We’re starting a new feature called the Beehive!
We get a lot of reader email at weddingbee, and while we’d love to help each and every one of you, unfortunately we can’t answer every single question. Well how great would it be, if we could tap into the collective wisdom of our readers? I’m sure many of you have oodles of great ideas, advice and tips to share!
I like to think of weddingbee as a community - kind of like a beehive if you will, where we help each other out. So if you have a question or need advice, just leave a comment on this post and the many wonderful readers out there in weddingbeeland can probably help! After all, many bees are better than one! 
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In today’s hive, Ana wants to know about engagement rings.
Please feel free to add your own question to the hive!
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20 Responses to “Beehive”
ANOTHER AWESOME IDEA~! Oh bee, how i heart this website. We NEED TSHIRTS~!
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.
i actually reccommend going to jewelers and trying rings on. i really liked the tiffany’s lucida when i looked at pics online, but it was kind of bulky when i tried it on. however, a small independant jeweler (they often have much more unique designs) had a princess cut bezel design i liked. i ended up having my rind custom designed to incorporate things i liked in several rings and i love it!
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. =)
mrs bee you have no idea how much this site has helped my planning!!! i didn’t even know where to start w/anything wedding related and now i feel like i know at least the basics and all these wonderful sites are helpful!!! so thank you
ana - i agree w/everyone here… go try it on. that’s what i did and i did change my mind about what i would like. i thought i wouldn’t like princess cut at all and when i tried it on and saw that big beautiful square diamond winking at me…. i knew i’d love it! and that’s the one my fiance got for me good luck!
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.
One more thing… http://www.adiamondisforever.com
has a ring design feature. You pick the center and side stones, metal type, etc. Lots of fun!
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.
i say, go to the 2nd floor of tiffany’s (flagship store) and try on every ring there is! i didnt want my fiance to buy a tiffany’s ring (overpriced) but its still fun to try on rings at THE store for e-rings, right? Go with a man though, otherwise you wont get too much attention.
My fiance and I went to try on rings multiple times at multiple stores. and I always thought i wanted a princess cut type of ring, but apparently they dont look good on my hand. The sales person at Tiffany’s told me to try on my current ring, and though I hated the idea of any pear shapes on my ring…I literally gasped with surprise at how beautiful it was.
go try them on!!!
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’m a pretty simple girl, and I told my fiance that I didn’t even need an engagment ring. So when he surprised me with my round-cut solitaire I was in love! It’s simple, classic, yet modern because it’s set in white gold. Before getting my ring I knew the only thing I really disliked was a marquis cut, but beyond that I really wasn’t picky. I love my ring and wouldn’t trade it for any other one in the world, but just didn’t think about it too much before I got it.
Am I the only one who didn’t spend years dreaming about the perfect e-ring?
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!
Your story sounds just like mine, Katie. I didn’t really think about an e-ring until I got mine and I kept telling my fiance to not get me one cuz I’d rather use that money for the hmoon. But I told him if he really wanted to get me something, just give me a fake one so that everyone will know I’m taken. 
Of course he didn’t listen to me and got me a round solitaire with a white gold band, which I love. Prior to this, we had never gone ring shopping and I wasn’t even sure what cut or metal I would like. So I was really touched that he knew me well enough to get me what I would like (well, he did spend a year researching rings…).
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) ^_^
Ana: I completely agree with everyone. My bf and I went to look at rings a few months ago because I was deadset on an emerald cut and everyone was trying to talk me out of it. So we decided to go look at one in person, and although I still think it’s beautiful, we decided to go with a radiant cut. At the jewelers, we were also able see what type of band I wanted and I learned that I love the antique look over the more modern look at bluenile.com. We both loved this one ring so much, he’s going to have it replicated by our friend. I can’t wait to see it later!
Oooh, Miss Daisy, would you mind showing us what your ring looks like? I also love cushion cuts!
Like everyone else, I had a specific idea of what I wanted — either three stones or a princess cut solitare — but when I tried them on, I changed my mind. The one I feel in love with has a princess cut center stone and pave diamonds down the sides.
I recommend going to a neighborhood store on a quiet day when they can spend time with you. We went to three stores in the city and had horrible service, which made the process very stressful. Finally we walked into a small family store, and they let me try on everything (including a 6 carat canary diamond..whoa) and go back and forth over the ones I liked.
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).
I, too, went the vintage way. I never tried on rings–and I never could design one online that I could see myself wearing.
We got a jeweler’s name from my sister and my fiance did the rest on his own. I couldn’t have even imagined a more beautiful ring than the one I have–it’s from 1910-1920, old European cut stone with a kind of deco setting. I love it.
Mrs. Bee, New York
Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet
Engagement Date: May 7, 2004
Wedding Date: March 5, 2005
Venue: Westside Loft, New York
About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
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!