Proposing to your future wife can be a mind-racking feat that is fraught with stress and the potential for heartbreak. When we start the journey to choose the perfect engagement ring for just such an occasion, it is imperative to set a budget and start to look for rings that fill all of the requirements that we feel are necessary to find the perfect ring for her personality. In many ways, this will be the last ring of this kind we should ever have to buy, so we need to get it right. The engagement ring is a symbol of everlasting love and must be chosen wisely as to make sure that our bride is happy with its look and the way it represents your loving bond. There are many choices, so we must listen well when she drops any hints of any kind to get a true feel for what she likes and does not like in jewelry.

When you have known your future wife for awhile, it may be easier to pick something out, but when you have recently met her, it may prove to be a difficult task. You can choose something very traditional or something that you think will be perfect for her based on what you do know. One thing is for sure, the bigger the diamond the better, but you do want to make sure that the diamond you chose is high-quality and from a reputable source. Asking a friend or relative is also a good idea as they may know exactly what she wants. Unfortunately, if you do not even have that luxury, a design by a well-know jeweler may be the ticket. Some rings are so well designed that it doesn’t matter what she thinks she likes, these types of engagement rings will satisfy even the pickiest of women due to the amazing quality and uniqueness.

Recently, on the show The Bachelor, Jake Pavelka used a Neil Lane diamond ring to propose to the winner after choosing it from six exquisite designs. This was probably a decision much less based on the woman’s tastes then that fact that Neil Lane is known for his exquisite designs. The ring chosen was a beautiful princess cut diamond surrounded by 70 other diamonds totaling 2.72 carats. This ring is a perfect example of the good use of high-quality diamonds as well as outstanding design. Neil lane rings are worn by well-known celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon and Kate Hudson and can cost many thousands of dollars due to their beauty and rarity. Each ring is custom made with the best precious metals and near-perfect diamonds to a stunning effect.

The Bachelor is a television show that airs on ABC where one lucky bachelor lives with single women for seven weeks and, after getting to know each one, picks a bride. Reality shows are very popular and this one is interesting as it is a game that these women have to play to win their dream man. In a way, it is the ultimate reality as you will be married as a result of winning, so you need to be yourself and see if you are compatible. As time goes on, the bachelor will eventually weed out those who he would never marry and hopefully narrow it down to a few candidates that he could see himself with. The Neil Lane diamond ring is a classy, well-designed ring that it truly doesn’t matter if he picks one that suits a woman’s personality as any woman would be grateful to wear a beautiful creation such as this.

Bling and over-consumption is so ‘80s. If you’re planning to get married today, couples are much more aware of the financial consequences of such a decision. The recession has put a damper on lavish ceremonies, but there’s still one way you can impress your lady when it comes to the proposal. Show her you can find a special diamond ring that’s not going to break the future marital bank.

Everyone Wants A Deal These Days

Budget crisis in the news and forced reduction in hours or layoffs has everyone looking for a deal. People about to get married are no different. They still want the perfect proposal, wedding, and honeymoon; however, as this is an event that’s only supposed to happen once in a lifetime. It does call for a little something special. That might mean that the trip to France is still on for the honeymoon, but other deals are scouted out, like buying alternative wedding bands for the ceremony.

Couples Getting Smart with Wedding Budgets

One place that people still want quality and size is the diamond engagement ring. Prices can vary greatly at retail stores, but smart shoppers are realizing the best deals are online. Not only is it easier to shop for a diamond engagement ring online, but it’s easier to make an informed decision that fits your budget. There’s no annoying sales clerk trying to steer you towards something outside your budget just so they can make a fatter commission.

By doing some investigations online, couples have the choice of virtually designing their own diamond engagement ring, from a multitude of stones and fashion settings. They can change the type of metal in the setting or manipulate the cut, clarity, color, and carat weight to reduce the price. They can visualize the final result with a 3-D ring builder that is available online to help them decide whether it’s exactly what she wants at the price you want.

Alternative Metals for Wedding Bands

Gold has always been traditional for wedding bands, but it has become very costly during this recession. Now, you can opt for other types of metals, from tungsten and titanium to white gold to get a more modern twist, and less of an impact on your wallet. These wedding bands will last forever, just like gold, in most cases. The metal colors are easier to accessorize with today’s modern palettes also.

Imagine Her Delight

She’ll be thrilled to get just the right ring and also realize that there’s plenty of money left in the wedding budget for the wedding of her dreams. As these recession couples start out their lives together, the financial lessons of today are creating adults that want to get the most value for their money that they can. It’s not about being cheap or sacrificing quality, it’s about knowing that your money is being spent well. You should be able to afford what you want, but not have to pay too much for it. Do that and you will certainly impress her in a big way!

Being in the jewelry business we have seen many things, from fake diamonds that look real, to some of the most unusual bridal party accoutrements ever.  But one of the newest wedding trends to come out off the fashion runway already for 2010 is a wedding dress that is edible.  Literally.  The edible wedding cake is not a fairy tale.  It has actually been made and worn on the runway to the fashion pundits of the world and it is making ripples in the industry that is not even possible when you pour a cup of coffee into a mug.

Made up of layers of wedding cake – and based on the pictures we’ve seen just about every flavor imaginable is in this cake – the Cake Dress is being considered the ‘Cinderella’ of edible bridal gowns.  With a full skirt that looks like it has a hoop under it reminiscent of something out of ‘Gone With The Wind’, it is definitely an artistic piece that is not practical enough to really wear down the aisle.  Let’s face it, a cake dress is to be admired and…eaten.  Not walked in.  The full skirt is topped off with a sweetheart neckline bodice and all of it is literally painted onto the bride.  The frosting?  As close as we can tell it looks like butter cream.

The Cake Dress is the creation of Lukka Sigurdarottir, an artist from Iceland.  Unfortunately, every time someone from the industry has attempted to contact the artist she is unable to be found.  There is very little known about the edible dress, how it is put together, how much food is actually in it and so on.  We’re actually interested in knowing how much the dress weights, what the bride would wear under it and how, exactly, she is to get out of the dress once most of the skirt has been cut and served to the wedding guests.  The last thing any bride would want to do during her reception is stop, take a shower, get dressed, and go back to the party in her honor.

It is apparent that the Cake Dress is probably not going to take off anytime soon down church aisles around the world.  Just the preparation alone to get into the dress is something that truly boggles the mind.  The weight of the cake alone – as the skirt is solid to the legs as far as we can tell – would make it hard for a woman to walk in, let alone move.  This dress is purely for standing in, having pictures taken, and then having it sliced off and served.  And let’s stop and think about how many people would actually be willing to eat the cake.

While all brides want their wedding day to be special, most of them probably are not willing to allow themselves to be bound up into this edible confection of a wedding dress.  Other than the logistics of moving, there are other things that would need to be addressed, such as the call of nature.  Most elaborate wedding dresses are made in such a way that the bride is able to wear the dress for the ceremony and picture taking and then remove portions of it so that they are not weighed down for the fun that the reception holds.  Fabric wedding dresses are always going to be preferred over the Cake Dress.

It’s not a crime to dream big, unless you’re using someone else’s money to fund your dreams! Luxurious weddings may be the norm for jet setters and large celebrity events, but even ordinary people long to throw a big bash that can impress their friends and provide memories for a lifetime. That temptation to splurge can be over-powering for some people, who look for ways to have their big dream even if they can’t afford it. If the event comes with a huge price tag, what can a struggling worker do these days? If you’re Joanne Kent, you don’t give up those big dreams. You just have your employer pay for them! While she got her big dream, it also came with a big price tag and certainly will provide the life-long memories she craved, even if they turn out to be a lifetime of misery now. Her actions have since cost her two years of her life in prison as the details of her scam came to light.

The Scam of a Lifetime

Two months before Joanne Kent left her former employer, Wilson UK Ltd, Joanne decided to embezzle almost a million dollars (£470,000) to fund her big dreams. The dream included an over-the-top wedding to her fiancé, David, at a cliff-top hotel, complete with champagne and fireworks. The guests were treated to their rooms (with the entire hotel reserved for the event), and also given Armani bracelets as favors.

Ms. Kent wasn’t just concerned with the welfare of her guests; however, as she had also used many of the funds to engage in a lifestyle that included two sports cars, a Mazda and an Audi A4. After the honeymoon, she planned to retire to the homes whose mortgages were financed with the stolen funds. She would have gotten away with it, too, if she hadn’t made a small, but deadly mistake.

How She Was Caught

The scam consisted of pushing payments to her bank account, using the names of established clients from the firms. She would change the details of the bank account numbers only, thus disguising payments to verified clients and escaping notice from her employer. The scheme unraveled when she made a large payment to a United States firm, using the sterling currency instead of dollars, which set off alarms within the company. The account under the United States firm was actually her own account.

The Sentence

The mother of two was sentenced to two years in prison, a lenient sentence due to her status as a mother of an eight-week old baby with hip problems. The sentence may be carried out in a mother and child unit. Further hearings will deal with how or when the money can be repaid to her former employer. Despite the supposed altruism of providing a lavish wedding for her guests, Joanne will still be responsible for repayment of the entire amount. Her new husband will have to deal with caring for her other child while she does her time.

So, what does recycling cans have to do with engagement rings and vintage jewelry? Well, for one couple in Spokane, Washington, it means everything in the world. Bride and groom to be Andrea Parish and Peter Geyser have begged people to give them aluminum cans to donate so that they can pay for their wedding. That means from the vintage jewelry they want to the engagement rings and wedding bands, they want to be able to help the environment and pay for their wedding. It’s a great and noble cause to help everyone involved, really. But, what does that mean for the vintage jewelry that they might want, or their engagement rings?

Well, talk to Alcoa Inc. Alcoa is a gigantic manufacturing company based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they specifically manufacture aluminum. The postage for shipping a lot of aluminum cans must be pretty high though, so instead Alcoa has decided to help pay for those engagement rings by making a $1,710 donation that matches up with the area’s recycling rates. Engagement rings suddenly don’t seem too pricy with a donation like that, and to think it’s all to help the environment while paying for their wedding. And it isn’t just to help them pay for their vintage jewelry. It’s because Alcoa is trying to reach their own goal, a recycling rate of 75 percent by the time they reach 2015. And how great is it to know that thanks to this large donation from Alcoa to help with all the vintage jewelry, Parish and her groom can safely say they’re now officially 65 percent to their actual goal for the wedding. Continue reading »

Ever have one of those “uh-oh” moments when you realize you’re about to make a big mistake? Maybe you were tempted to throw your engagement ring into a river, before realizing that you really do love your fiancée? Or, how about throwing away a long-standing relationship because things have soured a little? That’s what happened to Lee and Jan Jones, of Britain. After 20 years of marriage, they decided to call it quits, only to realize that you just can’t throw away this type of love, despite the problems that come with it.

The Bad Economy and Love

Like so many other couples during this recession, the Jones had experienced severe financial problems that affected their marital happiness. While the marriage vows do include the phrase “for richer or for poorer,” many couples are finding the financial stress of this economy unbearable and unlike anything experienced in the past. Just like the Great Depression tore families apart, the Great Recession is having a similar impact on the relationship decisions people are making every day. As the Jones found out, the decision to stay together for love, despite money issues, is one that comes from the heart and not the head or the pocketbook. However, the decision surprised even them!

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Weddings are beautiful: a time when a couple in loves makes a legal commitment and vow to spend life together. Although there are always gifts exchanged between husband and wife, each anniversary has a specific item that is traditionally given. Keeping track of the year when diamonds are bought for a wedding anniversary is usually not a priority because it is so far away. For instance, a first anniversary would be celebrated with something made of paper whereas a sixtieth wedding anniversary with a diamond. Continue reading »

Marriage is a big step that you take in life, a serious commitment to another to spend the rest of your life together in bliss. But for some, that partner is hard to find. From cheating boyfriends to women who would rather shop than be married, it can be difficult to find that one person who you will spend eternity with and see on a daily basis. Many people joke about marrying a favorite pet because that pet will not cheat or talk back or be moody. Well, for a woman in Ghana, that dream has become a reality, a very strange fulfillment indeed. Just recently, Emily Mabou of Ghana wed her trusty canine companion, a handsome Pug. Continue reading »

There are many inventive ways to make clothing and you often see contests crop up that test the creativity of people around the globe. Creativity is at an all time high these days as more and more people are able to create designs that rival those seen in the fashion industry. It takes quite a bit of talent to make these creations and it is impressive to see the results. Not only can a contest like the recent one held in conjunction with cheap-chic-weddings.com and Ripley’s Believe it or Not! uncover true talent, it can also reap the winner a big reward for their efforts. In fact, the winner of this contest won $1,000 and internet fame as their dress will be the talk of wedding and fashion sites of all kinds. Continue reading »

Themed weddings are hot, even if you’re not doing the nuptials on the beach. There are a variety of ways to make your special day stand out from the classic church wedding. Exotic locales have always played a bit into the themed wedding, whether it is a princess wedding at Disney World, or a romantic wedding under the balcony where Romeo wooed Juliet. To do it up right, though, don’t just let the place set the mood. Having just the right setting can be the start of a dramatic and dreamy wedding that will enchant your guests and hold a special place in your heart for years to come. To really set the mood, opt for jewelry and accessories that highlight the theme more. Continue reading »