An Engagement Ring Guide

Here is one I found from the Art of Manliness blog that is pretty informative


http://artofmanliness.com/2009/07/01/the-ultimate-guide-to-buying-the-perfect-engagement-ring/

One Ring to Rule Them All

There is always this dilemma out there about when the guy goes to buy an engagement ring for his soon-to-be fiancé:  Do I ring shop with her or do I get it myself?


What I did was a combination of the two.  I slowly peeled out information from her about what she wanted in a ring and then went shopping.  Small things, like when we'd see a ring or something in a magazine or on TV I'd mention how I did or didn't like it and she'd either agree or disagree.  Sounds stupid, but it worked for me.  I was able to figure out that she wanted a three-stone, princess-cut diamond ring:

(courtesy of Stuller.com)

This is the one I went with.  It has a total of nine stones.  The one in the middle is a little over .75 carats.  

How should you go about getting a ring? You can either go online, walk into a jewelry store yourself, or know/get-to-know a local jeweler.  To be honest, outside of Bluenile.com, I'd try and find yourself a local jeweler who specializes in rings.  Establish a relationship with them because in my experience, the retail jewelers that I visited wanted to unload their worst rings on me.  Just my experience.

You Wanna Get Married?

For me, to date, the most stressful thing about my marriage process has been the thing that started it off: The Proposal.

Before you get into the nitty-gritty of saying "yes, dear" (which I'll also get to in later posts), you have to know if you want to do it.

Step 1: Don't Propose Next to a Fox Sports Reporter

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I Love This Girl?

...Sounds pretty stupid, but before you go out buying rings and reserving DJ's and ordering flowers, you really have to know if you want to spend the rest of your life with the girl that you are set to propose to.

What About Those Ups and Downs Again?

...What do I mean about those ups and downs?  Anything that is great and anything that goes wrong.  From great trips to stupid arguments, every relationship is going to have its ups and downs. You've had your ups and downs and those will certainly continue through the whole process, but if you wake up every morning, roll over, and are staring at the love of your life, then you are set.

Is She Worth It?
...Pretty much a combination of the two previous questions and really doesn't need any explanation.  Before you take the big leap, know exactly what you are getting yourself into.

...and that is where I come in. 

What This is About

I am getting married next August.  I knew nothing about actually getting married, but I knew that my fiancé was the woman I wanted to marry.

So, we got engaged.

Then the mailings started arriving in her mailbox.

We have received every kind of solicitation, including photographers, bakers, caterers, videographers and travel agents.  I didn’t realize that there were so many components to getting married.

            

I’m also surprised that nothing I came across was geared towards guys.

            

As a result, for my final project I have this website:  www.thegroomtobe.com.  It will be a running blog where I post on things guys need to do during the process and advice based on my own choices.  It will be a full multimedia blog.  I’ll have videos, blog posts, pictures and links to articles.  It is my hope that my blog turns into a hub where guys can go instead of trying to canvass a wedding website that is angled towards females, like theknot.com.