Valentine’s Day is a great time to get engaged! This romantic holiday is the perfect time to commit to your partner and start thinking about rings. If the chocolates and valentines don’t inspire you, then nothing will! Here are some great tips for finding an engagement ring that matches your style and budget.
1 ) Drop Some Hints
If you aren’t buying the ring together, then it is essential to drop some hints about what you want. You can talk about a friend’s or celebrity’s ring that you love or leave wedding magazines with bookmarks around the house. Hopefully, your significant other is smart enough to pick up the hints and know what you want!
2 ) Lifestyle And Care
This will play a big role in deciding what kind of engagement ring you want. Just like a haircut, the amount of care and your lifestyle plays a huge factor. If you are more adventurous or work in a hospital, you don’t want a huge diamond ring that will get in your way. Consider what you do on a daily basis and how wearing a ring (especially one with stones that stick out) will affect those activities. For example, a gold plated band will show wear so you have to be committed to cleaning and caring for it.
3 ) Choose Your Metal
The metal you choose is affected by personal choice and by price. The traditional metals (white gold and yellow gold) are actually pretty cost effective. Gold rings are made by mixing gold and other metals because the metal gold is actually too soft to make jewelry on its own. The higher the carat (18K vs 14K), the more expensive it will be because it has more gold in it. If you prefer cool toned metals like silver, look for platinum or palladium. These are harder metals so there is less wear. (Hint: Palladium is much cheaper so choose that one if you’re looking to bring down the cost.)
4 ) Choose Your Stone
There are so many stones to choose from! Traditionally, engagement rings have diamonds, but in recent years gemstones have become extremely popular. If you’re looking for a diamond, it’s probably a good idea to get familiar with the 4 C’s: cut, color, clarity, and carat. Blue Nile has beautiful diamond engagement rings and even educates you on the diamond you’re buying. Another option is gemstones. Getting a gemstone engagement ring is a great way to cut costs and still find something beautiful. Sapphires, opals and emeralds are great alternatives to diamonds and are very unique. You could even get your birthstone for an extremely personalized engagement ring!
5 ) Bridal Set
A bridal set is an engagement ring and wedding ring that can be bought together. This is a great idea if you are worried about fit and comfort. The engagement ring and wedding band will both have settings that are ideal for wearing them both on the same finger. Plus, you don’t have to worry about getting the wedding ring while planning!
6 ) Price Range
This is a huge part of engagement ring shopping. The old saying was that a man had to spend three-month salary on the engagement ring, but that isn’t true anymore! You should only spend what you feel most comfortable and what matches your budget. The price doesn’t equal how much your partner cares about you. There are so many affordable options out there that the price really doesn’t matter.
7 ) Tell A Friend
Now that you know what you want, you better tell a trusted friend. Your significant other will be asking for advice and may even take a friend along. If your partner doesn’t usually get your hints about presents then this might help. You’re covered because your bff will know exactly what you want. They can hopefully inspire your significant other to pick out something you’ll love!
