All Things Wedding From Wedding Stationery to Bridal Wear

Mr. Starfish and I had talked about marriage numerous times before he proposed. He had given me a promise ring during our first year of dating, during college. We both knew we would get married, but wanted to finish college and start our careers first.

Mr. Starfish wanted to pick the ring out on his own. He tends to pick things out I would never buy for myself and end up loving. I actually like his taste in clothes and jewelry for me better than my own… 99% of the time. My favorite coat and earrings were Christmas gifts from him, and my favorite dress was a birthday gift. So when it came time to choose a ring, I knew he’d find something gorgeous.

That’s not to say I never showed him any rings I liked. If I had a magazine in front of me, I’d show him something I liked. I tended to show him halo rings. I noticed a pattern after a while, and so I was surprised when he proposed with something completely different from anything I had shown him.

FMIL and FFIL Starfish gave Mr. Starfish the ring his father proposed to his mother with over thirty years ago. Mr. Starfish was extremely grateful, but wanted to pick out something, so he decided he would use the center stone and choose a different setting.

The center stone is the original diamond, which is a circle solitaire, with 4 smaller diamonds on either side, an engraved design on either side of the band and tiny diamonds underneath each side of the main stone. It has a vintage look. I hadn’t looked at anything like it, but when he proposed with it, I knew it was my perfect ring.

And you can tell how much I love it by our little photo shoot that weekend…

Did you have any say in the style of your engagement ring?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

I’ve been hush hush about rings since my slight meltdown over the Dior ring. I mourned it and moved on with a little help from a small jeweler out of Philly, Bario-Neal.

They use recycled metals in their rings, have pretty affordable prices, and Ribs and I could get matching rings. Yay. I ended up with the Milla thin band in white gold and Ribs got the Milla round. Best of all, Bario-Neal shipped the rings in adorable glass bottles!

The rings took about six weeks to arrive and we definitely cut it close (they came yesterday!), but the rings are gorgeous. Happily, both rings combined cost less than the Dior ring.

Which of your wedding disappointments had a silver lining?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

In my previous ring post, I shared our wedding bands with you. What we haven’t yet figured out is if we will engrave them, and if so, what the bands will say. It turns out that my band, due to its size, doesn’t have enough “engravable space” (I’m a 4.75 – it’s not like my fingers are Pixy Stix or something), but the Mister’s is fully engravable! Muahahaha – now what should we put on that baby?

Some possibilities:

1. Our initials and/or wedding date.

Simple, classic and conventional

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2. “Put me back on!”

I think I saw this on Weddingbee, but for the life of me I can’t remember who did this. I think it’s witty and irreverent. However, Mr. Hamster has a more literal sense of humor, so he might see this as more of a directive than a clever joke. (Although, do I have a problem with that? Hmmm…)

3. “Lay off my Cheetos!”

Ugh, GOSH. Seriously, the Mister loves eating my food. I know this sounds kind of petty, but I love food. And I know it’s like, “What’s the big deal – don’t you share a fridge, what’s with the my food vs. his food thing?” OK I’m not going to get into it, but true story—one time I was having a bad day at work but I knew there was a slice of lemon poppy poundcake waiting at home for me, and then I got home and all that was left of the poundcake was a few crumbs on the fridge shelf and I turn to Mr. Hamster and he was all, “Oh, I got hungry so I ate that bread thing.” And then I cried.

Okay, maybe we won’t use option 3; it brings up too many bad memories.

4. Nicknames for each other

We don’t have any, unless “Babe” and “Hey…hey!!!” count.

I’ll need to think about this some more.

Are you engraving your wedding bands? If so, what are you engraving on them?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

It is no secret that I think Mr. Buttons did the most amazing job at selecting my engagement ring. It is actually hard to imagine that adding anything to it would make it any more beautiful; it is so perfect the way it is!

But… who doesn’t love a little extra bling???

If you recall, my engagement ring is a Michael M design. So, Mr. Buttons and I thought it would be fitting to shop their collection of wedding bands to see if something matched my engagement ring perfectly. And guess what… they did (not that I was surprised)! Our shopping experience for my wedding band was incredibly brief… once we saw this ring, we knew it was the one!

Michael M

Mr. Buttons shopped around for the most reasonable price, and we were pleasantly surprised that my ring would cost less than the quoted price because my finger is so small (size 4 1/2)! Smaller size = less gold and diamonds needed = discount! Score – this was unexpected but wonderful! The ring arrived a few weeks later, and I had to sneak a peek/try it on…just to make sure everything was perfect (haha…); it was!

I promised Mr. Buttons that I wouldn’t play around with it too much before the wedding, so I was only able to snap a few shots before we stored it safely away in its box!

Did you help your SO shop for your wedding band? Did you choose a band to match your engagement ring, or a completely different one?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

OK, I’ll admit it: so much of the wedding planning process is a “me me me” thing, that I sometimes can neglect Mr. Buttons a bit! My head is filled with visions of flowers, wedding dresses, bridesmaids’ dresses, and the like…

So, let’s get back to the topic at hand: marriage. And the outward symbol of that marriage that Mr. Buttons will wear on his left hand. I’ll admit; I put ring shopping off for months and months. I am not sure why, because I was more than excited to hound Mr. Buttons to purchase mine (I know, I’m a jerk, right???). Plus, I love to shop… so it should have been no problem for me!

However, I was hung up. Mr. Buttons and I did go to a few jewelry stores to price out their wedding bands. The problem is that Mr. Buttons is a relatively simple guy. He doesn’t want anything too “fancy”, and I agree. But, the plain gold or white gold wedding band was just not doing it for either of us. It is classic… my dad has been wearing one just like it since my parents got married, and it works just fine!

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But, with the amazing job that Mr. Buttons did with my ring, I felt like I had to do something a bit more personal or unique.

Enter Etsy. I spent a few days scouring the vast expanse of wedding bands offered. There were some very unique pieces, and I was intrigued!

I kept stumbling upon rings featuring rosewood. I love the rich color and the unique look of it!

Hawaiititanium

ZoeAndDoyle

This ring was also very intriguing to me; if you didn’t like the rosewood on the outside of the ring, you could sneak it to the inside! Apparently the wood will darken naturally over time when it is in contact with your skin; neat!

ZoeAndDoyle

Sadly, Mr. Buttons vetoed the rosewood rings; he was worried about the upkeep, and was questioning whether or not he would still want to wear it when he gets older (it might be too “trendy” for his liking). I did stumble upon a similar ring style featuring titanium and carbon fiber that had a lot of potential:

ZoeAndDoyle

I also enjoyed the hammered look… it is unique, yet still traditional enough for Mr. Buttons’ taste!

Seehara

But then I stumbled upon Fabuluster, and my search came to an abrupt conclusion. My heart skipped a beat when I saw these rings. They are the perfect blend of sentimental, traditional, and funky… and I adore them! Seriously, take a look at some of the rings in their Etsy shop:

(The following images are from Fabuluster)

As you can see – the outside appears to be a traditional wedding band… but wait! Look inside – what is that? Oh… it’s a fingerprint… and not just anyone’s fingerprint… it is your own!

The artisans at Fabuluster send you an impression kit that you imprint your finger on. To make a long story short, they take your imprint, and using a wax casting process they form the ring with your fingerprint on it! The print can be on the inside, or on the outside, if you’re feeling adventurous…

But, which one did we pick? I decided to opt for the classic…I’d like to think that it is business on the outside, party on the inside:

Also, I know it is really sappy, but I love the fact that my hand will essentially always be touching his… and that perhaps this ring will become a great keepsake for future children/grandchildren/etc. I’m really excited to start the impression process and receive the final product!

Did you have a hard time shopping for your SO’s wedding band? Which style(s) did you gravitate towards?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Oh yes, I know what you’re waiting for—the e-ring. You’re curious to know what Mr. Gingham got me, right? Of course you are, everyone always wants to know what the e-Ring looks like! I’ll end the suspense now… here you go. My lovely trellis setting, princess cut solitaire with a super-thick band (note – the band thickness was very important to me).

I picked this puppy out long before Mr. Gingham and I had ever talked about marriage. I don’t have the most dainty of fingers and I’ve always chosen rings with thick bands, and my e-ring wants were no different. I found the ring I wanted a long time ago on Tiffany’s website (who doesn’t browse there, right?). Anyway, I fell in love with the Lucida ring, but not the price tag.

I know many people who have rings from there, but I just didn’t want one. Because I am a bargain hunter I wanted to find a similar looking ring for much less.

After many hours of “interneting” I found out that Costco carries diamond rings and that their diamonds are actually of a very high quality. Read this article from ABC news for more info. So, I headed over to the Costco website and there it was—my dream engagement ring. It looks just like Tiffany’s but at a fraction of what it would cost there. I ended up showing the ring to Mr. Gingham many, many times, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that ring inside the box he proposed to me with. I love my ring. It makes me so happy every day I look at it. And do you know what else? It appraised for double what he paid for it!!! How’s that for a deal? I’ve already found the wedding band I want, and guess where we’ll be buying it from? Costco, of course! By the way, I never actually saw the ring in person so kudos to Costco.com for doing such a great job with their online images (and I’ve heard they have a great return policy).

Oh, and a little more on Costco (I love that place by the way). We’re the type of members where we get a percentage back from our purchases, so my engagement and wedding rings will actually be making us money that we can use later (I promised Mr. G he gets to buy a new TV after the wedding). We’re also thinking about booking our honeymoon through them. What a place!

Did anyone else bargain shop for their rings, or buy online? Where did you get yours from?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular engagement days of the year, especially for celebrities and bridezillas. In recent years, Harrison Ford, Vince Vaughn, and even Howard Stern popped the question on Valentine’s Day. With the upcoming romantic comedies “Leap Year” and the aptly named “Valentine’s Day”, Hollywood is buzzing about the perfect engagement ring and hottest proposals.

My ears are perked too. There’s nothing like celebrity engagement bling to get a bridezilla’s heart rate pumping.

And when I say bling, I mean bling. Amy Adams, Rachel Bilson, and Jessica Alba are all dripping in diamonds and platinum, and each one is a showstopper. Naturally-white platinum means diamonds sparkle that much brighter, and it’s durable – all those little celebrity children will have quite the heirloom to look forward to. 

Check out some of my favorites. I’ve even given a couple Bridezilla tips so if you and your man-zilla are craving the celebrity style, you can do so at a slightly lower cost.

You’re welcome.

I love Ms Cruz’s non-traditional sapphire ring surrounded by pave diamonds. The Kirk Kara look-alike retails for $4,785… without the center stone.

Classic and oh-so shiny, Emily Blunt has a stunner on her ring-finger. Platinum and diamonds (lots and lots of diamonds), Chad Allison’s similar style at around $3,500 (center-stoneless of course).

Girlie, you are going to tip right over with a rock like that on your hand. Exactly the way it should be. This platinum sparkler features a cushion cut center ensconced in a halo of more diamonds. All this could be yours at a delightful $4,500 (without center stone) courtesy of Mark Patterson.

There you have it. A platinum showdown. I can’t wait to see what other celebrity engagements will abound in only a couple of weeks.

For all of your platinum needs, be sure to check out Precious Platinum . For everything else wedding related, come right back here to Bridezilla. Stay tuned!

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

I don’t think I’ve told you yet about Mr. Spaniel’s wedding ring, so gather ’round; it’s story time!

Once upon a time, Mr. Spaniel was reluctant to go shopping for a wedding band. He’d gotten the idea somewhere that the only acceptable men’s ring is a plain white band.

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While I really like the simple, modern but also classic style of a platinum or white gold wedding band, it didn’t strike me as being particularly Mr. Spaniel—which he confirmed by his lack of enthusiasm for it. Instead, I figured I knew Mr. Spaniel better than he knew himself, and dragged him along to another jewelry shop to get him to try on rings. I had a feeling that if we found the right one, he’d get excited about the prospect of wearing it, and doesn’t everyone want their partner to be happy wearing their ring? I also had a feeling that the right ring would be two-toned.

(source)

As it turns out, we were both wrong! A plain platinum band actually never touched his finger (he had no interest at all once he saw all the other options), and he seemed to gravitate toward more “interesting” and complicated designs all on his own. But he didn’t go two-tone…

personal photo

He threw some rose gold in there too and went three-tone.

That Mr. Spaniel. Such a diva.

Did your FI have any preconceived notions about the wedding band? Did the choice surprise you?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

The journey to finding our rings for Mr. French Fries was quite simple. We went to a jeweler, he picked out what type of metal he wanted (tungsten, for the record), what millimeter width he preferred (not sure of the exact measurement… but it’s pretty wide), whether he wanted it brushed matte or left shiny (he decided on a mix of both) and was pretty much done. I love his ring (and love it even more when he tries it on “for size” and checks himself out in the mirror!).

For me, however, it wasn’t that simple.

For me, however, it wasn’t that simple. Because I have a halo ring (I can’t say that without getting Beyonce’s “Halo” stuck in my head, by the way), finding a band that fit flush against my e-ring was somewhat of a challenge. We went to the jeweler where Mr. FF purchased my e-ring, and they didn’t have anything that fit the way I wanted to (or at all).

I knew what I wanted: two bands (yes…one for each side, because obviously my e-ring doesn’t have enough diamonds on it already) that fit flush against the band of my e-ring. With the number of halo rings on the market now, I didn’t think we’d have a problem, but we did. The jeweler that Mr. FF purchased my ring from said they could make a custom ring, and they thought it would be in the ballpark of what we were willing to pay. With that, they took my e-ring for 10 days (side note: it was a long 10 days!) and sketched a design of what the wedding band would look like.

The day that my e-ring was ready to be picked up and the sketches were ready to be looked at, I was a teensy bit nervous. What if it was more than our budget allowed? I told myself to wait and see, and we went to the store. Inside, we got the bad news: ONE band would be more than what we had budgeted. Way more. Like… it wasn’t in the realm of possibility of working with our budget.

Dejected, and somewhat upset that their estimate was so completely wrong, we left the store and decided to wait to buy anything. Then, on a whim one Saturday, Mr. FF suggested we try a local jeweler in town. I didn’t have high hopes that they would have something that would work (they’re a pretty small shop) but decided that it couldn’t be worse than our experience with jeweler #1.

Evidently, it was our lucky day! They had a wedding band set that fit perfectly against my e-ring, thanks to little notches built into the shape of the bands. And, it was within our budget! We decided to wait on ordering them, since the totally awesome saleswoman informed us on the DL that they would be having a wedding band sale in 3 weeks, and that we could get 15% off our total order if we waited. Three weeks later, we went in and ordered my two wedding bands as well as Mr. FF’s band all for less than the quote for ONE custom band from jeweler #1. Score.

So, without further ado…my bands.

There’s a little gap between the bands and my e-ring in the pictures, but that’s just because they’re slippery and setting them up was challenging! I haven’t decided if I want to solder them to my e-ring band just before the wedding or not. The jeweler recommended it, as the bands rubbing against each other can cause damage to the setting and to the stones. We’ll see, since that means not wearing the set until the wedding day!

And now, some shots of our rings together:

Le sigh. I can’t wait to wear them on our wedding day… and forever!

Was finding your wedding band as easy as you thought it would be?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.