Engagement Rings

[stamp92]

Anybody with advice on where to get good value for money when buying an engagement ring? I have no idea what good value for money is. I dont know what stores are more expensive than another. I don't know anything about diamonds or gold etc.

Also any advice on best romantic places to propose? Ideally if it involves spending money again somewhere that is value for money.

When i say value for money i dont mean because i want to give my girl something cheap but i dont want to be ripped off. Paying for something when i can get exactly the same somewhere else.

I've known this girl for four years. Any advice on what kind of ring to get...i know she likes either white gold or silver ring. How much should i spend?

Also any advice on where to get value for money when it comes to wedding dresses and suits and cars and most romantic place to get married?

[malcpro]

I think 10 years is just about right, but hey, I'm a romantic

[Ramrod]

A very personal question that you want the answer to....
I think that the best we will be able to do for you is to tell you our own experiences.
We married 9 years ago.
The engagement ring was made for us using a diamond from one of my mothers (non sentimental) rings to a design that we saw somewhere and both liked. It was made for us in platinum, by a hells angel who had a shop in Lion Walk in Colchester. Cost: £190 I should add that I proposed using the original (donor) ring and had the stone re-set later.
The wedding rings were made to order by a high street jewelers in Norwich, platinum bands. Cost: £550
The dress was made for us by a seamstress in Norwich. It was an 'A' line in Shantung silk. Cost: £95
Wedding was in a registry office in Tunbridge Wells. Cost: about £50
Reception in Royal Spa hotel in a private room for 9 of us. No expense spared on food and drink (plus bridal suite and brekfast for us) Cost: £600
The room in the hotel was beautiful with lovely views over the gardens.
We kept the guest list small (immediate family) because we didn't want a big 'do' and we were not well off.
We are both really glad we did it that way and parts of my more distant family still don't really speak to me now.....but I didn't like them anyway

[homealone]

Originally Posted by Ramrod

A very personal question that you want the answer to....
I think that the best we will be able to do for you is to tell you our own experiences.<snip>

very true, Ramrod - I think you got a bargain with that dress, btw

We married after knowing each other for 3 years & living together for the last two. We originally decided on just a wedding ring, to save money, but did eventually buy an engagement ring - both pretty cheap.

Wedding was in registry office, guests were immediate family, reception was a pub lunch & back to the in-laws, we didn't worry about a wedding dress & the 'honeymoon' was a night at a hotel in Cambridge. So all very cheap - but not as good as my Mum, whose second marriage was conducted during her lunch hour (the registry office was next door to where she worked)- and she went straight back to work, afterwards

- anyway, we celebrate our 25th anniversary this year, so my experience is that the money spent on rings/dress/reception/honeymoon etc etc, is not proportional to eventual happiness and it is what happens after the wedding that is important, not the wedding itself

- but, of course, if the 'proper' wedding is what you both want, then go for it - and my best wishes to you both

[Halcyon]

Originally Posted by stamp92

Anybody with advice on where to get good value for money when buying an engagement ring?

Yes. Outside supermarkets they often have those machines where you put in 20p, turn the handle, and a ring pops out in a little cup thing.

Originally Posted by stamp92

Also any advice on best romantic places to propose? Ideally if it involves spending money again somewhere that is value for money.

I think the bestplace is normally when you are alone. How about going to the first place where you met ? or maybe cooking her a lovely meal with nice music on and proposing then.

As for where to get married..... Are you the adventurous type who would like to try getting married in an igloo, in a hot airbaloon, or something like that ?
You could try Venice which is meant to be the most romantic city but its quite expensive there.
Or how about having a beach wedding ?

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by homealone

very true, Ramrod - I think you got a bargain with that dress, btw

Like I said, it was an A-line......basically a simple, straight, above the knee, off the shoulders, no-frills dress. You're right--not a bad price though!
edit--much like the one in the pic just shorter (and more figure hugging) and less 'puffed up' at the top

[skyblueheroes]

Ours cost £1300 from the jewellery quater in Brum (good place to go btw if local).

I always thought a good rule from old days was one months salary. But, this seems to have been forgotten about these days. It shouldn't matter how much it is, but I'd recommend proposing first, then getting the ring - you could spend £18,000 and it would still be the wrong one !!!

We got married in Antigua, so the cost was just like an expensive holiday. Eighteen family and friends present though, so it was very nice.

As for where to do it..........very difficult without knowing the people. Maybe a nice meal at a very romantic restraunt (spell ?) or a weekend away somewhere (I did it in Brighton) !

[Russ B]

They do say about a month and a half's salary should go on an engagement ring

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by stamp92

Anybody with advice on where to get good value for money when buying an engagement ring? I have no idea what good value for money is. I dont know what stores are more expensive than another. I don't know anything about diamonds or gold etc.

Also any advice on best romantic places to propose? Ideally if it involves spending money again somewhere that is value for money.

I've known this girl for four years. Any advice on what kind of ring to get...i know she likes either white gold or silver ring. How much should i spend?

Also any advice on where to get value for money when it comes to wedding dresses and suits and cars and most romantic place to get married?

The Ring, well you need to get swiftly up to speed on gold, silver and platinum quality marks and for the diamond, the 4 Cs Cut, Clarity Colour and Carat

four c diamond on google brings up lots on this e.g. http://jewelry.about.com/od/diamondsfourcs/ but the long and the short is that a smaller higher quality diamond can look far bigger and brighter than a bigger lower quality / colour diamond.

What kind of ring should you get, well she will be wearing it and if you don't feel in a position to make the decision as to what ring will be on her hand for the rest of her life then propose with a band of tinfoil and have a day planned soon after to go ring shopping with her.

They say you should spend a months salary (gross) . Its a good benchmark, but if that means the wedding, honeymoon, house purchase are out the window then you don't there will be plenty of time for the diamond earings, eternity ring, tennis bracelet.

Romantic place to propose, that should come from within, a place you both fell for one another, have always wanted to go, have enjoyed spending time in (no not bed).

For the wedding think what you want, how this compares to what your family (her mother) wants and work toward that.

The £/$ rate means identicall dresses can often be £££ cheaper from the US or ebay, you do need to find a seamstress for the alterations though. Have a visit to local and national wedding shows http://www.nationalweddingshow.co.uk/ runs four of the better ones. Local shows will be better for finding local florists, car hire etc.

And think about your invitations, they are the first thing anyone else will see regarding your wedding and set the tone for the day, formal, casual, elegant.

[Escapee]

10 Years as far as I'm concerned, but make sure theres an early get out clause!

[Bex]

i don't think there is a specific time limit on getting engaged, i think it depends on the relationship and whether it feels right.
as for where to propose... most girls actually have an ideal place they imagine, try speaking to her girlie friends and find out where your women would like it to happen.
also find out what type of ring she would like... you might pick up clues from when she walks past jewellers and goes goo-ga over a ring, or again ask her friends.
i know that i speak to my friends about my ideal ring and the way i would like to be proposed to.
as for the amount to spend, personally i'm a bit of a romantic (im sure you'd never guess lol) and am not materalistic, so i think it's the thought that goes behind it that counts, and the gesture.
remember getting married isn't about the money you spend on it, as gaz has shown, it's more a complete sign of total commitment to that one person, hopefully for life

[monkey2468]

Ive just got married last month, we have been together for 7 years and engaged for 6. Market cross jewelers have good reasonably priced rings.

[Chris]

We were engaged for 15 months but would rather it had been a lot less. We had known each other for 10 months when we got engaged (and were 'romantically involved' for only five of them ). The length of our engagement was pretty much dictated by the fact that Mrs T (then Miss G) had committed herself to a year as a volunteer schools and youthwork organiser with Scripture Union Scotland after she graduated.

We never lived together before we were married, although she and I both stayed at her parents' for the few weeks before the wedding, being otherwise homeless at the time! (We bought our house immedaitely before the wedding and moved in immediately after honeymoon).

As for your engagement ring, the first thing to say is avoid Elizabeth Duke at Argos like the plague. It is cheapo cr@ppola. They say you should spend a month's salary on a ring, which I did - about £750 at the time (local newspaper hacks are not well paid). Someone mentioned the 'four Cs' above, that is good advice. If you get your ring from a reputable high street chain like Beaverbrooks they should give you a certificate with the full details of your diamond on it, so you have some idea of its quality. It is unlikely you will be able to make an educated judgement yourself about the exact quality of your diamond, unless it is especially poor or if you have one of different quality to compare it with.

All that said, Mrs T says if I had proposed with an Elizabeth Duke ring she would still have said yes (or a ring-pull for that matter). After all, it's about a lifetime together, not a piece of jewellery.

[Maggy J]

Spent £75 on the engagement ring,£50 on the wedding ring(are you going to have one).Spent nothing on a dress as my sister bought it.
Spent nothing on a reception my sister paid for it.Got married in the registry office on a special license(NO I WAS NOT PREGNANT).

Went on honeymoon with a borrowed £50.

Been married for 30 years in July this year.

Never regretted not spending much for the wedding.Frankly it doesn't matter what you do spend on the engagement or wedding as long as it is done for the right reasons.The main thing is to not be in debt at the start of your married life together.

However does the girl of your dreams know how you feel or is this going to be out of the blue for her?IF it's the latter I suggest you drop a hint or two so she is a little prepared.

[SOSAGES]

marriage is pointless unless like the old days u get the old mans goat herd and 10 saddles for taking his dumpy daughter of him.