Wedding Blog

Did you guys always know what kind of an engagement ring you wanted before you got engaged? If so when you finally tried on the ring you always wanted, was it the same as you imagined to be or no?
Would you recommend trying out rings first to see if it goes with you before deciding on the perfect ring?
What sites do you recommend for engagement ring browsing?
Thanks!

Ana: I found the design of my e-ring on theknot.com. The e-ring gallery there is AWESOME. I emailed Mr. Spider the design I liked and he figured out the rest from there. I def. think you should try on different styles in person. I always thought I wanted a princess cut solitaire (blame it on Carrie and SATC) but after trying on several different cuts and styles I knew round with side stones was my true love.

Hey Ana,

Why don’t you try checking out http://www.pricescope.com? It’s a site devoted to everything about diamonds. And the girls on the messageboards seem to be really helpful and nice. =)

As far as my ring - I gave Mr. Bee a general idea of what I liked (it was a v. modern design) but he surprised me with something that was totally different (an antique). But I love that it’s one of a kind and I get compliments on it all the time!

just try a couple of things on to find out what you like… ring shopping is one of the most fun parts of wedding planning. =)

Once the fiance and I started talking about getting engaged, I knew wanted a round center stone with baquette side stones. When we started looking at rings, the baquettes didn’t do it for me so I changed to a princess cut center and side stones. I tried some of those on but they just didn’t look right. Then we found THE RING. A round/brilliant cut center stone with princess cut side stones. It was nothing like what I thought I wanted…but once I saw it on, I knew it was the right one for me.

I found I really needed to see how each ring looked on my finger. The best thing I would recommend is to try on as many rings as you can. Looking at them in the case or online is nice and can definitely help narrow your search but seeing it on your hand makes a big difference.

I have always wanted a low-cost engagement ring because i think it’s silly to spend lots on a ring that i’m going to wear for 6 months. Then I wanted to go ring shopping w/fiance to find a wedding ring.

But my fiance knew I wanted something with three stones that “do not stick out” to wear the rest of my life. He ended up surprising me with a PERFECT engagement ring that I absolutely love and get LOTS of compliments on and will continue to wear it as a wedding ring.

My suggestion: let you fiance know generally what you like, go look at rings together so that he can get a feel for it…then let him go for it. Men do have good taste sometimes…or they listen to the salespersons.

for e-rings, i recommend bluenile.com as a good site to get an overview of different cuts and side stones. but like everyone else says, trying on is the key!

i always (always, always) thought i wanted an Asscher cut stone. then when Mr. Daisy and i went around the town trying them on, i just was not loving the cut on me. at Graff, i tried on a cushion-cut, only for the purposes of checking out a certain setting, and then fell in love with the stone. and to that point, i had never even considered cushion. so…

in-person is definitely the true test! good luck!!!

I agree- got to pricescope.com! once I found that I was in heaven! There’s lots of great information and drool-worthy pictures! Everyone is very friendly too!

Must try on!!!
There was this ring that I thought was so so perfect… but when I went to try it on, it looked so bad on me… (i have really small/skinny hands so fancy rings look awkward)
So I started chanting about how I wanted a small skinny ring because big rings looked funny on me…. and he took the hint and found one that I love love love… (and is flattering on me) ^_^

Oooh, Miss Daisy, would you mind showing us what your ring looks like? I also love cushion cuts!

I had a vague idea that I wanted an antique-y ring with some sort of leafy design, possibly with diamonds and green stones. And I wanted it to be white gold (not as soft as platinum so my clumsiness won’t scuff it up as much).

My fiance and I started to get disenchanted with more mainstream jewelry stores. The biggest problem for us is that I wanted a modest stone with an antique touch and most modern rings with simpler designs rely on a big rock to really “make” the ring. But then he got the brilliant idea to check out the smaller jewelry stores in always funky Berkeley.

The stores we visited had rings in many styles. I tried a bunch on and ended up with an antique-style setting in the metal I wanted. My modest rock was specially ordered and set. It’s cute and surrounded by pave stones in a delicate, intricate style and raised with a basket design.

It wasn’t what I thought I wanted, but when I tried on the setting I knew it was it. So try lots of stuff on!

Also, to each their own ring and style. If you don’t see what you like, move on and don’t let pushy salespeople sell you a ring that just isn’t you. My fiance went to Tiffany’s and they tried to sell him things he knew I would not like. He showed me which ones later online and I confirmed I didn’t like them. It’s hard for me to say “no” to salespeople (I feel so guilty) but you gotta do it. And if you don’t want a big rock and you let your fiance know, he’ll probably face some disapproval from jewelers who’ll think he’s just being chintzy (that’s why I started going with him to pick my ring and to shield him).