| Teach me about getting married. - Click HERE for Original Thread |
| little_one_der |
So lately, I have done a lot of thinking about my current relationship. I can see us together forever, till... And I think I am going to pop the question this year.
My questions is this, what happens when you go to buy rings?
Are they usually a set consisting of an engagement ring (has the diamonds) and wedding band (not usually diamonds). And then the guys ring is separate? Am I supposed to buy my band too, plus the brides? How does that kind of stuff go down? |
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| AudiInProgress |
| You buy everything. |
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| little_one_der |
Awesome.
Which ring usually has the diamonds on it? The engagement ring or the band? |
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| GT45 |
Buy the engagement ring first. Some couples go together to pick out the engagement ring, some don't and the guy relys on his memory to back him up on what she wants. Sometimes the girl wants the engag ring to match up to her band.
Pick out the ring yourself (princess cut white gold's pretty common) and go out and learn about diamonds. She'll like it no matter what if she's in love with you.
Congrats and the best of luck to you my friend and I hope everything works out for you guys :) . People knock marriage all the time, but it's not something everyone can properly do. I was almost there so I hope things work out good for the best for you.
Oh yeah, and if she says something about wanting to go to thailand and she needs to "find herself", punch her in the face and fucking run!! |
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| AudiInProgress |
| Who said you need to buy two seperate rings? |
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| little_one_der |
Thanks for the advice GT.
And AIP; I don't know who said it, I just thought that's how it goes... :dunno:
Edit: I also want to stay far away from conflict diamonds and don't want to purchase from retailers that offers them. Are there any in Edmonton I should stay away from. |
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| STiPWR |
quote:
Originally posted by GT45
Buy the engagement ring first. Some couples go together to pick out the engagement ring, some don't and the guy relys on his memory to back him up on what she wants. Sometimes the girl wants the engag ring to match up to her band.
Pick out the ring yourself (princess cut white gold's pretty common) and go out and learn about diamonds. She'll like it no matter what if she's in love with you.
If your girl wants to pick out her engagement ring, tell her to fuck off. Its your prerogative to pick one out, she can always get it sized. If she doesn't like it, she can give it back. Dont be a bitch, and dont fucking upgrade... 1st step in her controlling the marriage.
Most girls prefer traditional yellow gold for a wedding ring. Size of the diamond depends on the girl. You can go a bit smaller and get good clarity/color (VVS1, VS1) or go for a huge rock full of imperfections (I9).
Engagement rings in my opinion, and traditionally are picked out from 2 months salary. Its something she is going to keep the rest of her life... make it good.
Wedding bands can be picked out as a couple. Mine didnt even ask for an expensive one after she seen the engagement ring. Men's dont have diamonds, women's usually do.
My wife (Diana) manages People Jewelers at WEM on the 2nd floor. If you want to go talk to her she has about 9 years experience with diamonds and advice.
Tell her "Yoooooooooouuuu That totally steller cat STIPWR sent me, he said you'd hook me up with sum mad tyte dealzzz!! He's the shizzzniiit".
Or say you know Aaron from 780tuners, and she'll help you out. |
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| Driven |
quote:
Originally posted by STiPWR
Tell her "Yoooooooooouuuu That totally steller cat STIPWR sent me, he said you'd hook me up with sum mad tyte dealzzz!! He's the shizzzniiit".
Or say you know Aaron from 780tuners, and she'll help you out.
hahaha A+ |
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| SilverNeonRacer |
| In my case, my wife picked out the rings, we didn't do the engagement thing, she just picked out a matching pair of white gold/yellow gold bands. These are ones we could put diamonds in later if we want... but she's not really into jewlry.. so meh.. |
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| ReasonOne |
I had my fiancee's engagement ring made from scratch. I sketched several designs from my imagination and spent the better part of 3 months convincing a friend of the family - one of the best jewellers in Alberta to come out of retirement and make my ring. Fortunately, he used to race cars in the 60's and 70's so we got along very well.
I let him have all the time in the world to make it as I wanted it done right. I never applied pressure or gave him time constraints, as he didn't like to be rushed. I bought the gold in advance (well before prices got outrageous - YES!). He was patient enough to examine my designs and offered his recommendations. Whenever he rejected a design, he told me why. He even told me which type of designs are cheaper to make compared to others. I would recommend this man 100X over as he paid attention to even the most minute details. He can even copy a design for you as long as you show him a picture or draw him one. He also saved me a small fortune.
When I went to get the ring appraised, the manager of the place commented on the quality of the work and asked who made it. When I mentioned his name, all the employees in the lab stopped EVERYTHING they were doing, came over to his desk and spent 2-3 minutes examining the ring - oohing and ahing in admiration. The manager mentioned that my jeweller was known for his meticulous nature. I was also VERY pleasantly surprised regarding the appraisal - did I mention this man saved me a small fortune?
If you were in the Calgary area I would have PM'ed you his name and #. If you were willing to leave town to get it done, I don't think it will be a decision you will regret. IF you are interested let me know. I commend him on his incredible craftsmanship and professionalism and I would not hesitate to recommend him to others. He picks and chooses his work and - on the whole - does it as a labour of love. His prices are also excellent given the level of craftsmanship at your disposal.
As long as you make it clear that you've put a lot of thought and effort into it, your girl will like the ring and love you forever. It's not even the budget that matters. If you can make her feel as precious and unique as the ring you give her - even more so - then mission accomplished. Best of luck to you and hope everything works out. |
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| lowslowcorrado |
quote:
Originally posted by STiPWR
[B]If your girl wants to pick out her engagement ring, tell her to fuck off.
haha. I love that. I agree, buy a ring you think she will like, and pop the question with it. Isn't it supposed to be somewhat of a suprise? Maybe I've seen too many romantic comedies. |
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| xbr50 |
quote:
Originally posted by STiPWR
If your girl wants to pick out her engagement ring, tell her to fuck off. Its your prerogative to pick one out, she can always get it sized. If she doesn't like it, she can give it back. Dont be a bitch, and dont fucking upgrade... 1st step in her controlling the marriage.
Solid advice right there. I find it pathetic when you see a guy at the diamond store picking out a ring.. only to see his girl right beside him telling her which one she likes. :rolleyes: |
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| shortie |
I agree with the above ^^^
even from a girl's point of view, I think it is just a sign of disrespect and snobbiness for a chick to demand she pick the ring.. fuck her, she obviously is too vain and stuck up and thinks you are a useless tit and doesnt trust you too much and why would you want to be in a relationship for ever with that....
I know some who know ahead of time they will pop the question and he asks her to come show him what she likes, but to me thats a little anticlimatic in my opinion. As a woman, you should be damn happy with the shittiest walmart ring ever if you love the guy, it doesnt matter.
in my opinion, white gold or platinum with princess cut is A+. simple yet unique, I love ReasonOne's story - something like that would be an amazing story to tell the girlfriends and shows how much it meant to you to go to the trouble, etc... |
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| little_one_der |
Awww man. Thank you so much everyone.
Her parents are going to be visiting Alberta this summer, and I know that her dad wants me to ask him for her daughters hand. So I guess I'll have to get all my courage and ask him first. But I don't think it'll be a problem. I've been to Nova Scotia a couple times now and her uncle is very protective of his nieces, and he shook my hand and said that the family really likes me. |
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| CKXtreme |
I just did all this in February. Unfortunately I didnt have any hook ups as you might get.
I picked the ring, on my own. We had talked about it previously, and I got an idea of what she wanted, but at the end of the day, I choose the ring.
I went to Independant Jewellers in the west end. They were quite helpful. This was after my 45 second fiasco at Spence, where I will never set foot in again. I can explain if anyone asks, otherwise I'm not typing it out.
I walked in with a predetermined price point, withdrawn from my bank in cash, in an envelope. I searched through a bunch of rings, found the one that I liked (which also happened to be a few hundred more then I alloted) and asked them to make my choice work with the money I brought.
They did. She loves it. It all worked out well.
I didnt buy any bands yet. We're not getting married until next summer, so I'll worry about it then. |
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| AudiInProgress |
quote:
Originally posted by CKXtreme
I just did all this in February. Unfortunately I didnt have any hook ups as you might get.
I picked the ring, on my own. We had talked about it previously, and I got an idea of what she wanted, but at the end of the day, I choose the ring.
I went to Independant Jewellers in the west end. They were quite helpful. This was after my 45 second fiasco at Spence, where I will never set foot in again. I can explain if anyone asks, otherwise I'm not typing it out.
I walked in with a predetermined price point, withdrawn from my bank in cash, in an envelope. I searched through a bunch of rings, found the one that I liked (which also happened to be a few hundred more then I alloted) and asked them to make my choice work with the money I brought.
They did. She loves it. It all worked out well.
I didnt buy any bands yet. We're not getting married until next summer, so I'll worry about it then.
PM me your horror story!
haha |
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| midnite |
I have many friends in the same situation as you right now, so here is some of what I have learned.
First, Some girls are allergic to either white or yellow gold, and can only wear the other. Better find that out. Rings can also be resized, so don't worry about that.
If you have no idea what style of ring she likes, throw a flier from a ring store in with the rest of your unsolicited mail each week or two. It will naturally catch her eye, and she'll read it like a kid at christmas holding the sears wish book.
This will help you narrow your search down to a couple styles, but you should then pick out the rings yourself from there. The fact you did all the work and selected it yourself adds to what makes it special to her. |
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| xbr50 |
quote:
Originally posted by shortie
I agree with the above ^^^
even from a girl's point of view, I think it is just a sign of disrespect and snobbiness for a chick to demand she pick the ring.. fuck her, she obviously is too vain and stuck up and thinks you are a useless tit and doesnt trust you too much and why would you want to be in a relationship for ever with that....
I know some who know ahead of time they will pop the question and he asks her to come show him what she likes, but to me thats a little anticlimatic in my opinion. As a woman, you should be damn happy with the shittiest walmart ring ever if you love the guy, it doesnt matter.
in my opinion, white gold or platinum with princess cut is A+. simple yet unique, I love ReasonOne's story - something like that would be an amazing story to tell the girlfriends and shows how much it meant to you to go to the trouble, etc...
Right on the money. :thumbup: |
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| TrevorK |
From the research I have done, a lot of people recommend using http://www.bluenile.ca as a starting point, it will give you an idea of what the approximate prices will be for what you want.
You can then use this as a comparison when you hunt around for the actual ring (or buy it from Blue Nile).
Blue Nile is a very reputable store and receives much positive feedback for it's quality. All of their diamonds come independently appraised (GIA/AGSL).
The other place I've read many positive things about is Costco, as apparently they will bring the ring in and if you aren't happy they will gladly take it back.
Either way, I know some are going to disagree with the two choices above but I would definitely at least go online and use them as tool for gathering what some of the price are. This will help educating you before you actually step foot in a diamond store. |
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| little_one_der |
| And that's what I need really, as much education in this stuff as I can retain, before I go and spends some bills. |
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| stealth |
Those 25 cent machines have some pretty nice engagement rings.:dunno:
Good luck man!:thumbup: |
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| Graphicdude |
| I took my wife to Spence Diamonds, she tried on a bunch, we bullshitted with the sales guys for awhile by letting him do his thing. I kept note of which rings looked good on her finger and which ones she liked. Then I went to Diagold, gave them a sketch of the design, told them what I wanted for diamonds, they made the whole ring, I end up paying 50% less then the regular mark up at retail jewelry stores and I wasn't broke in the end :D |
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| little_one_der |
I might have found one.
14K white gold. Solitaire.
.50 Carat, Princess cut
E color
S1 Clarity, but I couldn't see anything with my naked eye, and under a loupe I could only see a tiny white inclusion in the area that is covered by the setting.
Canadian diamond.
$2999
It was really great looking. The color was great. But I think I should see if I can get the same ring with a VS1 clarity diamond.
I'm also getting more partial to the blue nile site. It's nice to be able to go through and pick color, cut, clarity, before you pick out a ring.
I'm thinking my upper limit is $3,500. $4000 if I can find a huge rock with excellent features. :D
Scary. |
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| RSready |
quote:
Originally posted by Graphicdude
I took my wife to Spence Diamonds, she tried on a bunch, we bullshitted with the sales guys for awhile by letting him do his thing. I kept note of which rings looked good on her finger and which ones she liked. Then I went to Diagold, gave them a sketch of the design, told them what I wanted for diamonds, they made the whole ring, I end up paying 50% less then the regular mark up at retail jewelry stores and I wasn't broke in the end :D
+1 for Diagold. Had a lot of custom stuff made there over the years, including engagement ring and all my wife's jewelry for the wedding. |
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| Flex |
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| bw54867 |
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| ehos |
Now, if you just spend half as much effort into the real 'marriage' part of it, you'll do fine...
(It's interesting that alot of married people spend so much time, effort, money into the actual wedding/planning, and after they are married, NADA). No wonder the divorce rate is over 50%.
The marriage starts after the ring shit is over son. I've only been married 6 years (best thing to ever happen to me) but it's not all the pre-planned nonsense that matters at all, it's the day to day living and loving.
After you're married, you can ask any married man the 'real married man secret'. (Can't post it on a public forum you know...) |
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| STiPWR |
quote:
Originally posted by little_one_der
I might have found one.
14K white gold. Solitaire.
.50 Carat, Princess cut
E color
S1 Clarity, but I couldn't see anything with my naked eye, and under a loupe I could only see a tiny white inclusion in the area that is covered by the setting.
Canadian diamond.
$2999
It was really great looking. The color was great. But I think I should see if I can get the same ring with a VS1 clarity diamond.
I'm also getting more partial to the blue nile site. It's nice to be able to go through and pick color, cut, clarity, before you pick out a ring.
I'm thinking my upper limit is $3,500. $4000 if I can find a huge rock with excellent features. :D
Scary.
Looks like you're doing your research :) :thumbup: |
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| shortie |
| good call on the white gold with princess cut. can't go wrong. clarity isnt a huge deal, cept the more sparkle and bling in the light is always nice :thumbup: |
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| Beerking |
I've noticed many younger women are tending to the white gold for both engagment and wedding bands, so one does not offest the other.
My wife and I went together a couple times to 'ring search' and I quickly knew what she wanted. SO when the time came I went with my mom for the companionship and go what "I" thought was right for her, and she of course loved it not for what it was, but what it meant. Her band is very complementary to her engagment ring, both of which where not that expensive, rings wise. But being in school at the time, and spending my scholarship money on it meant more in the end to her than the final price. If she loves you and by the sound of it she does, well then congrats and Im sure whatever you choose for her will be great. |
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| 95EagleAWD |
quote:
Originally posted by STiPWR
Tell her "Yoooooooooouuuu That totally steller cat STIPWR sent me, he said you'd hook me up with sum mad tyte dealzzz!! He's the shizzzniiit".
"Stellar cat"?
Hahahahaha....:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: |
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| STiPWR |
quote:
Originally posted by 95EagleAWD
"Stellar cat"?
Hahahahaha....:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
I try :D |
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| Realistic |
| once the ring goes on.. the legs close |
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| ehos |
quote:
Originally posted by Realistic
once the ring goes on.. the legs close
To other guys... otherwise you married the wrong one... |
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| Realistic |
| Lmfao. You have a point. I'm not married. But for those whose wives are like that. It's cheaper to have em knocked off. Lol. Jk. |
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| little_one_der |
Realistic, I almost pity your views. I hope you find someone...
On another note. Holy shit. Blue Nile has a rock; .78 carat, D color, VS1 clarity, "Very good cut." $3420. Locals can't touch that.
Is the length to width ratio important? Does it affect how good the diamond looks?
Edit: One thing I don't quite understand about the Blue Nile site is where they get their diamonds. They are all certified. Does that mean they fall under the Kimberly Process?
Edit 2: Wop-wonnn. The Canadian diamonds don't have as much selection. They go from .6C D VS1 to 1.05C E SI2. Boo. |
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| Realistic |
| Sarcasm my man. And besides, marriage isn't for everyone. Though, it will be for me. |
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| airpak |
Yellow gold is oldschool. I think most people are into the white gold now. I got my fiances ring from ben moss. You get 10% off if your a student. I kept looking at all the specs and stuff but in the end just went in and picked one that I thought looked nice.
Looks something like this.
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| little_one_der |
Ahh Realistic, my sarcasm meter didn't catch that one ;)
And I did find a nice one at Ben Moss. Shoot, though, didn't know they offer a student discount. I liked the one I found. It was nice color, and cut, and everything. I'm wondering if they can bring in a bigger one. Something closer to my 3500 window. It was certified Canadian.
I still have to check out Independent and Diagold though. |
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| GOT SE-R |
quote:
Originally posted by airpak
Yellow gold is oldschool. I think most people are into the white gold now.
Depends on the woman. Mine loves yellow Gold and a bunch of her friends to too. But then again, they all are 27-36yrs old. lol |
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| STiPWR |
quote:
Originally posted by GOT SE-R
Depends on the woman. Mine loves yellow Gold and a bunch of her friends to too. But then again, they all are 27-36yrs old. lol
X2 |
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| 2008rav4ltd |
Well I just got married on July 05. I got engaged a year ago. The engagement ring was a family loom and also free fifty free :p. The wedding rings were picked together by both of us 2 months before the wedding. We got similar styles. We went cheap, because we have a baby on the way and a house purchase.
With a wedding all I can say is don't cheap out and a rehersal is very important. When it was time to put our rings on we had the wrong ones and we had to do a quick switch. But we laughed about it as it happened. My wedding cost about 6 grand and had 85 people or so. But we got alot of things for a good price because someone knew someone who knew someone. We also had it in Wetaskiwin at this very nice park. Finally got with a three dollar bar. This will help you recover all your alcohol cost plus maybe 50 bucks. This depends on how many free drinks are given out. Also get some you trust to be the bartender or to many drinks will be given away free. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.
Finally plan to buy a house in a year or so. Most people get married a year after being engaged. |
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| Flex |
You guys are all rookies....Im on marriage number 2......:eek:
:D |
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| 2008rav4ltd |
| Must have been shitty to lose some money going through the divorce. |
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| Flex |
quote:
Originally posted by 2008rav4ltd
Must have been shitty to lose some money going through the divorce.
Actually she had alot more then I did when we got married....I made out like a bandit.......:thumbup: |
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| Beerking |
quote:
Originally posted by Flex
Actually she had alot more then I did when we got married....I made out like a bandit.......:thumbup:
F*%#in rights, about time them women got it served back!
You are my hero (only if you slept with her hotter sister and married her) |
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| Flex |
quote:
Originally posted by Beerking
F*%#in rights, about time them women got it served back!
You are my hero (only if you slept with her hotter sister and married her)
no sorry.....her sister wasnt hotter so I stayed away from her.....but after we divorced I did sleep with her hot cousin....does that count?.....:thumbup: |
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| Stainless |
| Can someone PM me the horror story from spence? |
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| walkur1 |
Or just post it? :dunno:
I originally bought my engagement ring from Spence, but after a few "discoveries", I took full advantage of their 30-day return policy (I'll post my short story after the OP has decided to post his). I thought they were a pretty cool place, but I don't think I'll ever step foot in that store again.
Costco and Independent Jewelers FTW! |
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| little_one_der |
As far as length of engagement, I'm thinking we will buy a house before we get married. So, yeah, that might be about a year from now.
Oh, someone at work was saying something about now, more than ever, people are asking for money as weeding gifts. True? It's not obnoxious?
We'll see if I can sneak out today and check out Independent. |
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| shortie |
| lots of people ask for money gifts now it seems. I probably would. beats the hassel of registries and crappy gifts... the real trick is trying to put that on your invitations without looking like douches asking for money only ;) |
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| Beerking |
quote:
Originally posted by Flex
no sorry.....her sister wasnt hotter so I stayed away from her.....but after we divorced I did sleep with her hot cousin....does that count?.....:thumbup:
YES, that is fantastic!;) |
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| GOT SE-R |
quote:
Originally posted by shortie
lots of people ask for money gifts now it seems. I probably would. beats the hassel of registries and crappy gifts... the real trick is trying to put that on your invitations without looking like douches asking for money only ;)
I think I will have it worded as "monetary donations are accepted" |
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| Flex |
quote:
Originally posted by little_one_der
[B]Oh, someone at work was saying something about now, more than ever, people are asking for money as weeding gifts. True? It's not obnoxious?
My wife and I have been together for 10 years and just got marrried last year. We have a house and all the stiff we need so we didnt want a bunch of gifts we already have or cant use. We want just money for gifts so we just told our family *they understood fine) and they spread the word to the guests what we wanted. No one seemed to have a problem with that. They all seemed to get it as well. We didnt put anything on the invitation though. |
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| walkur1 |
We were sort of in the same boat, as we had both been living on our own for a year. The only few things we needed for the house was a decent sofa and the all-necessary BBQ. We were originally going to ask for money in a polite sort of manner, but both our parents frowned on the idea. We ended up going to register for the few things that would be nice, but not essential. We ended up getting a bunch of nice stuff, but alot of it was supplemental. We have an entire display case of a beautiful coffee/tea set, but I don't think we'll ever use it for at least 3-4 years (we're both 21 and don't really "entertain" other couples/families yet). So right now it's just taking up space. I wish we would have made a small note in the invitations about our situation, so that the people who might have been on the fence between money or gift would've known what we wanted.
However, in the end, we were very pleased with our overall outcome. Sure we got a few things that aren't really useful right now, but we just have to grown into them. I got a sweet BBQ from all my buddies who pooled together, and that's about all I cared about. The wife got a whole set of towels, sheets, dishes, cooking supplies, etc... and she's happy with that. I didn't get the air compressor or the creeper/jack/jackstand package that I registered for at Sears though :mad: I really wanted that one... |
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| Realistic |
When my brother got married they asked for west jet air miles. They flat out told people too. Granted they've had a house for 3 years. And have been living together for 8 years. Have 2 kids. Such and such.
So they got air miles and went on their honeymoon. |
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| little_one_der |
| That's not a bad idea. |
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| ozzmodan |
At our wedding we noticed a big generation gap as far as cash gifts. Anybody 65 or older thought it wasn't appropriate & got us mostly stuff we didn't need. Anybody who was 50 or younger seemed fine with giving cash gifts.
There was also the same generation gap when it came to the gift opening. We were thinking we wanted it to be private, but again the older crowd thought there should be a public gift opening, so we ended up having one for the benefit of those that gave non-cash gifts. |
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| Twigs_Dee |
heres a good lesson. DONT GET MARRIED!!!!
hehe
Do you want the same old pussy for rest of your hard days? :dunno: Common Law is same thing minus the rings and piece of paper stating your married. easier to bail to the next piece of ass too! |
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| POX |
quote:
Originally posted by walkur1
Or just post it? :dunno:
I originally bought my engagement ring from Spence, but after a few "discoveries", I took full advantage of their 30-day return policy (I'll post my short story after the OP has decided to post his). I thought they were a pretty cool place, but I don't think I'll ever step foot in that store again.
Costco and Independent Jewelers FTW!
can you pm me your story? |
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| little_one_der |
| Yeah, you can post your story. I'm not going there anyways because I hate their fucking commercials soo much. :p |
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| bw54867 |
Onegina - From the urban dictionary.
A feared and dreadful disease, also known as onewenis.
Very often, a seemingly mild case of onegina can develop into a more chronic, and sometimes even lifetime condition. The only cure for that strain of onegina is death - yours or hers. Do you want to live with a debilitating illness??? God no!
Better to be single and go around fucking all the randoms you secretly wish you were fucking, and not allow this sneaky opportunistic illness take hold and ruin your life.
Unfortunately there is no way to vaccinate for onegina at the moment, although many of the world's greatest thinkers and visionaries are working on the problem as we speak - their greatest efforts so far concentrated on fizzy sweet alcohol drinks like Bacardi Breezers, otherwise known as "Leg-Openers", and guaranteed to put an illicit sexual event with a questionable whore on your calendar.
All I can say in warning, is be ever vigilant to the symptoms of onegina, which are enumerated as follows:
1. An amazingly huge amount of softcock thoughts and deeds
2. A constant look of contempt on your friends' faces when they talk to you
3. An appreciation for gay shit like "going out for dinner" or "taking in a movie" or at its worst, "a quiet one at home with the missus"
4. A general unwillingness to be awesome
By the time you get to the crucial endstages of onegina and manifest symptoms like "Going shopping with the missus for shoes" its probably too late - and the only way out is as quick and painless a suicide as possible. |
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| walkur1 |
Alright, so cliffs notes for those who want them:
- Went to Spence, put a deposit on a ring
- Picked it up, looked it over quickly, paid, proposed
- 2 weeks later, she shows me two black spots in the diamond
- Take it back to Spence, they take it back for "repair"
- She suggests we look at other rings (my ring didn't make the cut)
- I see one at Costco, call her to come look at it
- Instead, she picks another ring there
- Pay for the ring, she's happy, I'm happy because she's happy
- Go to Spence, get a refund
*Notes: Instead of verbally sugarcoating the staff’s behavior every time I refer to it, I’m just going to say this now: Never once was I given any grief by one of the staff members at Spence. They were always professional, well spoken, very patient and never pressuring. I am also going to refer to my then-girlfriend as wife, because it's less confusing that way*
I decide that I might want to marry my girlfriend. I mull it over for about a week, and realize that it's probably the best decision I'll ever make. So we are bored one night, I suggest we can go look at rings. We drive to Spence, because it’s close and we were curious about all their claims on the radio. We walk in and are greeted by the receptionist, and begin to look around. A sales representative approached us after a while and kindly asked if we needed any help and if we knew how Spence worked. We asked her to explain the whole process, and it turns out to be quite interesting (if you care to know, click here and read it). We tell her that we’re still looking and she leaves us alone. We ask the rep a few questions here and there, and eventually my wife finds a nice looking ring. We take it into one of their side offices and the rep proceeds to show us the different possibilities for the chosen ring. She (the rep) explains everything there is to know about diamonds, and asks us what we think we want to look at. She ends up brings out 3 diamonds, each a different size, but roughly the same quality. We look at each under the microscope, and she points out the flaws in each (very minor). We reach the point where it’s time to buy or leave, and I ask the wife to leave so we can talk prices. I hadn’t planned on buying anything that day, but after she told me I could put a deposit on it and pay for the rest when I picked up the ring, I said ok. I chose the biggest diamond she had brought out, and she got all the paperwork together and told me the ring would be ready in a week or so.
I get the call a week later, and go in to pick the ring up. I look at it in the box, and it looks to me like the ring we had, along with the diamond. I pay, go home and propose. A couple weeks later, she is showing one of my family members the small black dots in the diamond. I hear this, and ask her what she’s talking about. The diamond I had picked did not have any visible defects. She told me that she didn’t want to show me because she thought it would be rude. I get quite worked up that Spence got my ring mixed up. The black dots are quite obvious, not hard to spot at all with the naked eye. I take it back to Spence and show them the ring. I bring the paperwork they provide, which includes a blueprint of my diamond. The inclusions do not match up between the paperwork and the ring, so they take it back for repair. The wife also informs me that she thinks the ring style was also wrong, although very similar. At this point, she wants to look for a different ring; she has “always wanted a three-stone princess cut” (I had bought her a round brilliant solitaire). I am in Costco one day, and I stop to look at their selection. I see something that I like, so I call her to come down and look at it. She gets there and I show her the one that I had seen. She agrees that it’s nice, but she really likes another one in the showcase. We ask to see it, and she decides that it’s the one she wants. I’m fine with buying it, because I know I can get my money back at both Spence and Costco, in case something was to go wrong again. I also paid $1000 less for the ring at Costco, but it was values at $650 more than the one from Spence. If those numbers can be trusted, I am happy knowing the deal I got. I go back to Spence a few days later and ask for my money back and tell them that I think they screwed up on the diamond and ring, and they refund the whole purchase without much hassle.
To wrap things up, my experience with Spence staff was extremely pleasant, but the fact that I received a diamond which I did not order (and possibly the ring as well) was enough to leave a sour lasting impression. When I’m paying money like that, I expect that everything be given exquisite attention to detail. And, IMO, aside from offering ring “customization”, they are just as expensive as the next place. |
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| POX |
| thanks for posting what happend |
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| RSready |
quote:
Originally posted by little_one_der
Oh, someone at work was saying something about now, more than ever, people are asking for money as weeding gifts. True? It's not obnoxious?
We just put this little poem on our wedding website (yes, we had a wedding website) and it worked.
Our house is quite complete now,
We've been together long,
So please consider this request,
And do not take it wrong.
A wishing well will be present
On the day we wed,
And if you choose in lieu of a present,
You may give a monetary gift instead.
Make a wish upon your gift,
And be careful as you do,
Because as the well's tradition goes,
Your wishes may come true.
However, we still came home with several slow cookers. :mad: |
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| little_one_der |
Off to Costco I go.
And that poem is awesome! :p |
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