The Holiday’s have always been a romantic time for any love birds wanting to give the gift of love to each other! The air is crisp, Holiday lights set the mood, and a warm embrace not only warms the body but the soul too! So no wonder so many couples get engaged during these wintery months; tis’ the season!
When considering the engagement ring that will set the tone for the rest of your marriage, take a minute and consider what she wants. There are several ways to find out what ‘you think‘ she would like by asking her friends or family, or even by comparing rings to jewelry she already owns, but the best way is by asking her.
Have her point out the ring she would love to be given! A good way to do this without being so obvious is to take her to a jewelry store while your waiting for the nights events to take place and just browse. When you come across the engagement rings, point out some you think she would like and then ask her if you got it right. She won’t be shy about telling you which one was on her wish list! 
The Bridal Beauty has put together an excellent list of 25 gorgeous engagement rings for under $5000
14k white gold ring with princess-cut solitaire diamond, $499.99 Helzberg
-The Wishpot Team
@wishpotwedding
Once the question has been popped, all immediate attention goes to one object: the engagement ring.
The engagement ring is indeed the ring with all the bling. It’s the show-stopper– the grand, symbolic way to show you’re excited, in love and getting married! With the new addition to your hand, all the attention is on you, and rightfully so. (Commence the ooh’s and aww’s here).
Wedding bands however, exchanged in the ceremony itself, are more subdued. It’s the “Oh, that’s nice” ring next to the “Omigosh, wow!” ring. I definitely understand the idea of making your wedding band simpler so it doesn’t clash with the wow factor of the engagement ring bling, but this doesn’t mean your wedding band should be blah.
In its own way, the wedding band is more special and sentimental. It represents the actual moment you exchange vows and rings to become husband and wife. This idea lends itself well to the idea of really personalizing your ring with your husband’s.
Remember your ring etiquette and consider these “wow!” trends to make sure your wedding band gets some attention too.
Fingerprints: Engraving (the date, initials, I love you, etc.) on the inside of your wedding bands is very common. To take it a step further, consider imprinting each others’ fingerprints on the inside of the bands. What can be more personal than that? The best part (besides the unique look) is being involved in the process of creating the bands.
Different versions of the fingerprint wedding band trend. (Courtesy of BrentWilliamsDesign.com, onestylishbride.com & lovelovemedo.com)
Interlocking: Intertwine your wedding band and engagement ring into one ring. This gives you the power to design your own one-of-a-kind hybrid band–you can literally sketch what you want and have a jeweler create your design–that highlights your style and engagement ring perfectly. (A quick how-to for your design.)
See how the engagement ring and wedding band blend nicely to create a distinct design. (Courtesy of jewelryadviser.biz, ringoblog.com, squidoo.com & viatouch.com)
Etching & Puzzle: Create a ring-union with your hubby! Instead of fusing together your engagement ring with your wedding band, coordinate your wedding band with your husband’s so the two bands match up. This can be done in several ways:
Puzzle: Mokume Puzzle Ring #1 by krikawa.com
Puzzle: Modern Scaffolding Ring by krikawa.com
The groom's band on the left has an inlay that mimics the bride's wavy band closest to her knuckle.
Be creative with your designs! Using these ideas, the wedding band will no longer go unnoticed. Make sure the bands are a solid representation of you and they are sure to wow.
-Stephanie
@wishpotwedding
One of our lovely couples was so kind as to share this story with me and so now I share it with you. A proposal is one of those things that people put a lot of thought into and they want to get it just right. It is a moment no one ever forgets and a story for the couple that gets told over and over again. This one story is particularly beautiful because it almost went so wrong.
The groom-to-be decided to take his girlfriend away on a romantic picnic and propose to her next to a lake, on a blanket filled with wine and homemade appetizers. He had had his grandmother’s ring re-set for his lovely bride-to-be. The ring being a combination of a sentimental heirloom and vintage modern day style. His plan was to hide the ring in a seashell and leave the shell on the blanket until she picked it up and found it. So far so good.
After packing the car with picnic goodies he debated at length about where to hide the ring. He was concerned that if he kept it on him, it would fall out of his pocket or it would be visible. Eventually he decided to hide the ring in the bag of spices. His lovely bride-to-be wasn’t exactly a cook and he was sure she’d never look there. He picked up the curry jar and dropped the ring in.
On the way to the picnic spot his girlfriend was distracted by a Burlington Coat Factory, which she immediately had to stop at. And so they did. Leaving all the picnic goodies in the car. An hour or so later after the shopping spree, the couple realized no one had the car key. They re-traced all their steps but the car keys were nowhere to be found. They went into the parking lot to see if maybe they left the keys near the car and it was at that moment they realized the car was gone. It had been stolen.
After numerous phone calls and hours filling our paperwork the local police found their car. It had been stolen and taken for a joy ride. It was in the words of the officer, ‘thrashed.’
The car had the upholstery pulled out, the seats sliced, speakers and radio stolen, glove compartment empty, picnic basket remnants everywhere. The groom-to-be searched but it looked like the ring was gone. And right as he was about to give up he saw it; the unshattered curry spice jar. The thieves had ripped open everything but no one had thought to look inside the spice jar.
The following day, the groom to be proposed. And his girlfriend nearly fainted when he told her the ring had been in the car the entire time. It is amazing how some things are just meant to be. This couples proposal story started the day before the proposal and it almost didn’t happen.
Anyone other almost didn’t happen proposal stories?
