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Nessa
Dec 15, 2008

The wedding is at a farm and we've invited people to bring their RVs out to stay the night, so we can do bunch the next day. I would rather stay at the farm overnight to spend more time with my guests.

According to my mom, the house will be full up with my aunt and uncle, my mom's cousins and their adult son and my mom's other cousin and his girlfriend. My other cousins will be staying in their RV.

There's an old office that needs a new roof and a floor and I would be fine with sleeping on a cot in there if it can get fixed up in time.

I will have to talk to my aunt directly about it, I guess.

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bathhouse
Apr 21, 2010

We're getting into a rhythm now
^^ I would hope if you told enough friends and family about your predicament someone would find an RV or a room nearby you can use.


By the way, she said yes :D Planning for late Summer 2015, time to read every post in this thread!

bathhouse fucked around with this message at 18:34 on May 27, 2014

VivaNova
Sep 12, 2009

The most epic adventure ever undertaken
Some Wedding Feedback: I got married last Sunday and I felt the need to do some sort of closure write-up. So Maybe people at prior stages of planning would appreciate this:

I had a fairly traditional, but slightly more low end wedding for 110 people.


First, things we liked:

1. Attire
We only had 2 bridesmaids and 2 groomsmen because I wanted to keep cost and complications down. I think adding more people would have added unnecessarily confusion and cost. The girls wore $50 dresses from Modcloth, which shoes and jewelry they picked and the men wore gray suits they already had or bought and can easily re-wear. I thought this ended up being a better investment and less stress than renting tuxes. We gave them (and the fathers) matching ties and corsages and everything looked just great! The mothers, flower girls and grandmothers were given a general palette to work with and I think the results turned out better than if I had just dictated dresses or given swatches to them.

2. How the venue/tables looked
We spent $50 for "tablescapes" and for that we rented votives, a mirror base, 2 vases and 2 candlesticks. We used the most gorgeous pink and white tulpis in the centerpieces and it looked exactly as we envisioned- not over the top and not too cheap. I really loved how they ended up.

3. That the weather was good
We picked our date based on there being only a 10% chance of rain that day, and though it actually rained a little in the morning, it was 100% beautiful by the time our outdoor ceremony was to start!

4. The food
Originally we said tasty food was a huge priority for us, and we are pleased to report that we weren't disappointed that day. Everything we tried was fantastic, and we had "healthier" and "vegetarian" options that apparently went over well.

5. The ceremony/cocktail music
We booked a ceremony keyboardist off gigmasters.com exactly a month before the event because our friend who originally volunteered backed out. Though I never met with out keyboardist, he was very responsive by e-mail and gigmasters made it very easy to find someone in our budget on somewhat sort notice. I wish I have known about it when we booked out DJ! From what I saw and heard from others he was great. For the cocktail hour, we created a jazz playlist of our favorite tracks and I loved every minute of it!


Things I didn’t like:

1. The Rabbi changed his wording
We purposely went with this guy, who advertises in local wedding materials, after my Rabbi had a problem with having an atheist ceremony (I'm Jewish, dude isn't). The situation was explained to this Rabbi and he said no problem. We met with him twice and sent many texts, phone calls and emails, working out how we'd like our non-theist Jewish ceremony to be and he assured us it was perfectly fine and we had nothing to worry about. The day of he arrived without our customized ceremony that we worked so hard on together and just did his standard (and to us, lame) ceremony, where there was ample mention of God. None of the guests knew there was a problem but it irritated us immensely!

How it could have been solved- call a few days before the wedding (not text or email) and expressly say to him that we want him to read the ceremony that we worked on together and reiterating our priorities.


2. Running late
I really thought I was managing time efficiently, but the day of it took over 2 hours to get my hair right! As a result we missed getting the photos done before the ceremony, had to do then during cocktail hour and created a time crunch for the rest of the event.

How to solve- Get ready super early- earlier than you think you need!! Sitting around in sweats with your hair and make-up done for a bit is preferable to rushing!



3. Cancellations/Tables needed to be switched last minute

Lots of people canceled during the few days before the event (thanks, we paid for you, ya know!!), enough to throw off the table numbers enough so it would have looked silly to have 5 people at a table and 11 people at another. I had done place cards the week before as various wedding sources suggested. I had to waste time before the ceremony during getting ready time, re-arranging where everyone would sit and it wasn't pleasant.

How to Solve- I would recommend doing place-cards the night before, or the day of if possible. I feel a chalkboard or handwritten place-cards would have helped in this regard.


4. Rushed feel of the wedding
I'm not too sure about the cause of this, but I can definitely say the wedding went by super fast and had a rushed feeling. I felt I hardly had time to sit down or dance. I think some of this might have been from getting a somewhat late start and the photographers dragging us away to get shots during the reception. It also could have been that the food service was out of sync with the DJ. Anyhow, I don't think of wedding had the "relaxed" vibe we were going for, everything felt pretty rushed.

How to Solve- not totally sure. Communicate with DJ and food servers and express exactly what time you what each key event to occur. Get photos done before.


So overall, a great day, but with some things I wish I had addressed to make it even closer to perfect. I hope this feedback helps people!

Problem!
Jan 1, 2007

I am the queen of France.

Nessa posted:

It has occurred to me, that I will have to spend my wedding night in a tent because all of my mom's cousins will be coming over and will fill up the house.

I really don't want to spend the weekend in a tent, because I know I will not be able to get a good sleep, but I can't think of any other solutions.:/

Get a hotel. Do you REALLY want to spend your wedding night in a house full of people, including your parents? Hell, we opted for the detached guest house at our B&B wedding instead of the bridal suite so it was more private.

Nessa
Dec 15, 2008

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

Get a hotel. Do you REALLY want to spend your wedding night in a house full of people, including your parents? Hell, we opted for the detached guest house at our B&B wedding instead of the bridal suite so it was more private.

Well, my parents wouldn't be there anyway, it's not their house.

My Aunt suggested we get a hotel room if we don't want to stay in a tent, so I guess that's our only option if I can't find a camping trailer to borrow. I really would prefer to stay out at the farm, if only so I don't have to call it an early night and get a ride back into town.

Sharks Below
May 23, 2011

ty hc <3
I agree, I think a hotel is a nice idea, though I'm a little miffed on your behalf that this is being foisted upon you as an inconvenience when it's YOUR wedding and people should be asking how they can help you, IMO.

LogisticEarth
Mar 28, 2004

Someone once told me, "Time is a flat circle".

Sharks Below posted:

I agree, I think a hotel is a nice idea, though I'm a little miffed on your behalf that this is being foisted upon you as an inconvenience when it's YOUR wedding and people should be asking how they can help you, IMO.

Yeah, seriously. I get that it's a full house and some of the relatives are old, but it's still kind of crappy to get stuck out in a tent while everyone else is sleeping in RVs and the house. And I'm a fairly avid camper. Just kind of seems like they're treating your accommodations as an afterthought. Really, although you're doing most of the planning, the bride and groom are supposed to be guests of honor.

I'd probably get all spiteful and spend way too much money to build a loving luxury yurt for the evening to show them up, ha.

martyrdumb
Nov 24, 2009

pants are overrated
Best idea, or best idea of all time? :allears:

Nessa
Dec 15, 2008

Well, they presumed we would be staying in an RV that doesn't exist.

I guess I didn't "stand up for myself" because I feel bad enough for imposing on them as it is. They're the ones who are preparing the garden and building shelters for the fire pit, and will have to clear out their workshop so we can have the reception. I feel like I'm inconveniencing them enough.:ohdear:

I've messaged one of my cousins who is supposed to be staying in the house with his family.

LogisticEarth
Mar 28, 2004

Someone once told me, "Time is a flat circle".
Did they just assume you had an RV? Or was there another one you had planned to use before? If you're imposing on them a lot already for the property, maybe look for other solutions. It sounds like there will be a number of RVs there...

Nessa
Dec 15, 2008

LogisticEarth posted:

Did they just assume you had an RV? Or was there another one you had planned to use before? If you're imposing on them a lot already for the property, maybe look for other solutions. It sounds like there will be a number of RVs there...

My fiancé's dad used to have one. They were assuming we had that one available.

SuzieMcAwesome
Jul 27, 2011

A lady should be two things, Classy and fabulous. Unfortunately, you my dear are neither.
Sorry did not read updated replies first before responding. Have you looked online for RV rentals? Like RV America or something

SuzieMcAwesome fucked around with this message at 19:17 on May 28, 2014

Nessa
Dec 15, 2008

All is well. I talked to the cousin who is staying at the house and he said his parents were going to stay in the city instead and said he'd sleep under the stairs if he has to, so we could stay in the house. :)

PopRocks
Jul 4, 2003

WTF am I reading?

VivaNova posted:

Some Wedding Feedback: I got married last Sunday and I felt the need to do some sort of closure write-up. So Maybe people at prior stages of planning would appreciate this:

I had a fairly traditional, but slightly more low end wedding for 110 people.


First, things we liked:

1. Attire
We only had 2 bridesmaids and 2 groomsmen because I wanted to keep cost and complications down. I think adding more people would have added unnecessarily confusion and cost. The girls wore $50 dresses from Modcloth, which shoes and jewelry they picked and the men wore gray suits they already had or bought and can easily re-wear. I thought this ended up being a better investment and less stress than renting tuxes. We gave them (and the fathers) matching ties and corsages and everything looked just great! The mothers, flower girls and grandmothers were given a general palette to work with and I think the results turned out better than if I had just dictated dresses or given swatches to them.

2. How the venue/tables looked
We spent $50 for "tablescapes" and for that we rented votives, a mirror base, 2 vases and 2 candlesticks. We used the most gorgeous pink and white tulpis in the centerpieces and it looked exactly as we envisioned- not over the top and not too cheap. I really loved how they ended up.

3. That the weather was good
We picked our date based on there being only a 10% chance of rain that day, and though it actually rained a little in the morning, it was 100% beautiful by the time our outdoor ceremony was to start!

4. The food
Originally we said tasty food was a huge priority for us, and we are pleased to report that we weren't disappointed that day. Everything we tried was fantastic, and we had "healthier" and "vegetarian" options that apparently went over well.

5. The ceremony/cocktail music
We booked a ceremony keyboardist off gigmasters.com exactly a month before the event because our friend who originally volunteered backed out. Though I never met with out keyboardist, he was very responsive by e-mail and gigmasters made it very easy to find someone in our budget on somewhat sort notice. I wish I have known about it when we booked out DJ! From what I saw and heard from others he was great. For the cocktail hour, we created a jazz playlist of our favorite tracks and I loved every minute of it!


Things I didn’t like:

1. The Rabbi changed his wording
We purposely went with this guy, who advertises in local wedding materials, after my Rabbi had a problem with having an atheist ceremony (I'm Jewish, dude isn't). The situation was explained to this Rabbi and he said no problem. We met with him twice and sent many texts, phone calls and emails, working out how we'd like our non-theist Jewish ceremony to be and he assured us it was perfectly fine and we had nothing to worry about. The day of he arrived without our customized ceremony that we worked so hard on together and just did his standard (and to us, lame) ceremony, where there was ample mention of God. None of the guests knew there was a problem but it irritated us immensely!

How it could have been solved- call a few days before the wedding (not text or email) and expressly say to him that we want him to read the ceremony that we worked on together and reiterating our priorities.


2. Running late
I really thought I was managing time efficiently, but the day of it took over 2 hours to get my hair right! As a result we missed getting the photos done before the ceremony, had to do then during cocktail hour and created a time crunch for the rest of the event.

How to solve- Get ready super early- earlier than you think you need!! Sitting around in sweats with your hair and make-up done for a bit is preferable to rushing!



3. Cancellations/Tables needed to be switched last minute

Lots of people canceled during the few days before the event (thanks, we paid for you, ya know!!), enough to throw off the table numbers enough so it would have looked silly to have 5 people at a table and 11 people at another. I had done place cards the week before as various wedding sources suggested. I had to waste time before the ceremony during getting ready time, re-arranging where everyone would sit and it wasn't pleasant.

How to Solve- I would recommend doing place-cards the night before, or the day of if possible. I feel a chalkboard or handwritten place-cards would have helped in this regard.


4. Rushed feel of the wedding
I'm not too sure about the cause of this, but I can definitely say the wedding went by super fast and had a rushed feeling. I felt I hardly had time to sit down or dance. I think some of this might have been from getting a somewhat late start and the photographers dragging us away to get shots during the reception. It also could have been that the food service was out of sync with the DJ. Anyhow, I don't think of wedding had the "relaxed" vibe we were going for, everything felt pretty rushed.

How to Solve- not totally sure. Communicate with DJ and food servers and express exactly what time you what each key event to occur. Get photos done before.


So overall, a great day, but with some things I wish I had addressed to make it even closer to perfect. I hope this feedback helps people!

Thank you for this awesome effort post. My fiancé and I are at the date-setting phase and aiming for May 2015 but this day-of stuff is definitely helpful. I'm excited about 5-16-15 because it's a palindrome.

I'm having a hard time not being a control freak about everything and letting him in on the planning. I want it to be collaborative, but I also want everything I want. :v:

We plan to have 3 - 7 attendants each, but no bridesmaid dresses or rented tuxes, the dudes will wear suits they own, the bridesmaids get to choose any peach/ coral/ orange/ yellow dress they want and want to wear again. He and I are both working on getting in shape before I get my wedding dress and him a 3 piece wedding suit. Choosing the bridal party is stressing me out though, trying to rank my closest friends and family is not fun.

We're still working on hammering out our numbers / guest list, but I think we found our venue:
http://www.wildflower.org

I was really jealous of the aquarium and museum weddings I had seen, I really like the idea of a venue I'd actually want to or even be able to visit again, so I'm really excited about the wildflower center, it's basically an outdoor nature museum, but they have a beautiful indoor space in case it rains too.

Oh yeah, and they are swarming with butterflies this time of year, which is pretty awesome.

PopRocks fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Jun 3, 2014

Tempura Wizard
Sep 15, 2006

spending all
spending
spending all my time
We did it! From the both of us, thanks for all your help, thread. From the place we bought the dress to the finances and the cake toppers, we couldn't have done it without your help. :kimchi:

Alligator Pie
Apr 26, 2008

Give away the green grass, Give away the sky
Tempura Wizard, congratulations! What a gorgeous photo. :3:


Sharks Below posted:

If your photographer has an e-shoot or other pre-shoot available in their package, I urge you to take advantage. We drove to her home region 6 hours away from my town for a weekend trip to do this and it was so worth it just to get relaxed in front of the camera and learn how to respond to cues and stuff. It was great and every time I look at these pictures I tear up!


I'm a little late to the party, but I really wanted to emphasize that this is great advice. I will admit that I thought engagement photos were stupid before, but they were included in our photographer's package, so we did a shoot last Saturday.

It was amazingly fun and a great opportunity to get to know and work with our photographers before the wedding. It was a great way to get used to posing and cues from them. Of course, we also got some wonderful and precious photos out of the deal - we'll be able to treasure them forever.

I would definitely recommend doing an e-shoot for all the above reasons, and I now think I was stupid for feeling that engagement sessions were dumb. I was wrong! :shobon: They're really useful and a lot of fun.


VivaNova posted:

Some Wedding Feedback:

Thank you so much for this post. My wedding is two months away and it's awesome to be able to see this kind of advice.

C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat
Out of curiosity, how many of you ladies (or dudes getting ready to propose) have engagement rings with non-diamond stones? My girlfriend and I went looking a few weeks ago for fun (and we've been talking about getting married for a while but we both aren't quite there yet) and afterwords she told me she didn't really like diamond. She actually really liked morganite, which is a little cheap in my eyes but she insists that she wants a ring that she thinks looks good moreso than an expensive one. A good friend of mine also proposed to his gal last summer and got her a sapphire ring, because she's not down with the diamond trade. Any couples in this thread rocking non-traditional rocks?

C-Euro fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Jun 7, 2014

Coca Koala
Nov 28, 2005

ongoing nowhere
College Slice
I proposed to my fiancee with a lovely sapphire engagement ring, made by goon jeweler Claes Oldenburg. I went with the sapphire because she was a) not too stoked about the whole diamond issue, and b) thought that vintage rings were really beautiful. She loves the non-traditional nature of it, and to the best of my knowledge she has gotten absolutely nothing but compliments from people who notice it. Apparently, the jeweler who cleans it really likes it because they noticed my fiancee wearing it while working a retail job, and was excited to have a chance to get a closer look at it.

If she doesn't want a diamond, go for it. They can look great.



In a couple weeks I'll be able to post pictures of how it looks with the matching wedding band. The wedding is in six days!

ElScorcho
May 8, 2008

Horse.
I got a sapphire not because I don't like diamonds, but because I wanted something a little more unique. I've never gotten anything but compliments on my ring. My fiance ordered it online from Gemvara, it's this one: http://www.gemvara.com/jewelry/elizabeth-ring/round-sapphire-palladium-ring-with-diamond/5zv5h

martyrdumb
Nov 24, 2009

pants are overrated

C-Euro posted:

Out of curiosity, how many of you ladies (or dudes getting ready to propose) have engagement rings with non-diamond stones? My girlfriend and I went looking a few weeks ago for fun (and we've been talking about getting married for a while but we both aren't quite there yet) and afterwords she told me she didn't really like diamond. She actually really liked morganite, which is a little cheap in my eyes but she insists that she wants a ring that she thinks looks good moreso than an expensive one. A good friend of mine also proposed to his gal last summer and got her a sapphire ring, because she's not down with the diamond trade. Any couples in this thread rocking non-traditional rocks?
Sapphires are an awesome alternative to diamond. Very hard stones, very pretty, guilt-free, and less-expensive than diamonds. Prince what's-his-name in England recently proposed to his lady with a sapphire rock, so it's definitely "in" (if you care about that). They're also my birthstone, so I could be biased.

We haven't bought rings yet (financial reasons), but I've already decided on a sapphire.

computer parts
Nov 18, 2010

PLEASE CLAP

C-Euro posted:

Out of curiosity, how many of you ladies (or dudes getting ready to propose) have engagement rings with non-diamond stones? My girlfriend and I went looking a few weeks ago for fun (and we've been talking about getting married for a while but we both aren't quite there yet) and afterwords she told me she didn't really like diamond. She actually really liked morganite, which is a little cheap in my eyes but she insists that she wants a ring that she thinks looks good moreso than an expensive one. A good friend of mine also proposed to his gal last summer and got her a sapphire ring, because she's not down with the diamond trade. Any couples in this thread rocking non-traditional rocks?

My girlfriend's the same. She basically said "eh just find something that's cheap and looks nice, you can buy me a fancy ring after we're married".

Nicol Bolas
Feb 13, 2009

C-Euro posted:

Out of curiosity, how many of you ladies (or dudes getting ready to propose) have engagement rings with non-diamond stones? My girlfriend and I went looking a few weeks ago for fun (and we've been talking about getting married for a while but we both aren't quite there yet) and afterwords she told me she didn't really like diamond. She actually really liked morganite, which is a little cheap in my eyes but she insists that she wants a ring that she thinks looks good moreso than an expensive one. A good friend of mine also proposed to his gal last summer and got her a sapphire ring, because she's not down with the diamond trade. Any couples in this thread rocking non-traditional rocks?

I love, love, LOVE my moissanite-and-titanium ring. It reads like an engagement ring but 1. it only cost $500 (because dropping more than that on a ring strikes me as stupid) 2. It's super durable 3. it's gorgeous and 4. the gem throws RAINBOWS instead of just reflecting white light, which I love.

PopRocks
Jul 4, 2003

WTF am I reading?

C-Euro posted:

Out of curiosity, how many of you ladies (or dudes getting ready to propose) have engagement rings with non-diamond stones?

My fiancé proposed with a moissanite ring. We had discussed it before, and it was between moissanite and sapphire, his birth stone, but white sapphire just doesn't have the same fire as moissanite. I love that it's hard though to last, I love the way it looks, I love that it originates from outer space and I love that it's lab created which makes it flawless and impossible to control or exploit like diamonds.

Here's a crappy cell phone pic of my engagement ring, moissanite in palladium:

Still images really don't do it justice.

Morganite is pretty, but I'd worry I'd chip anything in the beryl / emerald family if I wore it on my hand daily. Alexandrite, another of my favorites, ranks a bit harder, but not as hard as sapphire or moissanite. But others have said that any gemstone should stand up to daily wear just fine, so I'm probably needlessly paranoid.

Jinxie Monroe
Apr 9, 2007

No really.
Thank you.
My engagement band is blue opal + random sparkly non-diamond (fiance knows I don't want diamonds and I don't care other than that so I don't know what it is) I constantly get complimented on it.


I'll try to find a picture, but a friend of mine also has a really lovely pearl wedding band. I'd be worried about loving up the pearl if it were mine, but it suits her really well.

Jinxie Monroe fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Jun 10, 2014

LogisticEarth
Mar 28, 2004

Someone once told me, "Time is a flat circle".

PopRocks posted:

My fiancé proposed with a moissanite ring. We had discussed it before, and it was between moissanite and sapphire, his birth stone, but white sapphire just doesn't have the same fire as moissanite. I love that it's hard though to last, I love the way it looks, I love that it originates from outer space and I love that it's lab created which makes it flawless and impossible to control or exploit like diamonds.

Not to be a killjoy, but moissanite doesn't originate from outer space moreso than any other mineral. It was initially discovered in meteorite samples, but that's just an abberation of geology as the conditions it typically occurs in (upper mantle/ultramafic) aren't easily accessible. Meteorites are often made of this kind of material after it's been ejected from other bodies during collisions. :science:

Regardless, moissanite is pretty nifty for alternative engagement rings, probably second in my eyes only to sapphires. The whole "it comes from space" deal is pretty much just a marketing thing though.

Edit: vvv Nothing special outside of aesthetics. Sapphires just have that classic striking blue color. I also have a tiny bit of bias against lab grown stuff for purely nostalgic reasons.

LogisticEarth fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Jun 10, 2014

Rurutia
Jun 11, 2009

LogisticEarth posted:

Regardless, moissanite is pretty nifty for alternative engagement rings, probably second in my eyes only to sapphires. The whole "it comes from space" deal is pretty much just a marketing thing though.

Could you go into further detail as to why you prefer sapphires over moissanite?

I wish there was a simulant with the color of the Hope Diamond that's as tough as sapphire/moissanites.

PopRocks
Jul 4, 2003

WTF am I reading?

LogisticEarth posted:

Not to be a killjoy, but moissanite doesn't originate from outer space moreso than any other mineral. It was initially discovered in meteorite samples, but that's just an abberation of geology as the conditions it typically occurs in (upper mantle/ultramafic) aren't easily accessible. Meteorites are often made of this kind of material after it's been ejected from other bodies during collisions. :science:

Regardless, moissanite is pretty nifty for alternative engagement rings, probably second in my eyes only to sapphires. The whole "it comes from space" deal is pretty much just a marketing thing though.

No way does that kill any joy. Meteorites / mantle of the earth doesn't matter to me still awesome geological history in my eyes. The original discovery was meteorite, that's good enough for me.

But yes, I did already know that, it's just hard to phrase it more simply in list format.

PopRocks fucked around with this message at 18:29 on Jun 10, 2014

C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat

PopRocks posted:

Morganite is pretty, but I'd worry I'd chip anything in the beryl / emerald family if I wore it on my hand daily. Alexandrite, another of my favorites, ranks a bit harder, but not as hard as sapphire or moissanite. But others have said that any gemstone should stand up to daily wear just fine, so I'm probably needlessly paranoid.

She works in a lab so she's wearing gloves a lot of the time, but I think she's saying morganite for now because it was in the first store we went to and she just really likes pink. We'll have to pick back up with shopping after her family is done with their three-week visit (starts Friday, also during that time I have to work up the nerve to ask her dad for her hand :shepface:)

Rurutia
Jun 11, 2009

LogisticEarth posted:

Edit: vvv Nothing special outside of aesthetics. Sapphires just have that classic striking blue color. I also have a tiny bit of bias against lab grown stuff for purely nostalgic reasons.

Oooh, got it. Thought you were talking about sapphires in general, not just the blue ones. I was looking at white sapphires instead of moissanite, and I just found them flat.

moon demon
Sep 11, 2001

of the moon, of the dream
So, here I am, looking to buy an engagement ring. I have a pretty good idea what she wants. I bought her this set a few Christmases ago: http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/...et%26slotId%3D1 and she loves it. It was the first piece of real (read: not the Forever 21 crap) jewelry she had ever owned and she always tells me how I nailed it on the first try. I'd like to get something exactly like that, but with diamonds.

So based on that, here's the criteria I have in mind:
-Diamond
-Cushion cut
-Halo setting
-Budget: ??? (I could probably spend $5k but won't argue with paying less? I'd definitely emphasize quality over price though.)

I have played around with some of the ring-maker sites and the quality "ratings" and prices are all pretty confusing to me. I know what cut/setting I want but all of the options seem the same to me looking at them online. I anticipate I'll have to go see them in person.

Is there a good place in LA (west side) to see a good selection (and prices in my price range) of these?

How much I can expect to spend with the criteria above? Is my budget of $5k too high or too low? I'm probably 4-5 months away from proposing, so I have a little flexibility with budgeting.

Sharks Below
May 23, 2011

ty hc <3
Did you check out James Allen? IMO that site is amazing. Sorry I can't link on phone

Manwich
Oct 3, 2002

Grrrrah

chupacabraTERROR posted:

Is there a good place in LA (west side) to see a good selection (and prices in my price range) of these?

I bought my girlfriend earrings at the Jewelery Source in El Segundo. The people there are really nice and patient. They showed me several earrings based on my description at different price points. Not too sure about how competitive the prices are, but I guess I would go in and look at what they have and shop around.

I'm in the same situation you are in, except I moved down to the OC and so I'm still trying to find a jeweler that doesn't give me bad vibes.

moon demon
Sep 11, 2001

of the moon, of the dream

Sharks Below posted:

Did you check out James Allen? IMO that site is amazing. Sorry I can't link on phone

This site owns a ton. I built one out and it came out to exactly $4,995 :henget:

Sharks Below
May 23, 2011

ty hc <3
I hope you bought it :D that's where mine is from and they were amazing to deal with. Keep in mind too that with them you get a 10% discount for being a returning customer ie when you buy your wedding rings. Their chat service is amazing, our consultant ended up recommending to is a diamond much cheaper than the ones we had been floundering around with. Better quality just smaller but still a perfect fit for the ring. And all their diamonds are conflict free. Honestly we couldn't be happier.


Pics never do it justice! It looks so much nicer IRL.

martyrdumb
Nov 24, 2009

pants are overrated
Love this. What are the flanking stones?

Ayem
Mar 4, 2008
I proposed to my GF of about seven and a half years around two months ago, and she said yes! We've been together since our second year of undergrad, have moved across Canada together twice - first from Victoria to Ottawa when we both went to grad school (me in chemistry, her in biology), and again when I got a job in Edmonton.

Over the years, we developed a few running jokes about eventually getting engaged. First, we had joked about her always wanting something in a Birks box, and I had never been able to afford anything from there while we were students. I told her I would probably have to find her an empty Birks box and put something else in it. A joke also developed during grad school about how I thought it was a great idea to propose with a gift card. This was the perfect setup. I checked out Birks and happened across a stunning ring from their Nordic Light collection. I know she likes small, simple and elegant, and this fit the bill perfectly: it's a 0.28c solitaire, G colour, VS1 clarity in this nice 4-point setting. The angles of the claws (north/south/east/west) are one of my favourite things about this ring - many settings I looked at had the claws out on diagonals. I like the fact that it's a Canadian diamond too.

I proposed in April when we were out for a walk on a chilly Sunday morning at a park overlooking the river. She was just starting to get annoyed with me for leading her on this long (2+ hours) walk when it was so cold, but then I flashed a glimpse of the blue box and she basically went into shock. I got down on a knee and presented her with a David's Tea gift card. We had a good laugh (breaking the tension, whew) then the ring came out. It was perfect - clumsy, silly, and romantic all at once. Very us. She absolutely loves the ring too!


(Images from GIS, don't have any photos with me right now)

Glad I found this thread. We're only in the very early stages of planning right now and are in no rush to hurry things along. We're probably looking at a date in 2016 or something. I'm learning how completely naive I was about wedding planning and how big a deal it becomes. I've only ever been to one wedding in my life (her sister's, and it was small), so I have a lot to learn about them. Fortunately, we've got three to go to this summer, so there is ample opportunity to learn.

Sharks Below
May 23, 2011

ty hc <3

martyrdumb posted:

Love this. What are the flanking stones?

Rubies :)

Faxman
Feb 27, 2009

Ayem posted:

I proposed to my GF of about seven and a half years around two months ago, and she said yes! We've been together since our second year of undergrad, have moved across Canada together twice - first from Victoria to Ottawa when we both went to grad school (me in chemistry, her in biology), and again when I got a job in Edmonton.

Over the years, we developed a few running jokes about eventually getting engaged. First, we had joked about her always wanting something in a Birks box, and I had never been able to afford anything from there while we were students. I told her I would probably have to find her an empty Birks box and put something else in it. A joke also developed during grad school about how I thought it was a great idea to propose with a gift card. This was the perfect setup. I checked out Birks and happened across a stunning ring from their Nordic Light collection. I know she likes small, simple and elegant, and this fit the bill perfectly: it's a 0.28c solitaire, G colour, VS1 clarity in this nice 4-point setting. The angles of the claws (north/south/east/west) are one of my favourite things about this ring - many settings I looked at had the claws out on diagonals. I like the fact that it's a Canadian diamond too.

I proposed in April when we were out for a walk on a chilly Sunday morning at a park overlooking the river. She was just starting to get annoyed with me for leading her on this long (2+ hours) walk when it was so cold, but then I flashed a glimpse of the blue box and she basically went into shock. I got down on a knee and presented her with a David's Tea gift card. We had a good laugh (breaking the tension, whew) then the ring came out. It was perfect - clumsy, silly, and romantic all at once. Very us. She absolutely loves the ring too!


(Images from GIS, don't have any photos with me right now)

Glad I found this thread. We're only in the very early stages of planning right now and are in no rush to hurry things along. We're probably looking at a date in 2016 or something. I'm learning how completely naive I was about wedding planning and how big a deal it becomes. I've only ever been to one wedding in my life (her sister's, and it was small), so I have a lot to learn about them. Fortunately, we've got three to go to this summer, so there is ample opportunity to learn.

Well congrats first of all. :toot: And that's a very nice classic looking ring as well.
If you're planning on having your wedding in Edmonton please feel free to share any great contacts/deals/bakers you find, since that's where I'm having my wedding next March. All the big stuff seems to be taken care of, but it looks like there's still 3000 little things.

HOLY FUCK
Mar 31, 2007

Cats are terrifying, everyone knows that! 'Cause they're witches! And they've got knives in their feet!


What exactly is the bridal shower for? Do I bring the gift for the couple there or am I supposed to get something just for the bride to bring to it? I'm already trying to save for the bachelorette party, if a gift is required can it be something little? I'm not even sure what get.

Sorry for the likely repeat, I tried to read as much of the thread as possible :saddowns:

Edit: Never mind, it looks like you bring a small gift for the bride to the bridal shower and the other gift to the wedding. Still don't really get the whole bridal shower thing but I'm a lot less worried now :)

HOLY FUCK fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Jun 12, 2014

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Bread Set Jettison
Jan 8, 2009

Any recommendation's on websites for booking the honeymoon? I tried Expedia and it doesn't want to process my request for some reason.

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