engagement ring question

[Hermosa11]

Ladies.....I have a question.....for my son. He wants to ask gal to marry him
but does not have money for Diamond engagement ring. He was going to get
a pearl ring from Hawaii (order it) but I was trying to convince him that pearl would not be a good choice...so, can a couple simply announce, yes, we will marry each other but not have an official diamond engagement ring and simply buy bands for the big day?

(he is in air force in arizona, gf is in South Korea for a year....they plan on seeing one another in Feb. 2009).............

Thanks ladies!!!

 

[Nicsnick]

When my DF and I got engaged we did not have the money for a diamond. So I have the ring of my dreams and I have a white sapphire for the center stone. We are planning on replacing the white sapphire and getting a diamond when we can afford it!! Noone can tell that is not a dimond (except the jewlers that I have to tell when I get it cleaned!!) I love my ring!! Here are some pictures of my ring:

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

Well actually I think you can be engaged without a ring. If you he still wants to get a ring then maybe he can get her a ring with her birthstone? It shouldn't be about the ring anyway, its all about their love and commitment so no matter what he does I am sure it will be perfect.

 

[Sweetsus]

I know a lot of people who get engaged and use a replica ring such as silver with cubic zirconia in a similar style to their dream ring. As Nicsnick has already mentioned no one can really tell the difference!

 

[Hermosa11]

Yes, I agree it is not about the ring......my soon-to-be-ex proposed with a pearl necklace. That was fine with me......
I was just wondering , because I do see women with just bands....and wondered
what they "did" during engagement to wedding day.......not that you have to DO anything.......
just wondering.......thx

 

[dreamin_disney]

can he make monthly payemt on a ring at a jewlery store. They might have a payment plan special . Dfi got my band and payment are only $50 a month

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

When my DF and I got engaged we did not have the money for a diamond. So I have the ring of my dreams and I have a white sapphire for the center stone. We are planning on replacing the white sapphire and getting a diamond when we can afford it!! Noone can tell that is not a dimond (except the jewlers that I have to tell when I get it cleaned!!) I love my ring!! Here are some pictures of my ring:

I love that idea!
I don't think you need a ring either.

 

[IndyBride]

I think he needs to talk to his girlfriend. Not everyone would care and I know if my Fiance hadn't gotten me a ring I would still want to marry him. But, some women want something to show their friends and to look at. If he feels she would be comfortable without one go ahead. I'm sure she'll understand his monetary situation though

 

[SanFranciscan]

I have been married 23 years and have no rings at all. My husband doesn't either. In my opinion rings are a nuisance unless they are bands with no doo dads to catch on things. In my opinion pearls are classier than diamonds so I rather like the son's idea of a peal ring though.

I understand the sentiment behind engagement rings or exchanging wedding rings, but I can think of a number of sweet alternatives. How about a nice locket necklace? If your son and his lady got their picture taken together and put it in that locket, it value to them would increase over the years as they saw how much younger they were whenever they looked inside that locket. How about a nice watch? I have seen some beautiful ones that would be a romantic gift practical enough to say that he considered her a sensible woman

 

[Ember]

The prerequisite for an engagement is that two people love each other and want to get married, not the exchanging of expensive jewelry. The ring is symbol, nothing more. It's the feelings that count.

I think a small keepsake like a pearl ring would be lovely. You can't wear a pearl everyday, they're too fragile. But she could wear it on special occasions.

 

[BlovesC]

The only ring I've ever looked at with my DBF is actually a very modest tahitian pearl set in white gold...I've never been a fan of diamonds or other faceted stones. I don't think ALL women care so much about jewelry, or have dream rings in mind before they get engaged.

There's a lot more to getting engaged than just the ring, in any case! I would encourage him to go forward with his proposal when the time is right for them both, whether he has a ring or a necklace or a small trinket or nothing at all.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

We don't have money for expensive rings (I am looking at Titanium wedding bands on eBay - less than $100 for both), so for my "e-ring" I got a sterling silver & CZ (or crystal or something) Mickey band from Downtown Disney - $34 before my Disney Rewards Visa discount, LOL.

Honestly, you don't have to have a ring to be engaged - just say "yes!"

 

[teachermom]

After being married for two years and being pregnant, my rings no longer fit. My fingers had swelled. I bought a set that was very similar to mine on qvc. It was perfect and no one could tell it wasn't real.

 

[disneyberry]

My fiance proposed to me with a silver ring that had 3 very tiny diamonds (they're REALLY tiny LOL and who knows if they're real diamonds haha!) in it. I still don't know how much the ring cost him, but it was definitely inexpensive.

That was basically our "placeholder ring" for the diamond engagement ring later. A few months after we announced our engagement, his mom generously offered him one of his grandmother's old diamond rings, and told us we were free to take the diamond out and reset it in any type of setting we liked.

He and I had talked about how ridiculously expensive diamonds can be nowadays, and while he had the money to afford buying one, I was also hinting that I didn't want him to waste that kind of money on a ring, hehe.

So, I'd have to say it's really something that depends on what kind of person the to-be-bride is.

Also, there are plenty of other jewels and gems out there that are gorgeous other than diamonds, pearls, and sapphires!


Oh, and I wanted to add... for the entire 1.5 years of my engagement, I wore the silver ring. We were slackers and didn't get his grandmother's diamond reset until just this past month! Now that I have the new diamond ring, I'm going to wear that one, and probably the silver ring on my right hand.

 

[Kellylynn3]

there are a lot of jewelers that sell "semi mount" rings such as Reeds Jewelers. Basically it is a gold ring setting that has a cz center stone instead of a diamond. No one can tell the difference and its a nice place holder until you can afford the center stone.

 

[VVFF]

there are a lot of jewelers that sell "semi mount" rings such as Reeds Jewelers. Basically it is a gold ring setting that has a cz center stone instead of a diamond. No one can tell the difference and its a nice place holder until you can afford the center stone.

A Semi-mount is a ring without a center stone. It has nothing to do with CZ stones. I suppose you could mount a CZ in a semi-mount setting however.

 

[JandJ]

The only problem with pearls is they are fragile and if she wears it in the shower or puts lotion on with the ring on, it can easily damage the pearl.

My sister was proposed to without a ring. They couldn't afford it so they had three small diamonds in their wedding bands. After 15 years of marriage he gave her a diamond e-ring.

When I was proposed to DH gave me a diamond ring and a girl I worked with was proposed to one week after me and she didn't get a ring. No one thought it was a big deal that she didn't have a ring. Eventually her DF gave her a family ring and it was lovely. If DH hadn't given me a ring I still would have said yes.

JMHO - what's the first thing people say when they find out you've gotten engaged - "let me see the ring!" so if she's strong and can say "we're not spending money on that" or "we're going to choose one together" or even "I don't like rings" then that's cool, but if it will bother her than he should give her something to symbolize the engagement.

 

[Kellylynn3]

A Semi-mount is a ring without a center stone. It has nothing to do with CZ stones. I suppose you could mount a CZ in a semi-mount setting however.

sorry...look I was just going by what reeds liked to call it...they have a lot of rings in a collection like this.

 

[chancecaught]

I agree that your son should talk to his girlfriend to see what her tastes are. She might not even like diamonds! If she does, we saw rings at Zales and Helzberg starting at $299, I don't know if that will be too much for him, but it's a start. If a real diamond is out of the question, wal-mart.com has really cute cubic zirconia engagement rings starting at $79!

 

[erin.w]

Helzberg sells moissanite, tell him to check that out.