the thing that made our wedding so awesome (and oh, was it awesome. We had the best time ever) was that it reflected who we are as a couple. We both are really passionate about animals, and we got married at a zoo. We chose every song that they played at the ceremony and reception, and the music reflected us perfectly. We only invited people that we couldn't imagine getting married without, and every member of our wedding party was someone we both knew and loved. We designed and made all of the paper products ourselves, from invitations and programs to favor boxes and table numbers. One thing I would say is to sit down at the beginning of the process and rate all of the things you'll be paying for by importance. For us, flowers, photography, and food were the most important, so that's where we spent our money. We didn't get a videographer, or limos. Although I did surprise my husband with a vintage Bentley to take us from the reception to the hotel.  We spent right around the average for our area. I don't know concrete numbers, but it was between $20and $25k, not including our honeymoon.It took us roughly a year to plan, and it was very relaxed. We live in Louisiana and got married in Memphis, TN, so our biggest problem was getting to Memphis to actually plan stuff. Other than that, it was really a breeze. Some pictures here: http://sarahandbrettwedding Also, goatse guy, I love that dress. My bridesmaids' dresses were from J Crew, and their special occasions dresses are awesome.
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Aug 29, 2008 00:41
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So the wedding went very,very well. I will post the link to the pictures when we get it set up. The only problem we had the whole weekend was the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner didn't hold our room for as long as they said they would. So there were 4 small group in the private dinner area. But all in all it went great. For the honeymoon we will be going to Chicago in October for a 3 nights of ska shows and nice dinners, so we are looking forward to that.
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Sep 1, 2008 07:36
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We have a ceremony spot! And an officiant! Also, a photographer! A date too, along with colors! Oh yea, I found my veil (Target gently caress yes) and the place where I'm getting my cake topper from. It's going to be custom made with my man's military dress blues and all his ribbons and poo poo. Still no reception venue. I'm hoping to have the reception spot and what have you booked by the end of this month, with an absolute deadline being the end of October. Then onto dress shopping. We took engagement photos yesterday. They were free until my fiance got pulled over and got a "Violation of a traffic control device" (aka speeding but not charged with speeding) ticket. It's my fault he got it, I was pushing him to get to the beach before sunrise, we didn't make it . But they look absolutely amazing!
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Sep 1, 2008 20:01
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Ok, I need suggestions! We're trying to decide what we're going to do about our reception & ceremony. Since we're on a budget, and we're zero percent religious, we were originally thinking that we'd just do the ceremony at the reception hall to kill two birds with one stone. We found The Garden Chalet who is super cheap and they could also hold the ceremony. Thing is, we've decided to have the wedding in either late March or early April 2010, & their outdoor ceremony site is closed at that time. Our only option would be to have the ceremony in the same room as the reception. At first I was ok with this (especially since March & April both have 15% discounts!!) but I'm starting to think it'd be nice to still look at other places for the ceremony. I originally wanted a fall wedding (turns out we couldn't make it work) and I feel like part of that would be getting to be outside in the cool air, so maybe I wouldn't feel so bad about having to do a spring wedding if we could have the ceremony outdoors somewhere. Ok, here are the issues. The reception hall charges $600 for a ceremony, so we wouldn't want to go too far over that to do it somewhere else. That's super limiting in the fact that most places I'm sure we'd have to rent chairs on top of the site fee. Also, we need to have a back up for bad weather. I love love love the thought of getting married outside, but getting married outside in the rain/snow is not an option. So, any ideas?? Am I pretty much screwed out of my outdoor wedding with the conditions we're placing on it? I also just e-mailed Starved Rock in a last ditch effort. They were the first place I looked at, but shoved it off the list once we started finding places cheaper, but it's such a beautiful place that I figured I'd give it a shot and see if there were any discounts. I'm guessing not, but I figured it was worth a shot!
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Sep 3, 2008 16:17
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Buying an engagement ring: my journey Let me get started by saying that in the Past 6 months, I've learned a SHITLOAD about buying jewelry and diamonds. I've always hated diamonds, with the usual reasons listed as the main culprits: distorted price market, cruelty, the fact that they really aren't that rare, etc. My now-fiancee has always wanted a diamond, and although she told me earlier in our relationship that I didn't have to get her a diamond, I knew I should get one because it would make her happy. Buying a cruelty/debeers-free diamond from Canada or non-Africa country This is easily one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard of. Canadian diamonds can run from %30-50 more then their African counterparts. Purchasing one also puts money into the diamond market, which is just one more little step removed from giving your directly to DeBeers. It's like people who only buy gas from American-only oil companies: it makes you feel good, but it doesn't make a lick of difference in the grand scheme of things because of the nature of global commodity markets. If you Hate Diamonds (because of DeBeers) that much, DON'T BUY ONE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Don't get me wrong: I hate DeBeers and think they're pretty evil, but once I thought about it, making my Fiancee happy for whatever silly reason she wanted a diamond was more important. Where to buy a diamond Unless you know a local small time jeweler whom you trust, DO NOT BUY A DIAMOND IN A STORE. It's even stupider to buy a diamond from one of the high end retailers (John Atencio, Tiffany and Co., ETC). Lots of box stores grade their diamonds in house and exaggerate cut quality in order to sell diamonds at higher prices. Stay away from companies who brag about a few things (Shane Company based in Denver is a notorious offender): We Don't Pay our Salespeople commission  Although this may seem be true on the surface, almost every store that tells you this isn't telling you the whole story. Big Jewelry stores make money by pressuring people (directly or indirectly) into paying as much as they can. These “non-commission” stores typically give employees sales quota bonuses. We buy our Diamonds direct so there is no middleman Bullshit. A true free market is dead in the Diamond industry, thanks to DeBeers, since they are the primary or first seller of most diamonds in the world. Once the diamonds are out of DeBeers' hands, each diamond has a value on the secondary market. Ignoring what DeBeers does, this secondary diamond market behaves exactly like a free market. Any diamond you buy from a seller who has physical store locations will be more expensive than an internet wholseller's prices due to overhead costs. An informed consumer (which you will be soon) should know what each diamond is worth based on the 4 Cs. This brings me to my next section. The 4 Cs and You Whenever you read anything about diamonds, they tell you about the “4 Cs:” Carat, Clarity, Color, and Cut. Most diamond guides outright lie to you, so I will help you cut through the Bullshit. My guide is simplified version on what I've learned. http://diamonds.pricescope.com/ Gives an excellent step by step guide of learning about diamonds. NOTE: This guide is mainly for round Diamonds, as all the fancy shapes have hosed up rules that change everything. Carat Size  Here is a nice diagram on the size of a round diamond vs. carat weight. Carat size is completely subjective, but there are some nice guidelines to follow. Most girls are in between a 5 and 7 in ring size. A ~1 carat diamond in a solitaire will look big and fancy on these fingers. If that is out of your budget, diamonds can look great and reasonably big ON THE RIGHT SETTING as low as a 1/3 of a carat. It's cliché and stupid, but one carat is sort of the “Gold Standard” of sizes among most social circles. Luckily, diamonds that are as small as ¾ of a carat will look about as big as a one carat (at close to 30-50 percent less in price). If you hold a one carat diamond against a ¾ carat diamond, you can tell the difference, but from a moderate viewing distance it's pretty hard to tell. I decided that I'd try to stay in that one carat range myself. That being said, buying a diamond that is exactly 1 (or .99 or .98) carat is stupid. Diamond prices jump up notably at certain key sizes (.25, .33, .5, .75, 1.0, 1.5, 2 etc). You'd be well suited to get a .90 carat diamond instead of the full 1 carat. At that size, you can't even really tell the difference when held next to a full 1 carat diamond! Check out people's rings that they shamelessly show off at the https://www.pricescope.com forums. They usually post the diamond size as well as the ring size, so you can get a pretty good idea of how big a diamond will look on your lady's finger. Color White diamonds are graded from D (pure white) to Z (Dirty Yellow or Brown). Jewelers use this little machine that calculates the color based on light return. There isn't much discrepancy between appraisers when it comes to color, as there are international standards that determine the values. That being said: Color is overrated. D, E, and F diamonds are really goddamned expensive, since they are pretty rare. G, H, I, and J Diamonds all look about the same, and really seem to be the sweet spot when it comes to purchasing diamonds. They still look VERY VERY WHITE, and all other things equal, an H diamond can be 3 or more times cheaper and look identical to a D diamond. Clarity Diamonds are graded based on inclusions (clouds or spots) in the diamond. Jewelry grade diamonds are rated from IF( Flawless or no inclusions) to Included (Inclusions visible to the naked eye). Stay far away from either extreme, since Flawless diamonds are retardedly expensive and Included diamonds show spots with the naked eye. Once again the sweet spot here seems to lie in the middle. Inclusions, unless they are extreme, don't affect the optic performance of a diamonds. Si (small inclusions) 1 or 2 is the best way to go, since they are cheaper, and look exactly the same without 10x magnification as Flawless diamonds. Unless your Fiancée to be has some sort of freakish bionic eye, save money by cutting back on Color and Clarity. Cut Cut is King. Remember that. CUT. IS. KING. When you go into 99% of jewelry shops, and ask them about Cut, they will lie to you and gently caress you over. Most jewelry stores don't assign a scaled grade to a Diamond's cut quality, so all they tell you is that you are looking at a 1.2 Carat, E, Flawless clarity, Brilliant Ideal Cut Round. But WHAT THE gently caress DOES IDEAL BRILLIANT MEAN? Ideal cut means that it is the modern round cut used for the past 50 years. All of their diamonds are so called brilliant. It's like going into a chain restaurant and everything on the menu is described as “delicious.” It's subjective and silly. But get this: THE QUALITY OF THE CUT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN DETERMINING HOW GOOD A DIAMOND LOOKS. Not Color, not Clarity, and not whether you bought it at Tiffany and Co. The Physical Cut Dimenstions, The Polish and the Symmetry are all that matters when it comes to diamonds. A excellently cut diamond, regardless of Color and Clarity, will sparkle, shimmer and give off that “fire” that defines a beautiful diamond. The American Gemological Society (AGS) is an independent certifier of Diamonds. They rate diamonds based on rigorous tests to determine the Quality of Cut. AGS 0 diamonds are perfect when it comes to light performance, 1 is near perfect, 2 is still really drat good and so on. I bought an AGS1 diamond, H color, Si2 for my fiancee, and it looks a million times better than my close friends' E, IF BRILLIANT CUT diamond of the same size. It also cost me waaaaaaay less.So, where the gently caress should I buy a diamond then? Online, of course. I bought mine at https://www.whiteflash.com. https://www.pricescope.com (I keep hawking this site only because it is so awesome) has a great search engine that lets you filter diamonds by tons of factors. You can search for only AGS certified diamonds (Highly Recommended). These internet sellers usually have the same return, upgrade and service policies as the big mall stores. They usually also post real pictures of the diamond in question, with AGS certifications on file, and sometimes even have light return diagrams from IdealScope. What about a setting? 9 out of 10 girls want a solitaire setting. Unless they tell you otherwise in advance, you can't go wrong with a solitaire of some sort. Plus, if you are planning on popping the question, you really should know her tastes by then anyways. A couple of rules: lots of online jewelers make great settings, stuff from top name brands are ridiculously overpriced, and for the most part, simpler is better. Don't be afraid to break conventions. My fiancee really liked tension settings, like the stuff at super chic designer http://www.stevenkretchmer.com. That poo poo was super expensive, so I got her a titanium tension ring at https://www.boonerings.com (he was awesome to work with btw) She's so glad I went with titanium, because it's modern looking (darker than white gold), super durable, hard, and uber lightweight. The ring itself (not including diamond) was also 2500 dollars cheaper than a Kretchmer platinum ring. Here it is:   Ask her friends, her mom or sister. Make sure they don't ruin the surprise. If you don't know what setting she'll want, buy a diamond, have a jeweler mount it on a cheap gold or paladium setting, pop the question, and find out what setting She wants. Research the gently caress out of diamonds before you overpay. Propose to her in a way that she'll remember (it's worth it i swear). I told my girlfriend that were were getting photos taken (she always complains that we don't take good pictures together). I popped the question with the photographer there. Now we have keepsakes of our engagement. Phew, If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask, or just check out some of the resources I've listed! oxsnard fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Sep 3, 2008 |
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Sep 3, 2008 18:54
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oxsnard posted:Buying a cruelty/debeers-free diamond from Canada or non-Africa country This doesn't make any sense. The diamond companies track where their diamonds are from, and if people are willing to pay a premium for a diamond from Canada, the companies will obviously devote more resources to Canadian mining. Even if your conflict-free diamond purchase is putting money into evil DeBeers pockets, it's still incentivizing the company to pursue the conflict-free market. I think a better analogy than oil would be organic food versus non-organic. Yes, buying organic wheat at a premium puts money into the global wheat market, but it's both logically insupportable and historically disprovable that buying organic wheat doesn't incentivize companies to produce organic wheat. Papercut fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Sep 3, 2008 |
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Sep 3, 2008 22:17
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oxsnard posted:But WHAT THE gently caress DOES IDEAL BRILLIANT MEAN? Ideal cut means that it is the modern round cut used for the past 50 years. All of their diamonds are so called brilliant. It's like going into a chain restaurant and everything on the menu is described as “delicious.” That's probably a poor analogy. Brilliant as a description isn't like putting "delicious" in front of everything on a menu at a restaurant. If you ask for a brilliant cut diamond, you're going to get the modern day (58 facet) round cut. If you asked for a brilliant emerald cut, you'd be getting puzzling looks and be asked what you're talking about because those are two different cuts. Brilliant is part of the name of the modern day round cut (Round Brilliant), and only refers to the round cut; ideal is typically tossed in there just to say that it's the ideal cut to go for or that it's a well cut/proportioned round brillian.
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Sep 4, 2008 01:10
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I guess i suck at making metaphors Regardless, the point still stands that buying a diamond at most chain/high end jewelry stores doesn't make sense because you typically aren't told a thing about the quality of the cut. This aspect of diamonds is the single most important factor in determining the physical beauty of the diamond
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Sep 4, 2008 01:45
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I copied and pasted your post so I can make sure to find it when I need the info. It was really helpful and easily understandable for a complete novice like me. Much appreciated!
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Sep 4, 2008 02:25
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oxsnard posted:I guess i suck at making metaphors Other than the part I quoted, I thought the rest of your post was good. A lot of people will go for the D/VVS1 stuff anyway, though, because honestly the ring really is mostly about showing off. I prioritized cut, but still went after color and clarity (ended up with an E/VVS2) because it's hard to resist that "I want everthing to be PERFECT!!!" impulse.
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Sep 4, 2008 18:07
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I just was contacted by a photographer who said this:quote:My name is Marvin Shavers. I own International Photography by Marvin, a full service photography business. I would like to first congratulate you and your fiance on your upcoming wedding. I understand the importance of having your special day just right. I just got married a year ago. I understand trying to work within a budget. I also understand that you will be contacted by others that will try to offer you a full wedding package for an extremely low price. Please understand that many times these are not professional photographers. They are just people with a camera and a little bit of knowledge about taking pictures. Even if you don't choose me to do your wedding, please don't trust your most important day to the "lowest bidder". With that said, I want you to know that I can offer you the best wedding photographs you will find for a price that won't break your budget. Please feel free to look at my website and if you are interested in sitting down and discussing what I can do for your day, please call me. I look forward to hearing from you in the very near future. I bolded that specific sentence because I check out his website and totally agreed that some people just don't know what they are doing.
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Sep 5, 2008 23:28
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BRAKE FOR MOOSE fucked around with this message at 07:44 on Jun 12, 2012 |
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Sep 6, 2008 00:23
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oxsnard posted:Buying an engagement ring: my journey Thanks for this post. I work in a single location family owned jewelry store, and the box stores make my job so frustrating. People claim they found a better deal at a chain down the road, and when we ask them questions about the 4 C's, they have no loving clue about what's going on. They don't even know what an inclusion is. They've received no education about this diamond they're about to blow $5,000 on. How are they supposed to know a 'deal' when they know nothing about the item?!? I love the emphasis on cut. We mark on the tag the cut as well as everything else. If a diamond has a lovely cut, we don't hide it. Everyone thinks that we carry 'superior' Canadian diamonds simply because we bring in only ideal cuts. They're all damned I1 G's, but at first glance everyone thinks they're better than other diamonds. They ask if they're higher priced because they're better, and we tell them, 'No, it's just economics, they're the same grading system as any other diamond.' And since I'm in Canada, sometimes people think that's since it's from the same country, it should be cheaper. I think I have to explain that every single person involved from the mining to the jewelry store is paid higher wages in Canada than most places in the world and this reflects in the pricing, just like clothing and shoes.... and sometimes people still don't get it. They thing that really irritates me about chain stores is sales. Phony sales. We get people literally yelling in our faces for not giving them deals on items. Okay then, go to People's just so it says 50% off on your receipt. That's the first and foremost reason for buying jewelry, is to have that number written on the receipt when you walk out. You don't even know what you just bought, and it's ugly, but they offered you a huge deal, so yipee! I'm rambling, I apogise, I'll stop, I just needed to vent a bit.
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Sep 6, 2008 05:33
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Adri posted:I just was contacted by a photographer who said this:  I'm guessing the reason all of the photos on his website are from the 80s because that's the last time anyone hired him. The only way his website could be any worse was if the address started with hometown.aol.com.
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Sep 6, 2008 07:22
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WierdFishes posted:I love the emphasis on cut. We mark on the tag the cut as well as everything else. If a diamond has a lovely cut, we don't hide it. Everyone thinks that we carry 'superior' Canadian diamonds simply because we bring in only ideal cuts. They're all damned I1 G's,  edit: one of the reasons I hate where I work: we tell customers that cut only makes 3% of the difference in a diamonds appearence, and the rest is a factor called 'quality of rough' that isn't on certs so you need a 'trusted salesperson' to judge. What the gently caress is that poo poo?
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Sep 6, 2008 13:37
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Hello all. I've been engaged for just over a year now (Sept. 3) and I saw this thread when it originally started months ago, but couldn't participate because I knew even thinking about planning the wedding was going to stress me out even more than I already was (graduating from college, moving, finding a new job, etc.). But now that I'm settled in my new house, with a job and I've finally gotten both sides of the family in the know that wedding planning starts NOW, I can finally start helping out here and asking my own questions. I just spent the last few days catching up with the thread and wanted to share some opinions. My engagement ring was between $300 and $400, (he wouldn't tell me exactly) and he had gone into the shop expecting to spend $2000-$3000. He knew that his first choice was the right one and so even though he said he felt like he was being cheap he bought it anyway and I couldn't be happier. I come from a modest family whereas he comes from a more well-off family and I probably would've fainted had I found out he spent thousands. I guess my point is to know your partner and what they'll be happy with, because truly it's about the love and not about the material things. As for my wedding planning as it stands so far: I'm not sure when the date is quite yet. Right now it looks like August/September/October 2009. I'd really like Sept/Oct more, but the best man and one of my bridesmaids are going to be in college/grad school during those months (and possibly me too because my Dad wants me to start grad school ASAP, but we won't get into that right now). We're having the wedding in Ohio. If I'm in school, I'll be in Pennsylvania, my one bridesmaid will be in Florida and the best man will be in Maryland. The issue really is that the venue I'd really like does not have air conditioning and there's nothing worse than hot guests in less than comfortable clothes. So I guess my question is, is it possible to have the wedding in August and later in the evening so that hopefully it'll be cooler and everyone will be in the area, or should we aim for later in the year so that weather isn't as much of an issue and just do what we can to get the important people here on that date? Sorry this was so long, I promise I'll contribute more eventually.
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Sep 8, 2008 05:21
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innocent_deadly posted:So I guess my question is, is it possible to have the wedding in August and later in the evening so that hopefully it'll be cooler and everyone will be in the area, or should we aim for later in the year so that weather isn't as much of an issue and just do what we can to get the important people here on that date? It's possible, but weather is so unpredictable that you can't make your plans on the assumption that it will be a nice comfortable 72 degrees. If it's 90 degrees at noon in mid-August, it's not going to be that much cooler at 8 PM. Midnight perhaps, but not at 6-8PM. Plus there's a big difference between holding a wedding on August 2nd and August 30th. But even then you can't assume anything -- August 30th in Michigan had a high of 86 degrees outdoors, and August 8st only had a high of 79. You'll just have to decide what's best for you -- if you really prefer a fall wedding and you're concerned that important people won't be able to make it in September or October, just call them and ask! You'll be giving them more than enough notice that they can be there if they really want to. If you have a Saturday wedding, the out-of-town guests can fly in on Friday night and fly back on Sunday afternoon and it's not going to wreck their school/work schedule. If you "compromise" and set an August date, rent a couple of big fans so you can at least keep some air-flow going through the non-A/C venue if it does end up being hot.
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Sep 8, 2008 14:05
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here is the link to my wedding pictures. It went very well and the wife and I are glad it's over. http://gs247.photobucket.com/groups/gg149/60Z1JVC47H/
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Sep 9, 2008 17:48
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oxsnard posted:
I would really recommend against this. Pictures can be manipulated and descriptions can lie. While a bad salesperson may try to lie to you and try to push bad diamonds on you, a good salesperson will be the best tool you can use. I sell diamonds to people who have no idea what they are buying and its my job to help them learn. A website can give you information, but can not walk you through the buying process. All our diamonds are graded loose, and I know their qualities off by heart. They are my gemstones and I can tell you their history and 'pedigree'. No website can replicate the experience of a good one to one sale.
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Sep 9, 2008 20:51
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innocent_deadly posted:So I guess my question is, is it possible to have the wedding in August and later in the evening so that hopefully it'll be cooler and everyone will be in the area, or should we aim for later in the year so that weather isn't as much of an issue and just do what we can to get the important people here on that date? I went to a wedding in mid August, and there was no AC, and we all melted. Seriously, it was a beautiful wedding, but it was too hot and those of us that went out on the dance floor ended up feeling less than well thanks to the heat. I'd hate to be wearing a huge wedding dress in August, personally. That being said, hello people, I had no idea this thread existed. I've been engaged since December, and we'll be getting married in late April of next year, and the planning is going quite well. We've got a venue that has its own ceremony site and catering, so that should all be pretty straightforward. I have my dress and veil ordered, and I've bought my shoes (simple white Sketchers sandals, I might get something strappy with a bit of colour for the ceremony and photos, though). Our budget is around 15k, with our folks bearing the most of the cost, but my mom keeps encouraging me to let her spend more on things than the budget can afford. She says she's flexible, but it makes me nervous. My ring was a "placeholder" - my fiancé couldn't afford the one I really wanted, so he bought me a sweet little sapphire ring for a couple hundred, and I love it. I've convinced him not to "upgrade" it until our first anniversary - I'd rather the money we save up now go to the wedding and honeymoon. There are a few things I'd love feedback or advice on: Invitations - my fiancé and I are both web savvy, so we've set up a wedding website that's got an RSVP system and will have directions and registry info. Since we're doing that, I'd really like to skip the RSVP card with the invites and just let people know to go to the site for RSVPing and more info and such. We'll have a phone number on the invitation for people to call if they're uncomfortable using the website, too. Does that seem like it should be enough, or will I really be making people's lives more difficult? MOH dress - We're having a tiny wedding party, so I don't need to worry about matching dresses. I'd like to help my MOH find a nice dress for 100 bucks or less, since she's a student and I don't want our wedding to be a burden for her. (I'm also considering buying it for her if I can afford it). Does anyone have any suggestions for good places to shop for dresses in Canada? I keep seeing nice things from Nordstroms, but they don't ship here. Photographer - I'm looking for a photographer that does a good mix of posed and "photojournalistic" or candid shots. Does anyone know of a good one in the Vancouver area that I could book for around $1500? Needs to be someone who will give/sell us a DVD of the digital files - that's a dealbreaker for me. Recommendations would be killer - most of the people I know who've married recently weren't very happy with their photos, so they're not helping. LittleCat fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Sep 9, 2008 |
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Sep 9, 2008 20:51
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HippyJuliet posted:I would really recommend against this. Pictures can be manipulated and descriptions can lie. While a bad salesperson may try to lie to you and try to push bad diamonds on you, a good salesperson will be the best tool you can use. I sell diamonds to people who have no idea what they are buying and its my job to help them learn. A website can give you information, but can not walk you through the buying process. If that was the case with Whiteflash, they wouldn't have the reputation that they do. Many of the reputable online vendors will arrange for a diamond to be shipped to an indepedent appraiser close to you so you can view it in person before committing to buy, as well as giving you a chance to hear what the appraiser thinks of the diamond. The vendors highly praised on Pricescope usually have physical operations open to nearby customers if you prefer to visit them. Pricescope educates consumers about what to look for in a diamond. I remember seeing video footage of a diamond industry convention (if that's the appropriate word) where experts were talking about how Pricescope has 'revolutionized the diamond industry' and that many vendors were none too pleased about the new, educated, discerning consumers wandering into their stores and asking uncomfortable questions. So a website can walk you through the buying process, provided that it's a forum of diamond addicts and professionals. Every time I meet someone who wandered into a 'brick & mortar' and got fleeced for something that only looks good under store lighting, I want to smack them and ask why they didn't educate themselves first instead of wandering into a store like a lamb to the slaughter. There is nothing wrong with buying from a brick & mortar store, aside from higher overhead costs passed onto the customer, provided that you've educated yourself enough to ask for the stats on the certificate and be able to interpret them without the 'helpful' advice of an overeager salesperson.
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Sep 9, 2008 22:11
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BRAKE FOR MOOSE fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Jun 12, 2012 |
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Sep 9, 2008 22:39
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| # ? May 10, 2024 07:38 |
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LittleCat posted:Invitations - my fiancé and I are both web savvy, so we've set up a wedding website that's got an RSVP system and will have directions and registry info. Since we're doing that, I'd really like to skip the RSVP card with the invites and just let people know to go to the site for RSVPing and more info and such. We'll have a phone number on the invitation for people to call if they're uncomfortable using the website, too. Does that seem like it should be enough, or will I really be making people's lives more difficult? I guess it depends how internet savvy the peopple you're inviting are, though. I mean, even my grandparents and all his older relatives have email addresses, so saving everyone the hassle of going down to the post office (and international stamp confusion!) is a big plus for everyone all around. That, and we can update the website information even after people reply (and lose the printed invite, etc etc).
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Sep 9, 2008 22:54
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