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I have to be honest. Our ring budget is small. Veeeerrrry small. Like $400 for both of us. Luckily, Mr. CB was feeling generous one day and told me I could have $300 and he’d take $100. Well, to be honest, $300 doesn’t get you very much at all in the land of diamond and platinum.
I like to think I’m very resourceful. I find bargains on everything I can, and that includes my wedding band. My first thought was to find a jeweler to make the ring. Luckily, I had a friend of a friend who happened to be a very talented jeweler: Katrina Lapenne. She doesn’t necessarily make wedding jewelry, but she makes some very cool stuff and I had faith in her that she could make a great wedding band.
We chatted about my budget and what I was looking for and I started sending her inspiration photos. I also sent her pics of my engagement ring so she could try to create something that matched.
The first ring I loved was Ms. Perfume’s first ring. Even though Ms. Perfume didn’t love it.
(source)
The next ring I found that I adored was by Anne Sportun. She designs “experimental jewelry”, so if you’re looking for something unconventional, check out her designs. I found the ring below on a site called Persimmon, Handpicked Objects.
Since the above ring is over $1,500, I thought I’d look for something without diamonds. Apparently, that isn’t the answer, either. Check out this beautiful, diamond-less $2,845 ring I found on Clay Pot.
(source)
Finally, I came across this nontraditional eternity band on Sundance. It’s the Stardust Diamond Ring. It’s just under $1000, which means, it’s still way out of my budget.
(source)
After emailing back and forth with Katrina, the jewelry designer I knew, we couldn’t move forward. What I wanted was too specialized. It would take too much time for the price I could pay. She offered to buy me a ring off a wholesaler site (since she’s a business), but I never found anything I really liked. I really wanted something unique (surprise, surprise), so I moved along.
Were the wedding bands you wanted way out of your budget? How were you resourceful in getting what you wanted?
My ring budget is a bit roomier, so I didn’t run into the exact same problem… but I did with the e-ring. I kept falling in love with these designer bands (where the matching wedding band would have busted the bank, anyway) and it was really frustrating to find a ring that I loved that was twice what we wanted to pay. I eventually solved the problem by going to a less expensive store that didn’t carry big name designers, but had all the variety I could have dreamed of.
Have you considered getting a simpler wedding band (maybe with some less intricate details, like this one http://www.bluenile.com/wedding-ring-white-gold_7330?sort=LTHP) or one with just milgrain edges? You could always get the other styles you’re loving now as an anniversary ring later. 
I was looking for something JUST like what you’re looking for, and was about to pay $800 for a carved ring like the one you posted. During one last tour around the store before committing, I found a ring that was PERFECT - and best part, it was in the “everyday/cocktail” jewelry section of the store, was 50 percent off and cost about $200.
Don’t just limit yourself to looking in the wedding sections at a jeweler…lots of cool (and cheaper) stuff available in other sections!
Yes, my budget is very close to yours. I am looking into using stones from a ring I inherited from my grandmother, which I’d never wear in it’s current setting. It’s still pricey, but working with a local jeweler I think we are going to fit it in. Have you tried overstock.com?
Look at places you wouldn’t normally. Bidz.com has pretty stuff and bidding starts at $1 and sometimes Walmart and Sams (Costco of the midwest) has amazing stuff. Like Walmart.com has a black diamond band for $115 that my sister is probably going to get. Don’t forget the mall. A lot of those stores have some great stuff at reasonable prices. We got my guard for $350 and it is 1/3 ct, so not amazing but pretty good!
Yeah…I have a gorgeous engraved platinum Tacori engagement ring, but when it came to the band we were too poor to get something to match. I ended up with a plain palladium band from Sam’s Club that was about $100. While I do eventually want to get a Tacori band in platinum, the palladium should wear down the same way and the color matches, so I am satisfied for now!
I think I like the first one best. Of course there’s no sense going way out of budget, especially in times like these. I guess if you can’t go for “big” then just go for “unique”…
Sometimes a jeweler will cut you a deal if you supply the stones and sell them some gold.
My wedding band ended up using stones that we traded from an old diamond bracelet which had been made smaller. Also, I had some old pieces of gold that the jeweler was willing to trade for.
~Julie
I’m in about the same boat. FI had my ring made and the setting was brought in from a vendor the jeweler worked with. I’m sure there is a band that matched; however, he had the jeweler add peek-a-boo diamonds from his grandmother’s wedding ring to my e-ring so a band would rub up against it. We aren’t sure what we’ll do just yet. I’m thinking we’ll still pick out the band I find and love-within budget-and I’ll either wear it on my right hand (backwards, I know, but my RH ring finger is slightly bigger) and for pics on the wedding day I’ll probably still put them together on my left ring finger. Oh, and I love the etching on the first and third rings–my e-ring has that and bead set edging
What about going with a vintage ring? They are usually pretty unique and you can find good deals. (Plus it would probably go well with your vintage engagement ring!)
Something like these:
http://www.marleneharriscol.com/categories/VintageWeddingBands/WB1781.html
http://www.antiquejewelrymall.com/r652.html
http://www.marleneharriscol.com/categories/AntiqueWeddingBands/WB2027.html
Mr. Cookie and I bought our wedding rings for under $800. But I bought a white gold ring (even though my e-ring is platinum) and Mr. Cookie bought a yellow gold and silver ring.
Check out raredevice.net They have some affordable but unique and cool rings. I looooove their jewelry.
Those are REALLY pretty. I love the leafy clay pot ring.
We had a similar debate- my fiance wants something pretty simple he feels comfortable (ie. without fear) removing for golf/hockey etc. so we found a simple, white gold, comfort fit ring for him (4mm- looks amazing) for a couple hundred bucks.
I was debating between a 1/2 eternity band and a simple white gold band to match with my tiffany nova-esque ring. I located this: http://www.ice.com/rings/anniversary-diamond-ring-prd_rda_017482.jsp and it’s 1/4 carat, 1.5 mm ring for $275…
I googled for a discount code, and received 20% off + free shipping within the US (sent it to a friend). It was something like $204 USD all in. It arrived the other day and it’s beautiful- crisp clear diamonds and the band is so dainty and pretty. Since it was such a steal, I’m still considering the 2mm white gold band to pair with it.
There’s a yellow gold one too, as well as brown and black diamonds.
Might be worth considering given the price point you’re working with?
I thought it would be easier to find something in our original budget too, but wedding bands are quite pricey. I originally thought $500 would be reasonable, but the ring that I wanted to compliment my e-ring is closer to $900. This is the ONLY thing I’ve agreed to go over budget on and the reason is that it is something I will wear forever, unlike so many other wedding day splurges. I figured the $400 difference was worth the money for something I would wear and cherish every day.
Oh and I wanted to note that my guy is getting his wedding band from Amazon.com! We’re going to a store to try on rings to get an idea of what he likes, but it’s amazon all the way after that. They have VERY reasonable prices for the guys stuff!
If you like the look of eternity bands- don’t have the diamonds go all the way around and use white gold instead of platinum. Good luck. I love those vintage rings posted above!
We negotiated with a jeweler to get a better price on Mr. Bruschetta’s ring, and ordered mine from a store in Delaware — so no taxes on that purchase!
Our ring budget was even smaller - $300 - and we managed to hit pretty close! We got him a fantastic and way affordable tungsten ring from http://www.titaniumkay.com (about $60) and I got a vintage art-deco inspired ring from http://www.antiquejewlerymall.com (my actual ring: http://www.antiquejewelrymall.com/r639.html). I wanted something that was unique and most importantly NO DIAMONDS which helped the budget a lot! This was also one of the few places that had vintage inspired rings that fit my tiny fingers (4.5) if any other small fingered brides are having issues finding the right ring!
Wedding bands are crazy expensive. I’m not sure I can give any great suggestions for your band but if you Mr. CB is looking for a great ring for around $100 my suggestion is to look in to titanium. My husband has a titanium band and he loves it. Our budget allowed for us to spend alot more than the $99 that it cost but he was set on it!
Even though there are definitely a lot of designer rings that you could pay a ton of money for, there are actually many more affordable options for wedding bands online than you would think. You can actually get platinum wedding rings for under three hundred dollars these days. Blue Nile has some very nice platinum rings in/around your budget, like this one http://www.bluenile.com/wedding-ring-platinum_6287?sort=LTHP and this one, if you open to getting something simpler http://www.bluenile.com/wedding-ring-platinum_22?metal_filter=platinum&sort=LTHP. I also found this one… still a little pricey, but closer to what you’re looking for http://www.weddingbands.com/ProductPop_wedding_bands_metal/T123841PP.html.
I would recommend using engagementguide.com to find a design you like, and then just continued searching until you find something comparable. Good luck!
We randomly found my wedding ring in the mall at a store that was going out of business for $100. Maybe you can see if any stores are closing down near you?
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Mrs. Cowboy Boot, Santa Fe Age and Occupation: 25, Magazine Editor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Artist and Whitewater Rafting Guide Engagement Date: April 28th, 2008 Wedding Date: October 2009 Venue: Devil's Thumb Ranch, Colorado About Me: I grew up in Los Angeles and have since lived in San Diego, Boston, Italy, Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Fe. I speak Italian and love pasta. My real passion is the outdoors, though. When I'm not at work, I'm snowboarding, hiking with my two dogs, mountain biking, surfing, cross-country-skiing, or boating New Mexico's rivers. Despite my boyish love for adventure, I'm a girly-girl at heart and am overly-excited to pull off the romantic, vintage-inspired, country wedding of my dreams.
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