Weddingbee Blog

I have been searching high and low for the perfect wedding band. I will be wearing my engagement ring and my wedding band on different hands. I think a lot of people do this now because their e-rings are a unique shape.

Anyway, as always, I went to Tiffany’s for fun. I found this ring, called the Jazz, and it was actually very pretty.

I don’t know if you can see it, but the diamonds are graduated in size - meaning they are larger in the center.

We found Mr. Butterfly’s wedding band months ago. Since it will be a plain platinum band, we decided to buy it at Tiffany’s. Platinum is pretty much the same price anywhere, so why not? Mr. Butterfly really liked the Lucida plain band 4.5mm - which seems to be a popular contender these days. However, this last time around, I made him try on the 6mm and I like it better. And since I like it better, that’s what he’ll get. Hahahaha. Seriously, it looked much better on his hand.

Since Mr. Butterfly’s ring would be a Lucida, he thought that the Lucida wedding band for me would be nice, since they will “match”.

Personally, I am not a big fan of the channel setting so I passed on this option. It is beautiful, but I’m looking for something a little more unique.

Then we went to Fortunoff to look at some more, and I found 2 rings there that I liked. Unfortunately, I cannot find pictures of them anywhere online. Do you think if I go back, they’ll let me take pictures of it on my hand? I think they may be a bit protective about that. Hmmmmm…..

Emma Jane & Tan is another vendor I met at the BFF Bridal event. I thought their food themed necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings and pendants were just the sweetest things.

They also carry many other non-food designs, like a skull and crossbones, that you can mix and match to make a unique creation for each bridesmaid.

Available for purchase at retail stores across the country and online at Jennifer Kaufman (which incidentally carries tons of cute bridemaid gift possibilities).

Gothamist recently featured a story about a Manhattan court ruling where a woman was allowed to keep her 3.41 carat, $40,000 engagement ring, even after she broke off the engagement.

Typically, courts have ruled that if the bride breaks off the engagement, the groom should get the ring back. (nydailynews)

Dana Clyburn Parker and Brian Callahan met on the online dating service match.com in 2001, and became engaged in July of 2002. But in 2003 when Parker discovered that Callahan was continuing to pursue other women online, she broke off the engagement. Callahan then demanded that she return the ring and sued when she refused - this was when Parker found out that Callahan had been married the entire time they had been dating.

The court found that Callahan’s divorce wasn’t “official” when he proposed - though the divorce was granted in June 2002 a month before he proposed, a judge didn’t sign off on it until September later that year. Technically Callahan was still married, so the agreement to marry was void, and the ring could not be considered a “conditional” gift. (source: nypost)

Is it wrong for me to think he got what he deserved?

Having honed my shopping craft to some degree at a recent trip to the outlets, I proceeded to drag Mr. Daisy to start the wedding band search (we’re talking finger-wear here, not ear candy). At the suggestion of wedding planners Farrell and Jennifer, Mr. Daisy and I headed to Fragments in Soho on a very rainy Saturday.

In the past, we had great success at Fragments, but we didn’t plan on buying on this particular occasion. The trip was more of a reconnaissance mission. There weren’t a ton of men’s rings, but there were a couple of contenders. I wasn’t allowed to bring my camera with me (cough–strict Mr. D–cough) but we especially liked a few brushed platinum bands, with some tooling/indented lines and also plain.

Then yesterday, taking full advantage of my new part-time schedule, I headed to the Fifth Avenue shops to explore more ring options. At Tiffany, I found some classic options:

plain platinum 4.5mm Lucida band

with milgraining

Somehow, in my quest to find Mr. Daisy a ring, I managed to find a band contender for myself as well:

the Tiffany Legacy ring

Aren’t I efficient? I kind of love that band for me but, at the same time, my engagement ring has detailing on the sides:

So I wonder if it’s a lame idea to block those details with a band that has plain, unblingy sides. I also suppose I could have the place that created the e-ring design a band of the same style, that would incorporate the e-ring band details, sans stone basket. Mr. Daisy thinks I should just switch my e-ring to my right hand once we’re wed, but I kind of like the stacked look. Do I switch? Do I stack? Do I customize a band?

And if I switch, then whatever do I do with my Trinity ring, which I love and currently wear on my right ring finger? And also happens to be the very first gift Mr. Daisy gave me, when we’d been dating just under 4 months.

However, all in all, I now am starting to realize the dangers Mr. Daisy warned me about. All this free time is allowing me to go completely batshit insane. I literally just spent the last 1/2 hour photoshopping my e-ring to approximate how a band in its style would look. I think this is my cue to head to the gym. For an entirely different kind of torture and stress.

Since Audrey asked after my ring, over in the beehive, I thought I ought to post a pic.

As I mentioned in the comments there, I ended up with a cushion-cut stone after a lifetime of lusting after Asschers and emeralds… Now Mr. Daisy and I knew we were getting engaged (from just about the moment we met), so we did have some ring discussion pre-engagement. His thoughts were that if he were about to drop a fair amount of money on a ring, it probably should be something I would enjoy wearing. So I told him how I adored the Asscher and it was absolutely, 100% the ring for me.

Not my ring… Just an Asscher example.

The only fly in the ointment, was that I just had no clue as to what kind of a setting I wanted. We went all around the city checking out various Asscher cuts in various settings and I quickly became discouraged. None of them looked nearly as elegant on my hand as they did in the jewel case. Then, at Graff, they had a knife edge band that I wanted to see, but it had a cushion-cut stone in it rather than an Asscher. I tried it on anyway and, much to my surprise, fell in *love* with the cut. It was what worked for me and though I had previously eschewed anything but a step-cut, I was loving the bling-y sparkle.

Some months later, Mr. Daisy proposed; I burst into tears; I said “yes” at least once; and then I noticed that the ring-which was (is and will always be) secondary to my unfettered joy at the thought of marrying this amazing fellow-was just perfect. Well, perfect for me, anyhow!

(I apologize for the blurry/dark photo-I have not yet mastered my new camera’s “Macro” mode.)

Did anyone else have a complete change of heart as to ring choice? Or did you/do you plan to stick to your guns?

I was wondering if you’ve heard of married women buying fake diamond rings when they travel. I will be traveling overseas for 3 weeks and my sister-in-law suggested buying cubic zirconia rings to wear instead of wearing our real rings. This would alleviate any worry of losing our rings. Is this a common thing?

~~~

To tell you the truth, I’ve never known anyone who did that, but it’s certainly not a bad idea. If you’re really concerned about losing your rings or even being robbed, it may not be a bad idea to wear fake ones just so you have that peace of mind. You could always look into ring insurance as well, which would cover any loss or theft.

Have you worn a fake diamond in place of your real one before?

1.25 carat cz engagement ring & wedding band - $32.49

Alex Woo’s jewelry is all the rage in Hollywood from her Little Numbers line to her Vegas Collection to her Heart & Daisy Collection and more. Everyone is wearing her jewelry!

Available in a variety of metals - silver, white gold, yellow gold and diamonds, these sweet pieces are perfect for bridesmaids gifts. You can even wear your lucky number as you walk down the aisle or create a numbers necklace or ring with your wedding date. Too cute!

Because some people were curious about the hair clip I wore to the last wedding I attended, I took a couple of photos of it. (I’m just so all about sating your undying curiosity.)

I bought the clip from my ab fab stylist Adolfo (at Paul Lebrecque), who introduced me to the concept of layers.

my hair, many years ago and P.L. (that’s pre-layers)

I adore Adolfo, even though between me and Mr. Daisy, Mr. Daisy is definitely Adolfo’s favored client. Yes, for wedding day efficiency, I have also forced Mr. Daisy to get his haircut by the same guy as me. Happily, Mr. Daisy loves Adolfo too, so it’s worked out well.

Anyway, here is a close-up of the front and back of the clip. To be sure, I think I want more Swarovski-esque bling for my wedding day hair, but this clip is definitely a good “night out” go-to…

I was walking through a local street fair yesterday when I came across a booth for Hip Chic’s watches. I thought they were the cutest thing ever!

You choose from 24 different watch faces, then have the option of at least a 100 different interchangeable bands. I picked up a watch face and 3 bands, including the one pictured below, for $75.

The best part is that the fabric goes under the watch face, so the metal doesn’t touch your skin (I’m allergic to metal). I thought these would make the cutest bridesmaid gifts! Choose fabric to match your color scheme or even their personalities.

I chatted with the designer and they’re offering a new bridal watch line.

Dressy, casual, funky - they have so many different styles, you’re sure to find one to suit every personality.

Company founder Desiree says that they can do customization in any color to match bridal color schemes and they also package in beautiful boxes & silk pillows. For more information please contact Desiree at desiree@dmecreations.com

I must say that I really do love these watches!

Um, How cute is this? It would be nice to go with your future hubs and make these to wear on your wedding day. You can wear a necklace or bracelet with his fingerprint and he can wear cufflinks with your fingerprint. Such a cute idea.

Camille Cesari
720 Monroe Street, Suite E510
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201)280-2215

Turq Bridal offers affordable crystal and pearl bridesmaids necklaces that your bridesmaids will definitely want to wear again after the wedding.

You receive a free jewelry bag - that can be monogrammed for an additional $10 - with each necklace purchase. Discounts apply if you buy 3 or more necklaces at a time.

via nymetro:

The first 50 people to purchase anything from the Elizabeth Showers Vintage sample sale will receive this pair of mother of pearl earrings for free! Prices up to 80% off retail on her website. Type NY MAG at checkout.

Elizabeth’s classically beautiful designs have been featured in Modern Bride, In Style Weddings, and the Knot magazine and are carried at fine retailers like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue throughout the country.

Her regularly priced pieces can be found at elizabethshowers.com.

We’ve featured Satya’s affordable and casual jewelry on weddingbee before. This weekend they’re having a huge sale!

Satya has yoga inspired jewelry marked down by up to 80 percent; necklaces were $48 to $258, but are now $10 to $135. Cash only.

95 Christopher St., nr. Bleecker St.
212-243-6930
Through May 21 (10-6)

(source: nymetro)

I have to admit I LOVE Costco (we’re old skool and call it Price Club in my house). Going there is like a little excursion; you never know what you’ll come out with — water, razors, multi-packs of anything and everything, the best tomatoes in the city (the medium sized ones on the vine), paper plates, cleaning products, brownie bites, cheap books ……. you walk out spending much more than you planned. Apparently, you can also walk out with an $87,000 diamond engagement ring…

This is my question: does a man who spends that much on an engagement ring shop at Costco?

5.08 ct, IF Clarity, G Color Diamond Ring, Platinum
Only One Available

You’ll be happy to know that shipping and handling are included!

I love Michael B’s designs. Maybe it’s because all those micropave diamonds make his rings so sparkly. The round trois design below is actually the style I initially wanted.

I also like the Princess ring. ‘Cuz can you really ever have too much bling?