Guy's Corner: Guidelines to Choosing Your Wedding Band

Wedding rings are the universal sympbol of marriage but tend to be overlooked in the first few months of planning of wedding.  Typically the engagement ring is fitted with the wedding ring in mind so they compliment each other.  The jeweler will show the groom-to-be the options for wedding ring settings when he is buying the engagement ring and then the couple can return a few months before the wedding to choose their wedding bands.  While most women have thought about their wedding band and what they want, the guys are usually a bit intimidated by this process.  Most men don't wear a lot of jewelry so this is a big decision.  The basic questions to keep in mind are:

#1. Budget- Make sure that you both know your budget for each ring before you step into the jewelry store.
#2. Basic Aesthetics- Do you like gold or silver?  Silver has many options from the carat amount to platinum vs. regular silver.  But knowing the direction you want to go helps narrow down all the option from the beginning.
#3. Lifestyle- Do you work in manual labor and require a simple design as well as a durable metal? Do you want a sleeker ring that is more formal to compliment all your business suits? Think about the fact that you will wear this ring everyday in plain sight.
#4. Design- Do you want your rings to match, compliment, or neither?  Some mens bands do have diamonds embedded, is this a look that you want?  This is probably a question that doesn't occur to most guys but it is important that you both are happy with both wedding bands. 

Here are a few ideas for options.  There are a lot of articles out there about wedding bands, I really like OffBeat Bride's picks for starters.  Enjoy & happy purchasing!

Engagement ring and wedding band setting

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BHLDN: The Letters You Need To Know Now

If you are a fan of the hip store Anthropologie, you have no doubt heard that they have launched a wedding store, BHLDN as of Valentine's Day.  No coincidence I'm sure since this is the greatest gift to loyal fans since, well, Anthropologie opened.  What is BHLDN?  According to their website, "inspired by the Dutch word for “to keep,” as well as countless tales from family and friends of the extraordinary weddings they’d been part of", the geniuses at Anthropologie dreamt up this amazing offering to today's women.  There is a perfect variety of beauty in the gowns, dresses, lingerie, shoes, jewelry, cover-ups, hair adornments, accessories offered on BHLDN's site.

The wedding gowns range from $600 to $4,000 and the dresses (perfect for bridesmaids or for the bride to wear during her many pre-wedding celebrations) range from $200 to $1,000.  There is so much attention to detail and creativity that will appeal to so many ladies I am positive this line will be a HUGE hit.  I'm so excited that more & more stores/ designers are jumping feet first into the wedding industry.  Please take some time to check out BHLDN and you won't be sorry you did.  Enjoy!

 

  Now here for some gown envy.  Prepare to drool:

If You Love Etsy...

If you have not heard of Etsy yet, you are missing out.  Etsy is a website featuring handmade goods ranging from accessories, clothing, jewelry, stationary, and housewares.  Designers open up Etsy "shops" (registered webpages within Etsy) and sell their creations.  Beyond the "feel good" factor of investing into a small business and local entrepreneurs, the number one advantage is having one on one contact with the sellers.  SO many items are able to be personalized which is the obvious drawback in shopping in a huge national chain.  

As appealing as this website is for regular shopping, many brides seek out new and creative items on Etsy from accessories to stationary to decor.  So when I saw that Etsy has started a wedding specific site, I kind of freaked out.  Because weddings + Etsy= AMAZING. 

I always thought that if Etsy had a specific wedding site, it would be Wetsy but that sounds like an outdated doll that pees itself (good thing I wasn't in charge of the name!).  In reality, Etsy's wedding site is called Wedzu and once it is here, I can't believe we all existed without it. 

Wedzu features categories including apparel, ceremony & reception, jewelry & design, and calligraphy just for starters.  So my advice is to set side a few hours and check out Wedzu for yourself.  I can promise some great finds and probably a lot more than just a couple of hours of viewing awesomeness.  Enjoy!

The Emma Custom Flower by Petal Petal

Pearl and Filigree Glamour Necklace by Shlomit Ofir Jewelry