A Moment in Time: Hawaiian Engagement Shoot

Here are some wonderful engagement pictures from Jeannemarie Viggiano shot in Hawaii.  I love how ominous and raw the sky looks. You can tell the wind was blowing around this couple.   Would you chance the weather to get this awesome effect?

Thanks for sharing, Jeannemarie!

Rings: Pandora's Other Gems

I love pave diamond rings.  They are usually intricate and dazzling without being too ostentatious.  They are, after all, just a series of small diamonds, arranged in a pattern or shape designed to sparkle.  We saw pave diamond rings regain popularity from Bella Swan's engagement ring in Eclipse.  I recently found a similar ring, predating Bella's, that has me quite excited.  I love the clean lines and the signet ring shape.  Not to mention it is from Pandora's line called "Love Pod."  This ring could be perfect for many different occasions: promise ring, engagement ring, or a right-hand ring. Simple, beautiful and stunning. (And available in yellow gold as well!)

Pandora

How do you feel about pave rings?  Would you ever buy a right-hand ring for yourself?

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5 Ways to Pop the Question Without Uttering a Word

Worried you might slip up?  Not one for words?  Well here are five ideas for planning the perfect proposal that speaks for itself!

1.) The right music!  The day you propose is one of the most memorable days of your life.  Apparently, musicians feel the same as us mere-mortals since a few of them have written songs about marriage proposals.  One of my favorites is Train's Marry Me.  Lyrics like this melt my heart: "Forever can never be long enough for me to feel like I've had long enough with you."  This song will forever be on every playlist you make for one another.  Are you a woman proposing to your significant other?  Try Amanda Marshall's Marry Me.  

2.) A good luck charm! A charm is a perfect gift for those with and without charm bracelets.  If she has a charm bracelet, this is a thoughtful way of proposing.  If she doesn't, she should!  Charm bracelets are staged gifts.  Never worry about another Birthday, Valentine's Day, Anniversary or [insert gift giving holiday of choice] gift again, get a charm!  This proposal is also great as a stand-in for a ring.  If you are looking for something non-traditional, but still sentimental, build an entire charm bracelet for places you have gone or charms that symbolize traits that you love about her.  Even if you do propose with a traditional ring, there are bound to be a few occasions where her ring is getting sized, cleaned, or fixed or where its just inappropriate to sport the rock.  She can easily substitute in the bracelet.  Here are a couple of charms to help you propose.  Let's hope they bring you good luck! 

Links of London

Tiffany & Co. (Must be custom engraved) 

3.) Wrapped up!  A velvet box with the jeweler's name embossed inside is expected.  Spice it up and add a little surprise with a special keepsake box.  Something silver and engraved (her name, marry me, some inside joke... you decide!) or a limoges are good choices.  A nice box can turn into storage for the ring should she need to take it off, and will certainly be displayed on her dresser. 

Tiffany & Co. 

4.) Fortune says....!  Play it cool by ordering chinese.  Surprise her after dinner with an inedible desert.  These silver fortune cookies are customized to say what you wish.  Try "Good fortune came my way the day I met you" or there is always the classic "Will you marry me?"

One Passion Place

5.) Kaleidoscope love!  This is the ultimate way for nerds (don't worry, I am one too) to propose!  Remember Kaleidoscopes?  Well this one has a proposal written inside! Hide it as part of a scavenger hunt.  

Kaleidoscopes to You

Got another idea?  That is what the comment box is for!

Proposal: Lesson No. 1: Tying the Knot Tight Enough

(From wikimedia)

A recent every-day proposal made the news the other day.  A man had decided to propose on Cape Cod.  He tied the ring to a sand dollar and placed it on a jetty.  When his soon-to-be fiance picked up the sand dollar, the ring was too heavy for the knot and it fell through the rocks of the jetty.  The couple and passers-by searched for four hours with no luck.  Sadly, the center stone was an heirloom.  Thankfully, the man's mother had it fully insured! Read the full story here. 

 

Was there a fluke in your proposal?  What would you do if this happened to you? 

Engaged: Bachelor Love Triangle

(click on link for larger view)

This is beyond a love triangle.  Way beyond.  But who has heard of a septangle?  Above is the craziness that has been brewing for a while from a selection of Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants (Deanna Pappas, Holy Durst, and Jason Mesnick to name a few).  For the full story, please refer to the gossip mags.  There is just too much for me to reword.  Hopefully the diagram above will help you comprehend the madness.  Should you find grammatical or factual errors in the above diagram, please let me know!

Guest on a Budget: Previously Loved Magazines

So you are in your late twenties and early thirties.  All of your friends are getting married and engaged, including you!  Here is a great engagement gift idea from the already married to your successors.

Remember those bridal magazines and planning books that are collecting dust in a corner somewhere?  Why not regift them?!  Previously loved magazines and books are a great environmentally sustainable gift.  Spice them up by writing a nice dedication to your friend in the beginning of a book, or by pairing the gift with some bride specific flags like the ones below.  Continue the eco-friendly theme by avoiding wrapping paper and just tying then together with some nice grosgrain ribbon around them (bonus points if you use the brides intended wedding colors).

Brides Silver Marking Flags

Why Ring Drunk?

 What is ring drunk?  It is the period of time after a girl gets engaged when she is so absolutely ecstatic that her behavior becomes, well... a little bit obnoxious.  You know the signs... screaming, hugging, showing off your ring (if applicable), texting pictures of your ring (if applicable), and talking endlessly of the future wedding and life that is just around the corner.  Regardless of how composed you are or how unsuperficial you are, there is/was likely a weak moment or two (or three), after you get/got engaged where you might have gone overboard.

Well, that is what this blog is for and about.  It's about indulging your fantasies, sharing your wonderful engagement story, reading up about diamonds and more.  You may find this blog as a useful way to spread your story to family or friends, or as a way to anonymously brag about your perfect proposal.  You may find a proposal that you think is perfect and slyly send the link to your significant other, or your significant other may be here looking for creative ways to propose to you or tips on picking out a ring.  What do I get out of this blog?  I love the kind fo stories that end with happily ever after.  I love reading about unique proposals tailored to the couple.  I love grand gestures.  I love romance.  I firmly believe, every girl and woman deserves the perfect-for-them proposal, because we all know your future spouse certainly won't be perfect. ;)

You don't have to have a ring to be ring drunk, but you certainly have to be committed and happy.

Best wishes for a wonderful life,
RingDrunk

Rings: Ali Fedotowsky

According to E! Online, Ali's ring is a 3.03 carat asscher-cut diamond ring, with 184 round brilliant diamonds in the platinum setting.  The ring is valued at $50,000!!

Look here for pictures!

Rings: Check Your Prongs

In honor of Texasebeth on BlogHer, I'd like to remind you to check the setting on your engagement ring or heirloom ring.

Prong settings often loosen over time on their own, but will loosen faster if you aren't careful.  Has your ring started to snag clothing when it didn't before?  That is one of the first signs of a problem.  The best approach to ring maintenance is to be proactive.

1.) Insure your ring and be knowledgeable about what your insurance covers.  Some insurers don't cover flawed settings or accidental loss.

2.) Take your ring to the jeweler every 6 months to get it checked (usually they will clean it for you too - bonus!).

3.) Periodically tap the top of your stone with your finger nail.  Tap in the center and then all around the edge to see if the stone moves at all.

4.) Pinch the back side of the band and wiggle/roll the band between your fingers.  Then, with only that ring on your hand, shake your hand in a waving-hello motion.  If you hear the stone moving during either of these exercises, your prongs are loose.

Engaged: Ali Fedotowsky & Roberto Martinez!

Did you watch the Bachelorette tonight?! In beautiful Bora Bora, Roberto and Chris met Ali's family and had final dates with her.  Towards the end of the show, she pre-eliminated Chris.  Roberto, who got the first and last rose on the show, got down on one knee and proposed to Ali.  I am glad that Ali and Roberto are still together.  Let's hope they are one to last.  

Did you see the shameless plug for Neil Lane Jewelers?  ;)

Proposal: A Flipbook Story

I am so excited to share this engagement story, even though it is already posted online, for a few reasons:


1.) It is absolutely unique.  
2.) I am a nerd at heart, well even a little bit on the surface too, and so I appreciate the nerdiness of this story and the technology that made it happen.
3.) As a reader, you can really get to know this couple and this story from a her other blog posts, namely: Ok, Maybe You CAN Love a Fat Girl (You can also read Kepa's account of their romance here)


I have pulled this story directly form Mary's blog (with her permission of course!).  Kepa's account is on his blog.  Aside from her enviable romance story, Mary blogs about "happy and healthy living."  Check it out.  (Oh, and by the way, a picture of the ring is here, in her initial announcement about her engagement!)

I knew it was coming eventually because it’s hard to be completely smitten with someone and not discuss the future together. I am moving to New Zealand in August and that has been the plan for quite a while. My only uncertainty was when exactly Kepa would ask the question and how. He had taken my mom to coffee without me, so I figured he had asked her permission then, because we are all traditional like that here, but I didn’t know for sure. He likes to keep things secret and surprise me so I really had no idea. I guessed one of his plans, but since our road trip plans changed it completely threw me off the scent. I had no clue.

Yesterday before we went to lunch while I was getting ready, Kepa asked me to stay in the bathroom. He had tried to get someone else to get me out of the house but everyone was at work or busy. So he just asked me to stay in there… or go outside. Since it’s hot I chose the bathroom/bedroom option. I saw him putting post it notes all over the house but didn’t think much of it because he has done that before for me. (We like using post its.) I figured it was just something fun to do to make up for the house being so boring.

When he finally said he was ready for lunch we walked outside. I asked if it was okay to leave the notes around and if I should just ignore them being there. And then after a few steps toward my car, he said I could go back inside. HA! Okay!

So I went inside and started at the beginning, walking around the house collected the post it notes that all said sweet things (they are in the video below if you want to see what they say). My youngest brother actually interrupted in the middle, which was funny. At the end of the notes they told me that Kepa made something for me and I needed to go watch it.

He made me a flipbook video! It was the cutest thing ever and he worked for so long on it. I absolutely freaking loved it. It’s got my favorite song, our story condensed, and lots of pictures from when we were together in New Zealand. He made it a while ago and it’s been on YouTube secretly, because he showed it to some of my best friends to ask if it was okay.

If you want to watch the flipbook video:

Obviously the end of the flipbook video is the proposal. I saw that then looked at Kepa and he was on one knee. AHHHH! Then he said the most awesome, perfect for me, amazing speech ever.

From the day I first saw you, I was smitten.

Every day since then, my feelings have only grown deeper.

I love you, Mary.

I love you for everything you are.

You are everything flowers and hearts and sunshine and butterflies and rainbows.

All the magic and wonder in my world.

You know why I hold on to you so tight?

Because life is a maze full of twists and turns and I want to get lost inside with you.

Because when I’m with you the world stops turning and gravity disappears and it’s all I can do to stop floating away.

I want to be the one you take great leaps with and face lightning storms with,

the one who holds you up above the waves and laughs with you all the while being drowned,

the one you split your desserts with,

the one who’ll sit in the seat facing the wall so you can have your back to it,

the one who will push you around in shopping carts,

and the one who knows just how important it is to never put pickles in anything.

You would make me the luckiest man in the world if you would say yes to this next questions….

Will you marry me?

Yes he really talks like that. And it’s amazing. And I cried.

And I obviously said YES!

It really was amazingly sweet, romantic, perfect-for-me proposal. Kepa knows me so well and it’s obvious from how much thought and work he put into this to make it special. I am in fact the luckiest girl ever.

We had the best day afterwards as well, telling everyone we loved and also going to all my favorite eats in Memphis. It was the best day ever.

I’m so happy with my new fiance! Fiance!

If you would like to watch the entire engagement video, it’s below. Kepa recorded everything (I had no idea) so you can see the whole event from the post it notes to me saying yes and all.

Proposal: Skating in Boston

As told by a bystander....


Last November, I was skating at Frog Pond in Boston on the season opening weekend.  It was a Friday night, right before Thanksgiving, and I was on a blind date.  There wasn't any snow yet, and the air was just cold enough to keep the ice solid. Skating seemed like a great first date:  an activity so lulls in conversation wouldn't be awkward, slightly romantic yet not overly so, and plenty of people watching.  After a while on the ice, they cleared the crowd so they could bring out the zamboni.  The typical popular soft-rock music changed to "Boston and St. John's" by Great Big Sea.  The pace of the song blended in with the others that had been playing, but the abrupt change mid song and the reduced popularity of this song made my ears perk up.  (It was a high school favorite of mine, but I knew it did not have much radio presence.)  It was then, that I glanced from my date to center ice, where all alone, in front of a small crowd of people, was a man on his knee with a ring in his hand and the woman of his dreams in front of him.  When their moment was over, and they came off the ice, everyone clapped and cheered.  In my mind, they too must have come to Frog Pond for their first date.  I could tell that he had long awaited the opening of this season for his chance to seal the deal.

Nothing ever did come from that first date, but it was warming to observe such a wonderful proposal.

- Wistful Observant, Boston

Diamonds: A Lovely Tweet

If you ask me for my favorite thing about diamonds, I would probably reply about how much I love to watch them sparkle.

A few days ago @GIAnews had a profound tweet:

Jewelry is more than just a sum of its parts: it dazzles the eye, expresses emotion and declares your status. 

Take "status" as you wish, but in my mind it means: taken, given myself to someone for eternity, or loved dearly.  Obviously, you don't need jewels or other expensive things to show that you are loved dearly or to express your emotion.  Sometimes the look in someone's eye is enough.  

P.S. Follow me on twitter: RingDrunk!