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Clevername Lookhere posted:Or even starting any new activity for that reason would be a cool idea. We started taking Tai-chi lessons with my brother-in-law for that reason. It's bonding, relaxing, and we get to hit each other in a safe, regulated environment.  A know a couple people on here were talking about having a ceremony that was very small and intimate, only immediate family... and then the reception later being a HUGE celebration. Destination weddings are good for that... that way you can also knock out your honeymoon.... come home and have a reception... that's not-traditional but very acceptable!
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Jul 13, 2012 21:15
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Hi everyone, I've been engaged for a few months to my (goon!) fiance -- we have our reception venue and photographer picked out, and our date is a year away. (Hooray, we've set a date! Finally  ) We still have to find a church for the reception, but we're kind of hand-waving that part anyway...Has anyone had any experience creating custom rings and bands, as in, not just special stones, but the complete design? Any tips for people who have absolutely no design skills (heh)? To complicate things a little, in my case we are going to be getting our wedding bands done and an engagement ring for me. I hear that people get their engagement ring and bands sometimes fused after the fact, but do people often go in to the process expecting to buy two rings for the same finger at the same time? Has anyone here done this or should I expect the jeweler to look at us like we're insane?
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Jul 18, 2012 02:57
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FloorCheese posted:Has anyone had any experience creating custom rings and bands, as in, not just special stones, but the complete design? Any tips for people who have absolutely no design skills (heh)? My fiance designed mine completely. Our town has a lot of Mom and Pop businesses. If you can, go local first, and I don't mean like... Kay or Jared... find a single shop or a jewelery store with only a couple locations. Surprisingly, they tend to do more custom work.
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Jul 18, 2012 03:23
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miseerin posted:My fiance designed mine completely. Our town has a lot of Mom and Pop businesses. If you can, go local first, and I don't mean like... Kay or Jared... find a single shop or a jewelery store with only a couple locations. Surprisingly, they tend to do more custom work. That's very encouraging - thank you! I hope to use a local-local guy. We live in Boston and there seem to be a number of them around. Now, whether or not we can afford them is a different matter  Whoever we end up using will need to really hold our hands on the design front. I have a feeling we will walk in there and just be all, "please design us something cool, and here is some money." We are nightmare clients? I'm also sewing my wedding dress (with my mom's help!), as clearly the wedding planning process hasn't been unpleasant enough already.
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Jul 18, 2012 03:35
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Also... though it may not be "custom" as in, you picked everything out, but vendors on Etsy have REALLY CUTE homemade rings that are very different from your average jewelry store's. If you sift through the last 5 months of pages, I mention buying my fiance a meteorite ring, which I think looks so awesome, and I think one other person bought either the same one or a similar one from the vendor, "Boone Rings" I think it was. A LOT of people on here have Etsy elements in their jewelry selection, or general attire. It's not 100% unique, but it's probably going to be different from everyone you know, and they tend to be very reasonably-priced. For a perspective, my fiance said my engagement ring was more than $1500 but less than $2k.... definitely out of MY price range, but he likes expensive things... it's gorgeous though, and he designed it. My meteorite ring was about $800. My ballpark was no more than 500, but it looks amazing... you should have no issues finding something cool on Etsy. Another thing to consider, etsy-wise... people make matching rings for you and your partner... one of my favorite is the fingerprint ring, where you send in your fingerprint and they etch it into the ring... some of them have a little diamond or other gem for your ring, and plain for his.
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Jul 18, 2012 11:52
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miseerin posted:Etsy I second Etsy. My engagement ring is just a normal ring, our bands are the same piece of titanium, and the inside is anodized, something like the metal has electricity passed through it, and whatever they use, the inside is turned colors, mine is pink, his is blue. But they can do purple and green. And different shades too.
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Jul 18, 2012 12:08
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My fiancé got his wedding ring from an Etsy smith and it's gorgeous. With me, I have great grandmas ring and his moms wedding band.
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Jul 18, 2012 13:37
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I'm going to an engagement party tomorrow and I got them a fairly nice bottle of whisky (Glenfiddich 12 y/o) since I know he's trying to expand his liquor cabinet (and I *think* he doesn't have that). And now I just realised that I don't know if she drinks whiskey. Should I tag on a decent bottle of sparkling wine for her too? (Which I know she drinks)
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Jul 19, 2012 13:28
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miseerin posted:Also... though it may not be "custom" as in, you picked everything out, but vendors on Etsy have REALLY CUTE homemade rings that are very different from your average jewelry store's. If you sift through the last 5 months of pages, I mention buying my fiance a meteorite ring, which I think looks so awesome, and I think one other person bought either the same one or a similar one from the vendor, "Boone Rings" I think it was. Please cut it out with the excessive ellipses (and it's clearly not just this post that's a problem). It makes you look illiterate or worse. Thel posted:I'm going to an engagement party tomorrow and I got them a fairly nice bottle of whisky (Glenfiddich 12 y/o) since I know he's trying to expand his liquor cabinet (and I *think* he doesn't have that). Chances are good that most of the engagement/wedding gifts will be for her in some way. I think it's nice to get something that's oriented toward him, but possible for both to enjoy.
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Jul 19, 2012 13:44
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I have an unromantic wedding question! I fully apologize for the tl;dr boring e/n in advance. I just learned that my boyfriend is losing his health insurance on his birthday in late February because he is turning 26. He works at a family business - I thought his insurance was an employee thing, not a parent/child thing. I have health insurance through my job, and could add him if we were married. He has a ring and is waiting a while to propose (I suspect our vacation in September, but who knows). He's thinking more about the romance, and I'm hung up on the logistics. He isn't worried about the insurance, and says he'll "just be careful" until I can add him. Which is hilarious, considering he just had a ton of dental work done, pulled something in his back this weekend lifting weights, and regularly hauls freight as a delivery driver for work. So, I'm trying to weigh our options without making GBS threads all over the romance. We could 1) get him short term health insurance for the 2-8 month lapse in coverage (how much does that run?) 2) get legally married in February and then have the ceremony with family 2-8 months later 3) frantically plan for a February wedding and pray that a venue is available or the weather isn't horrific for a backyard thing (Dallas, TX), plus rush ordering a dress etc I really don't like those options, but that's life. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Are there things we should be aware of? Damn Bananas fucked around with this message at 15:09 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 15:05
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drat Bananas posted:I have an unromantic wedding question! I fully apologize for the tl;dr boring e/n in advance. I've been in a similar situation - my SO and I were considering getting married at a courthouse in order to cover my health insurance because of a job concern. I live in Massachusetts, so paying out of pocket for short-term health insurance wouldn't have been too bad, but it seemed a little weird to shell out money when there was an easier and cheaper solution. (I also have an ongoing condition so unfortunately I can't go without health insurance whatsoever.) On blogs like OffbeatBride at least, it sounds like these kinds of situations are becoming increasingly common, or people are talking about it more. Generally if people need to get courthouse-married for health insurance or beneficiary reasons, they will do it a bit on the downlow, maybe have a few witnesses if they like. Then, when it's financially feasible/otherwise convenient, the couple gets "weddinged," where they have the big ceremony and reception with all the fixings. Sometimes people will keep the courthouse marriage part a total secret, though I don't think that's necessary nowadays - to me, it doesn't make your *wedding* ceremony and reception any less special or romantic. But that's up to the couple of course! Sometimes practical parts of life take precedence, and that's part of a marriage too, for sure. FloorCheese fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 15:40
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FloorCheese posted:
This is exactly what my fiance and I are doing. We're planning on hitting the courthouse on Halloween this year so we'll have a killer anniversary date! He'll have been at his job for 5 years in February, and the cost of getting me on his plan will drop dramatically. Then we're going to save all year and have the reception in October of 2013. We're still doing the dress and decorations and everything. We're just going to be up front about our reasoning. I know his mom isn't a huge fan of the plan, but I'm pretty sure she'll get over it.
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Jul 19, 2012 16:31
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drat Bananas posted:I have an unromantic wedding question! I fully apologize for the tl;dr boring e/n in advance. My partner and I got married last month at the courthouse for health insurance, even though we weren't planning to have a real wedding for a few years. It's thrown a bunch of wrenches into our plans...we're still not sure how much meaning to attribute to the courthouse ceremony, and we're still working through a lot of questions (Should I call him my husband or fiance now? Should we tell people? Should we have a wedding next year instead of the year after?). He didn't want a big wedding to start with, and in his mind the courthouse wedding is kind of a get-out-of-wedding-jail card, whereas I viewed it as an additional thing we got to quietly celebrate. So my recommendation is to discuss these issues in advance. Since you're only looking at a difference of a few months, I imagine that it won't be a big deal to go with option 2, but it's still a good idea to brainstorm how you will handle it.
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Jul 19, 2012 22:19
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I see nothing wrong with the pre-wedding official courthouse marriage as long as it's what you both want. He and I thought about it, but I am in retrospect very glad that when I got up to say the "I do," we were not married, and then married. It was this awesome rush of emotions to look at him just a moment later and think "my husband." I don't think I would feel the same way if we had already been married for months or years. Now, you can't be without insurance, so I understand the logic. In the end, it will all be awesome because you found your special person. I just wanted to show the other side of this.
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Jul 20, 2012 00:52
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FloorCheese posted:I have a feeling we will walk in there and just be all, "please design us something cool, and here is some money." We are nightmare clients? Just to encourage you, in my experience (and I have a fair bit when it comes to these sorts of things; my parents are florists), creative types enjoy being given a bit of freedom to do work. Give some basic instruction for styles, maybe a couple designs you like to give them a solid idea of your likes/dislikes, and they should be able to produce something really cool. I know my dad always says he's happiest when he's given the minimum of instruction.
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Jul 20, 2012 19:37
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FloorCheese posted:I have a feeling we will walk in there and just be all, "please design us something cool, and here is some money." We are nightmare clients? As long as you give them a general idea of what colors and maybe what type of flowers you like/don't like they'll be fine with it. Maybe a couple pictures from the internet of flower arrangements you saw that you like. Just going in and being like, "I want red and yellow flowers in arrangements about yea big [make vague dimensions with hand gestures]" would probably be perfectly fine. As a creative type myself, I only get annoyed when people don't give me ANY sort of direction.
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Jul 20, 2012 23:46
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Clueless dude checking in here. I have no clue what kind of ring she wants beyond the basics of materials. I'm going to ask a few of her friends that I can trust in the next few weeks and maybe walk by a place in the mall with her, but I know nothing about jewelry. I'm inheriting an older diamond ring that's been in the family for a long time, and while I don't really like the style, I've been given permission to either sell it, modify it, or "part it out" (unless she ends up liking it!). I'd just like to get some opinions on if it's good enough to re-use, or maybe its value if possible. The pictures are kind of crappy I know.    After I get the ring sorted out I guess I need to talk to her dad!
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Jul 23, 2012 04:27
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TheManWithNoName posted:Clueless dude checking in here. I have no clue what kind of ring she wants beyond the basics of materials. I'm going to ask a few of her friends that I can trust in the next few weeks and maybe walk by a place in the mall with her, but I know nothing about jewelry. That ring is kind of neat! You know her style better than anyone on here though. Maybe show it to the friend and see what she thinks?
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Jul 23, 2012 05:45
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TheManWithNoName posted:Clueless dude checking in here. I have no clue what kind of ring she wants beyond the basics of materials. I'm going to ask a few of her friends that I can trust in the next few weeks and maybe walk by a place in the mall with her, but I know nothing about jewelry. You can propose with it, then take her to a jewelry store to pick out or design a new setting.
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Jul 23, 2012 13:33
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I could have sworn I remember JohnnyRnR posting about Tunsgten and Titanium men's wedding bands, but search hasn't turned much up. What do I need to know before I purchase one? Are there any recommended places, or could I just go into any old jewelry store? Any other offbeat ring materials I could look at? I guess carbon fiber is another material to consider.
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Jul 23, 2012 20:39
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TheManWithNoName posted:Clueless dude checking in here. I have no clue what kind of ring she wants beyond the basics of materials. I'm going to ask a few of her friends that I can trust in the next few weeks and maybe walk by a place in the mall with her, but I know nothing about jewelry. First off - congratulations! And it's very sweet you're checking second opinions on the ring on her behalf. I think the diamond is gorgeous, and I'm no expert, but personally I think the setting seems kind of dated. I also can't help but think that if she has smaller fingers, that wide of a band will look overwhelming. Do you know if she prefers white or yellow gold? What kind of jewelry does she usually wear? I'd subtly hinted to my fiance that I preferred white gold. If you're not sure, her friends would probably know whats more her style. You can always take the diamond and put it in another setting if her friends think it 'd be a good idea. If the current setting for the ring happens to be her style, then you totally lucked out! Either way, congratulations!
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Jul 23, 2012 21:30
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TheManWithNoName posted:I'm inheriting an older diamond ring that's been in the family for a long time, and while I don't really like the style, I've been given permission to either sell it, modify it, or "part it out" (unless she ends up liking it!). It looks like a fine diamond. I'm going to guess it's about a carat and a half? It's hard to guess from a photo, but for a pretty stone in that size prices would be anywhere from $6,000 to $35,000+. It looks like the cut may be an Old European and if you wanted to remake the diamond it could be recut into a modern ideal Round Brilliant with fairly little loss of weight. (Or you may be able to sell this diamond and trade for a round brilliant, and pocket a few thousand dollars difference. Some Euros command a large premium) I would encourage you to remount the diamond into a new ring. Just to modernize it a bit and put your own mark on the ring. FISHMANPET posted:Tunsgten and Titanium men's wedding bands - What do I need to know before I purchase one? Are there any recommended places, or could I just go into any old jewelry store? Any other offbeat ring materials I could look at? Alternative metals are mostly about style. I'd shop around a little and see what you like. Another material worth looking into is meteorite. Many jewelers are stocking alternative metals now. Also, you can find some great wooden rings on Etsy. I like the idea of wooden rings because they aren't too expensive and they will need replaced every few years. It could be a fun tradition to buy new rings every third anniversary.
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Jul 23, 2012 22:40
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Traditionally, when is the rehearsal dinner supposed to be done?
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Jul 24, 2012 05:30
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screenwritersblues posted:Traditionally, when is the rehearsal dinner supposed to be done? After the rehearsal...which is typically the day before the wedding.
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Jul 24, 2012 13:09
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GoreJess posted:After the rehearsal...which is typically the day before the wedding. So it is strange that my cousin is doing his two days before? My mother told me this and I was befuddled by it. His reason behind it is so that no one is hungover the next day. It's a little odd since the next day is a work day and most of the wedding party has to work.
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Jul 24, 2012 16:20
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screenwritersblues posted:So it is strange that my cousin is doing his two days before? My mother told me this and I was befuddled by it. His reason behind it is so that no one is hungover the next day. It's a little odd since the next day is a work day and most of the wedding party has to work. Yeah, that's a little out of the norm. Are people having to travel in for the wedding? If so, that's really inconsiderate since they'd have to take off an extra day of work & pay for an extra day of lodging.
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Jul 25, 2012 00:16
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Almost all the venues I've visited lately insist that the rehearsal dinner be on a Thursday night. I assume this is to make room for any Friday night rentals they may encounter. Just saying, it might be out of the couple's hands.
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Jul 25, 2012 00:23
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GoreJess posted:Yeah, that's a little out of the norm. Are people having to travel in for the wedding? If so, that's really inconsiderate since they'd have to take off an extra day of work & pay for an extra day of lodging. The entire party lives in NJ. The bride and groom are the only ones who have to travel, they currently live in Austin and are driving up from there I'm hoping at least a week or two before everything. My cousin, the groom, has the theory that if they do the rehearsal dinner on Thursday instead of Friday, no one will be hungover for the wedding. But that isn't going to stop everyone from going out the night before, which is what is probably going to happen, and then being somewhat hungover the next day. Considering that most of the people involved in the wedding had have already either taken off Friday or all three days, have to find something to do on Friday night. Hawkgirl posted:Almost all the venues I've visited lately insist that the rehearsal dinner be on a Thursday night. I assume this is to make room for any Friday night rentals they may encounter. Just saying, it might be out of the couple's hands. Yeah, I thought about this for a while and it does make sense. Considering that the area that the wedding is taking place, there might be another wedding who booked the restaurant that we're having it at. Then again, it could be my cousin's strange method of reasoning not to get wasted by us until the reception. Although he did make the mistake of telling me that he is leaving for Europe for his honeymoon the next day. Looks like someone is not going to enjoy that flight.
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Jul 25, 2012 01:32
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Nagasaur posted:First off - congratulations! And it's very sweet you're checking second opinions on the ring on her behalf. Thanks! Yeah, dated is an understatement. The inscription on the band has a date of 1874. I'm definitely going to do some sleuthing in the coming weeks and figure out what she wants, but from what I can tell she isn't quite sure what she wants either. JohnnyRnR posted:It looks like a fine diamond. I'm going to guess it's about a carat and a half? It's hard to guess from a photo, but for a pretty stone in that size prices would be anywhere from $6,000 to $35,000+. I am definitely going to remount it once I know what she likes. I just need to find a reputable dealer that can tell me my options as far as remounting or price. I assume it's like anything in this price range - best to get a few estimates.
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Jul 25, 2012 06:15
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My fiancee and I are getting married in just a few weeks up in Seattle, WA even though neither of us are from there. My ailing parents who cannot travel are currently living there and it is very important to us that they could attend. Although neither of us know the area well at all, we are both very excited about the idea of having our wedding in a different city. We have just, however, had a minor crisis. My fiancee's hair and makeup people have just cancelled on her. Not knowing the area and having few friends there, we are having a tough time finding someone to replace them. Can anyone here in the SA wedding thread recommend hair and make-up people in Seattle just for the bride? Any advice on resources to find good hair and make-up people in the area?
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Jul 25, 2012 06:37
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TheManWithNoName posted:Thanks! Yeah, dated is an understatement. The inscription on the band has a date of 1874. I'm definitely going to do some sleuthing in the coming weeks and figure out what she wants, but from what I can tell she isn't quite sure what she wants either. I think you should propose with this ring, and then talk to her about remounting, etc. She may want to keep it- I know I'd be devastated to have a 100+ year antique destroyed on my behalf, especially since the ring is beautiful as is.
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Jul 25, 2012 17:42
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Emasculatrix posted:I think you should propose with this ring, and then talk to her about remounting, etc. She may want to keep it- I know I'd be devastated to have a 100+ year antique destroyed on my behalf, especially since the ring is beautiful as is. I agree with this. An antique like that is worth preserving if possible. If not for monetary or family reasons, then certainly for "cool as heck" reasons 
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Jul 25, 2012 22:17
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JohnnyRnR posted:Also, you can find some great wooden rings on Etsy. I like the idea of wooden rings because they aren't too expensive and they will need replaced every few years. It could be a fun tradition to buy new rings every third anniversary. Thanks for pointing this out! Me and my fiancee liked the thought of wooden rings, it has the nice nature symbolism and humility to them, but all we saw while looking were the kind with a wood inlay in a gold ring which wasn't really the same. These look awesome!
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Jul 25, 2012 22:28
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Yoyboy posted:My fiancee and I are getting married in just a few weeks up in Seattle, WA even though neither of us are from there. My ailing parents who cannot travel are currently living there and it is very important to us that they could attend. Although neither of us know the area well at all, we are both very excited about the idea of having our wedding in a different city. Does she (or you?) have an account on theknot.com? They have pretty active forums, including the local boards. You could ask the Seattle ladies for recommendations (+ pictures, probably!)
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Jul 26, 2012 01:04
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Yoyboy posted:My fiancee and I are getting married in just a few weeks up in Seattle, WA even though neither of us are from there. My ailing parents who cannot travel are currently living there and it is very important to us that they could attend. Although neither of us know the area well at all, we are both very excited about the idea of having our wedding in a different city. Could she ask the people who cancelled on her? They should know who else is around and who is good.
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Jul 26, 2012 01:13
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After being engaged for two years, my fiance and I finally set a date. June 29, 2013. We decided to do it at a local park, because they have en enclosed shelter. This is ALL going to be DIY. I'm an art teacher so I figure I can get the materials and do crafts on my own. Plus being a teacher, I get Christmas break an spring break where I'll have time to plan. Two things: 1) Getting the dress is the last thing on my list since I am trying to lose a lot of weight. However, is there an "off season" in bridal dresses? I'm afraid if I shop in May it's going to be the height of summer wedding dress shopping. 2) My fiance wants to do a coney dog bar. Just wondering what your thoughts are on this. It seems the easiest way to feed a large crowd. However, didn't know if this would be "tacky" or if I could pull it off in a gourmet/classy kind of way. P.S. This is the same location that I'm having it, AND my same colors/theme (rustic yellow/brown) http://capturingsubtleties.com/blog/?p=1785
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Jul 26, 2012 03:20
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I went to a wedding last year with a hot dog cart and pretzels and 20 kinds of mustard and it was AWESOME. I still talk about how cool it was. However the groom was my tattoo artist and everyone there was very relaxed and informal and no one expected anything traditional, which is why it worked. But yeah- I think you guys should definitely do a hot dog bar!
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Jul 26, 2012 13:10
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anaaki posted:2) My fiance wants to do a coney dog bar. Just wondering what your thoughts are on this. It seems the easiest way to feed a large crowd. However, didn't know if this would be "tacky" or if I could pull it off in a gourmet/classy kind of way. We're having a food truck that serves gourmet hamburgers and fries. They are super good and only 8.50/ person. We're also pretty non-traditional, but I think stuff like this is what makes weddings more fun. Who wants another dried out piece of chicken or fish? Since you are into the DIY thing, I think a DIY hotdog stand sounds really cool. Additionally, its a summer wedding, so it is appropriately themed.
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Jul 26, 2012 17:33
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So, I don't know if maybe this is a stupid question, but I want to know if maybe I should buy this diamond. It's more advice about what's the right thing to do in this situation than an actual question about getting married. I'm 23, in a long-term relationship with someone with whom I've talked about marriage. Neither of us like the legal institution of marriage, but we both like the idea of a nice big party and taking vows of commitment. We've never lived together, though, and I'm not thinking about proposing anytime soon. I know she'd like that eventually, but I'd be a fool to ask now and she's too smart to say yes even if I did. Anyway, my step-grandmother has Alzheimer's and has deteriorated to the point where she's fairly recently (in the last few months) moved into a nursing home. My grandfather, with whom I'm very close, is coping really well, and has been in the process of divesting himself of a lot of his wife's stuff that she no longer needs or cares about. One of these things is her first wedding ring. My mother already has the one my pop gave her, but this is from her first marriage and a husband who died. He's put this ring (the paperwork for which says it's 2.05 carats, colour J, clarity SI1, round cut, set in 18ct white gold with a palladium mount) into my mother's care to dispose of. To sell. He really doesn't care what it's worth. He's very well off, and is selling it not because he needs to but because he can't see the point in owning it anymore. His wife doesn't miss it at the home and it's only likely to get lost there anyway. He's said that all he'd do with the money he'd get from it is give his grandchildren (of which there are 4 including me) $1000 apiece for Christmas this year. His wife (my step-grandmother) has no family whatsoever. Next to my pop, she's closest to my mother, and then me, since we were pretty much the only family members who weren't total assholes to her and pop after he left my (non-step) grandmother. There're small provisions in her will for godchildren she hasn't seen in 20 years, but everything is left to my immediate family if she dies after my grandfather. So it's basically my pop's wife's keepsake of no meaning to him nor anybody else anymore, due to her a) having no other family, and b) believing that she's in her late teens half the time. This diamond, while of less-than-perfect colour, is, I think, pretty freaking nice, and could be incredibly useful to me one day in the not far-flung future. None of his other grandchildren could make the same use of it (they're all women, two of whom are married, the other is never likely to be), and I don't even think any of them even know it exists, so I know there's no other interest in it. If I asked him to give me the ring, I know he would. Gladly. He already offered it to my mother. I'm not going to simply ask him for it, because I think that wouldn't be right. He's very generous to me as it is, and I wouldn't be comfortable outright asking for it. But I would like to buy it from him. The thing is, while I could offer him enough to do what he says he wants to do with the proceeds of selling it, I don't think I could offer him anywhere near its real value. I don't think he knows or cares what it's worth. Like I said, he's not selling it for the money. Long story short, my grandfather owns and is looking to sell a large diamond of no sentimental value to him whatsoever. I couldn't offer him close to market value for it, but I'm certain he'd sell it to me regardless and be happy that someone could actually use it. Is this right, or would I be exploiting family in asking him if he'd sell it to me? Also, is this perhaps 'not-on' as far as buying engagement diamonds goes? I mean, is it sort of naff to buy a used diamond like this, or not to spend x% of my income? Or is it maybe even not a very good diamond in this day and age to be considering a (distant) proposal with? Advice appreciated. Smudgie Buggler fucked around with this message at 10:04 on Jul 29, 2012 |
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Jul 29, 2012 10:00
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| # ? Jun 13, 2024 00:00 |
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I assume you haven't gotten an idea, directly or otherwise, from the person you'll be proposing to about what kind of ring they'd like? The only reason I ask is that 2 carats is a pretty large stone. While I don't think anyone would complain about getting a giant rock, it might not be the one that's best for her if she likes a more moderately sized ring. If you can get a 2-carat for a few grand, that's great. But if you can also get a smaller, quality diamond for a similar price, and end up with a ring that's more in line with something your fiance would feel comfortable wearing every day, that might be better. It's a personal preference thing. As to whether it's "exploiting your family", I don't necessarily think so. Obviously it depends on what your grandfather thinks, but it sounds like he's generous and you've got a good relationship with him. The only problem is that you say your proposal is "distant". It would be kind of awkward I think for him to give you the ring and then you don't propose for years. Or you end up breaking up with your partner, then it would look kinda bad. So there's that to consider also. Anyway, switching topics, I proposed a little over a month ago, finally. We took a huge road trip out west and I proposed on top of Pikes Peak. Totally surprised her, although she had some suspicions I was going to do it during the trip. We've been dating for over four years and have been thinking about the trip for a long time. I lurked the thread for a while and got lots of details, so a retroactive thanks for all the advice. I ended up getting a ring from Brilliant Earth, as the price premium for the ethical origins was pretty small relative to the price of the ring itself. The center diamond is a 0.53 carat, very good Princess cut, F color, VS2 clarity. The setting is palladium, which the sales rep at Brilliant Earth suggested after I mentioned that my fiance had a nickel allergy. Right now a full palladium setting is the same price as white gold, so I don't know why you'd go for the gold and all the rhodium-plating hassle. And of course, an out-of-focus picture. I think it turned out great for being a "smaller" stone. She's somewhere between a 6 and 7 ring size. Will have to get resized because the ring I used to surreptitiously measure her band was the one ring she has that's too big for her  
LogisticEarth fucked around with this message at 14:21 on Jul 29, 2012 |
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Jul 29, 2012 14:12
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