- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Maybe you could look around online and give him pictures/links of what you like. Then he can take those to his uncle or look around elsewhere for something similar. Do you think that would help?
I wanted it to be mostly a surprise, but one day we wandered past a jewelery store, and DH suggested going in. We kind of looked around a bit, and I tried a few on, and pointed out what I wasn't really into, and he chose from there. Maybe he'd be open to going with you?
I agree about not getting his family involved until he's sure. We're in kind of a similar position where we're talking about buying a new house, and would like to just casually look, but my family is full of realtors. We just don't want to get somebody all worked up about something that may just be browsing at this point.
I wouldn't be into just going and picking one out myself and giving him a style number or something... it just feels impersonal.
A couple of things...
Many, if not most, engagements are not a surprise... telling him to give you "whatever" just gives him waaayyyyy too many choices and that's probably why he shut down.
I think you're right about the possibility that he was mad. He basically said, "here, I want to give you exactly what you want! Yay!" and then you were upset. Have you asked him if his feelings were hurt?
I wonder if you aren't thinking about this a little bit too much. Girls go to jewelry stores alone or with friends all the time. So that's not a big deal. Personally, I went with my best friend to look after she was engaged -- and I was single! And you know what, it was really fun for both of us. I went again by myself when Mr. Oyster and I were dating, and he randomly asked my ring size. I also looked at pictures online.
Also, it's quite common for men to think about proposing as the holidays approach. There will be commercials and ads EVERYWHERE and I can't imagine that your man (with his new big television) would not see this hint. To take advantage of any sales, etc., you should probably go now as opposed to waiting for January.
After you've gone to different stores and picked out what you want, then you can go again with him. Then he can start preparing to buy it for you.
Go, have fun! Pick out your ring! Go to mall stores, go to Cartier. Go be surrounded by diamonds, enjoy the process and be thrilled that your boyfriend is basically giving you exactly what you want (a proposal on your time frame). :) Congratulations! :)
i agree with oyster that most engagements are not a surprise. while in the end my FI picked out the ring on his own and "surprised" me by popping the question on a day i wasn't expecting it, i knew it was coming that week, plus i went ring shopping with him once to get an idea of a style we both liked. before that, i honestly had no idea what i would like in an engagement ring because i had never had one on my finger. i didn't think it was fair to expect him to figure out what i loved when i didn't have a clue myself. i tried on a bunch of rings with him and he literally took notes on what i liked and didn't like, plus i had my finger sized so he could order in the correct size. then the ball was in his court....but to be honest he was so excited the day he ordered the ring that he acted weird for HOURS and then finally turned to me and said "i know i'm going to regret saying this but i ordered your ring today and i'm just so excited i can't keep it to myself." yeah, we suck at keeping secrets. but in the end it didn't take away at all from the proposal or the whole getting engaged experience. plus, he totally went above and beyond with the ring and actually modeled the ring after a ring i showed him on weddingbee, after i said something like "that's even prettier than the rings we saw together." and i LOVE it.
i would encourage him to come with you while browsing for rings, but if he doesn't want to then bring a friend....i went with a friend once when her bf sent her to scout out ring styles she liked. we just explained the situation to the salesman and he was very nice.
BF semi-did the same thing to me. He wants me to show him the ring I want. While I like that I can say "oh hey, this one is AWESOME", I don't like that I know which one he is getting. I mean, I don't know, because he hasn't gotten it, and I've only shown it to him once, but for some reason I feel like there should be some surprise to it.
So, he's told me to show him the one I want/like, and of course, I haven't, because I don't want to. Ah well.
Hi!
First, congrats! I am in the SAME boat, but we already have the ring. I even know what day-ish it's happening. Is that frustrating - sure! I mock complain about it to him all the time because he brings it up EVERY DAY. But he's just excited, and now that I know what he would have picked out, I'm SO glad I helped.
I just wanted to give a few pointers. Originally, I wanted a round solitaire. Then I looked at them online, found good diamonds on Blue Nile... but when I went to see them in PERSON, hell no. I have raccoon paw hands and short fingers, so when I saw that hot mess on me I immediately wanted to go up a carat size to compensate. I am SO jealous of you girls with little fingers!
So then the hunt began, and I went to stores for months and months and months. Finally, I didn't even want to go anymore. I was so fed up that I had a mini meltdown in front of my FMIL and felt like an ass. She referred us to a wholesaler, and the rest is beautiful pear-cut history.
I definitely don't think it's a negative to be a part of the decision. And frankly, the surprise is "ruined" anyways because you know it's coming! But is it really ruined?
I'll let you know around December 21st-ish how I felt about my proposal, knowing the ring, seeing him purchase the finished product, looking at it on my finger and putting it back in the box. But I suspect it will be perfect, because in the end, I always knew we would get married anyways. :-)
I picked mine out without FI. I drug him back to the store and I didn't demand he get that particular ring, but since it was a lot cheaper and prettier than others we had looked at, it was kind of a no-brainer :).
It's completely fine to go to a jewelry store by yourself! Most of them have 'wishlists' where they can write down your size and what rings you liked most and then they can give that list to your FI when he goes in.
If you really want FI to pick it out on his own, grab a jewelry catalog and tell him what you like/dislike about certain rings to give him some suggestions. He might just be overwhelmed and afraid of picking out the 'wrong' ring. Good luck!
I picked out my ring. We went ring shopping a few times FH quickly got sick of it so I did a lot of ring shopping online & with friends. After 6 months of shopping I found the one I liked!
Your bf sounds like my FI. It took him EIGHT MONTHS to research and pick a vacuum.
Anyway, he asked me to let him know what I liked. So I just e-mailed him pictures of ring designs I liked to give him an idea, but he picked the actual ring himself.
I went to Tiffany's once with a girlfriend about 2 years before we got engaged and felt SO silly trying on rings that I just wanted to get out of there.
As for the proposal being a surprise, mine really wasn't (FI accidentally left the empty ring box on the bed the night he was proposing) but the proposal was still absolutely perfect and I am marrying the man of my dreams.
Is there a girlfriend you could go try rings on with? So both of you could be trying them on? He probably wants your input because this is something you will be wearing for the rest of your life. The last thing he wants is to get you something that you don't like. Look at it that way, and it's a much sweeter proposition. He wants to make sure you are happy.
Or just search online and send him pictures of what you like the styling of. That way he can take those pictures to his uncle as ideas.
As for knowing when he's proposing. I don't think that's really a big deal. You still don't know exactly what the moment will be like and it will still be special.
Also, I looked at rings for 2 years before my proposal. Including looking at loose diamonds WITH FI in January of this year (he didn't actually propose until Sept of this year).
So be happy you have a time line and it's fast approaching.
At first I felt silly and stupid trying on rings on my own. But I think it's very common and you should DEFINITELY pick out rings you like. Tell the jeweler that your getting engaged and that you want to tell your bf about rings you like.
Definitely try on rings (if the ring matters to you). I loved halo before I tried it on, but hated the way it looked on my finger.
My FI told me to go out with a friend! He was like "You need to go out with Miss Lady so i will know what you like"
Then, because she and I only got a chance to go to the local stores in the mall, FI said that we would go down to Indy (the biggest city near us) and look at rings together.
So, one day he surprises me by taking me to one of my favorite restaurants down there, and then we went to go look at rings! It was a lot of fun, but there was certainly no "you are definitely getting this ring within X number of days". This was a "Just to see what you like" kind of trip.
So, then after the trip, talk of engagement ceased. For 6 months I waited with no indication of a proposal at all. I waited. I worried. I agonized.
Then, out of the blue, on a day I completely didn't expect, he proposed. It was sweet and wonderful, and the ring was the exact one that had been my favorite in the store.
He had put it on a layaway plan, and he had 6 months to pay it off. Hence my 6 months of waiting.
In the end, it worked out great, and I "knew" but I didn't know.
I think that you need to talk to your BF. He has, at this point, told you he is going to propose, and told you that he wants you to pick out a ring. Tell him that you would feel more comfortable if he goes with you to pick it out. (Clearly you don't want to go alone, but you don't want to go with someone so he won't find out? He TOLD you to go!) It's a good experience to go together, imo.
When talks of engagement came up, I just gave mine basic guidelines.... solitaire, princess or round, not a yellow-gold band, my ring size. I think he enjoyed picking the details, such as the setting. Plus, I LOVED that I was surprised by my ring.
Are we dating brothers or something?? My man is also soooo slow with everything. SO asked me to look at rings and pick out a few that I like, I didn't really want to do this because I wanted to be surprised, but he told me he literally has no idea what kind of ring to get. So we looked at a few and I ended up falling in love with one but I still showed him a few that I like and I would be happy with.
I recomment either going online or going to a jewelry store and picking put a few rings that you like so he isn't so lost in a sea of rings and you still get a surprise.
I wondered the same thing not too long ago. See my post here: http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/trying-on-rings-by-yourself
I wanted to see what I'd like because I had never tried an E-ring on before and wasn't sure if what I liked online would look the same in person. I went with my sister the first time and that helped a lot. I told them she was going to be BF's accomplice, which I hope will be the truth bc she now knows what I want. Nobody judged me in any of the stores I went into--in fact they were all extremely nice and helpful. They even wrote down ring #s, cuts, finger size, etc so that if he came in there they would already know what I wanted.
I'm with you--I want the proposal to be a surprise, but I think it's a good idea to get the ring you want (or close to it) because you have to look at it for the rest of your life, so you might as well love it!
Why not compromise and decide on the type of center stone? You can discuss preferences regarding what type of stone, cut, carat, etc and then pick out your engagement band at a later date. The jeweler can set the stone in a temporary tension band to propose with.
Personally prior to becoming engaged, we never discussed rings. The extent of our discussion was vaguely asking me what my ring size was and that was that. When he ultimately proposed (and it was mostly a suprise) I loved the cut of the center stone, but absolutely did not like the band (which wasn't his fault because he truly did not know my preferences). I ultimately exchanged the band for something that suited my vintage taste and we were both happy :)
Thank you everyone for the great responses!! I am so glad so many of you out there understand what it's like to have a significant other who takes forever with decisions. It's not a bad thing, but lighting a fire can be hard!
I went and looked at two places today. I am so glad I got the nerve to do so, because what I originally thought I liked does not look like 'me' when I try it on. I wound up falling in love with one in particular to the point where I would have bought it for myself, haha!! I keep looking at the picture of it on my phone. The people in the stores were very understanding, and it was not as scary as I thought it would be. I didn't even feel silly.
I got guides from the places I went and I decided to make him a booklet. It's a tiny pocket sized book with only a few pages and it has my size (good thing I got sized - I once told him something that I found out today was way off!), examples of settings that I like (which all oddly look like the one I fell in love with today haha, and examples of the one setting that I really want him to avoid (totally not my style). I put a card with it and in the card I said that he can take this with him when he shops (I wrote the book in the third person "She likes this! and She is not a fan of this"), but if he would like to go together sometime, he can just let me know. I also promised to not bring it up again, and if he feels that the information I gave him is enough, then I will just patiently wait! I make him silly things all the time, so a little book with pictures is the least threatening way I could think of to show him what I like, because sometimes rings can be a sensitive subject since I want a commitment, and he is...a decision snail. Although things are seriously looking up.
I think he wants it to be a surprise to an extent, so I think giving him a guide of what I like and don't like should be enough for him to eventually take to his uncle and tell him what I am looking for. Ultimately, any variation of what I like would be fine. I just know how he is....And if he wants to see the one I fell in love with, that's fine, but if he wants to go on his own and do it his way based off of my hints, then I will gladly be surprised. Our anniversary is in Feb, and I originally was going to go look in Jan, but after reading a lot of posts on here, a month didn't seem like enough time to give him to get something, so now I am glad I went!!
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Lyndzo | 46 |
| AshleyR83 | 24 |
| rebwana | 24 |
| mypinkshoes | 23 |
| Ms. Salamander | 23 |
| beargoose | 22 |
| kat2014 | 22 |
| his chippymunk | 21 |
| funkymunky85 | 21 |
| Cady | 21 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Scottish_lassie | 4 |
| Lyndzo | 4 |
| pharlap | 4 |
| kat2014 | 3 |
| HeyKaraoke | 3 |
| ColoradoGirl | 3 |
| Regina Phalange | 2 |
| Loribeth | 2 |
| shirasagi | 2 |
| mrspinnyc | 2 |
Hi Everyone...
When my boyfriend and I decided to move in together quite a while ago I told him I would not live with him past a certain anniversary without an engagement. He wanted to live together first, and I kind of didn't, so me moving out after a certain point without a commitment was our way of compromising. I also set a timeline because he is someone who takes FOREVER to make a move and a decision on ANYTHING, so I thought it would be best to let him know my expectations before moving in. It took four months of him researching and endless weekend trips to Best Buy before he purchased our television, so I think this sheds some light onto why I gave him a timeline. This is not a negative about him, just sometimes he needs a fire lit to get moving and get him past endless research and weighing options.
This certain anniversary is coming up in February, and I have zipped my lips on talking about engagement stuff of any kind. However, about a month ago, he randomly asked out of nowhere if I wanted to pick out my ring myself and then tell him what I want. He didn't offer to go with me, but he said he was planning on giving it to me as our anniversary present and since he just ruined the surprise, why don't I just pick it out myself? I was pretty mad, since I wanted to be surprised and I already told him he could get me what I want, I really don't care. Why he didn't contain his word vomit I am not sure. I thought by telling him I didn't care what it looks like would make it easier for him, but I think it had an adverse effect.
Is it normal for us females to go to a jewlery store and look for what we want on our own? I don't want to look silly or like I am desperate going on my own. I also don't want to take a friend because I don't trust that they won't tell him we went. I was thinking of going in January, but I remembered how he is with big decisions and I figured I have to give him more time than just a month. Is it normal to go into a jewlery store and get sized and pick out what you want? The bigger question is, how do I let him know what I find? What if I find something I like but the price is way too much (I don't even know what his price limit IS?!?) I don't want to ask him anymore about this in case he thinks that I read too much into something he said.
He also said he would probably buy the ring from his uncle, who owns his own jewlery store. I am thinking I won't go there just to look because I don't want word out to his family that I went alone looking....in case he never proposes. What a nightmare that would be! I just don't know where to start with this, since I feel like most people who pick out their own ring go with their partner. I also don't really know what I want or like. I figured I would go into a local place and see what they have and then closer to the time maybe go to his uncle, but I still dont' know how to let him know what I find and like (and probably more importantly, what I DONT like!!) Have any of you ever had to pick your rings out on your own?