The Perfect Trio

I shared awhile back the story of where Mr. S bought my engagement ring, and the style of wedding band I wanted. Simple. A few diamonds evenly spaced around the band.

Well, a couple of weeks ago Mr. S and I took a trip back to Chicago's jewelers row to seek out our weddings bands. I bought along pictures of what exactly I thought I wanted and we tried on ring after ring. When I finally tried on the ring that I'd thought I had to have, it just didn't do anything for me as a wedding band (as a ring on the other hand? Perfect, sign me up! But not with my e-ring).

I ended up finding an AMAZINGLY sparkly ring with prong-set round cut diamonds. Swoon. But it would have put us at the top of our ring budget (we'd been looking to spend $1,200 max for both bands). Hmm. I put on my budget hat and tried on another happily sparkly band with round cut channel set diamonds over the top half of the band that was SO freaking under budget, there wasn't a question which ring I'd choose. I love me a bargain.

Mr. S wavered between a brushed white gold band and a shiny tungsten band...he happened to fall in love with the tungsten which was also very budget-friendly...woo hoo!

Here's some shots of the rings (please disregard the horrendous lack of focus...my camera was dying)...


Mmm...sparkly....


...I secretly love wearin' these together around the house, shhh....


We picked up our rings last week, all sized and ready to go, and while there they spruced up my e-ring...I'll be perfectly honest - bling looks a whole lot bigger when it's all shiny and clean! My e-ring has never looked better.

I'm so pleased that we both got rings we love but only spent $675 of our $1,200 budget. I definitely don't think you have to empty your wallet to find something special. AND with the leftover money that we'd allocated for our rings, we can go ahead and pay off one of our vendors now rather than in September (I'm so excited to have one less payment leading up to the wedding!).

Did you stay within or bust the budget when you picked our your wedding bands?

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Ring From the King

Miss Bruschetta's recent post on wedding band decisions not only got me thinking, it led me to a great site to search for the perfect wedding band! I've had it in my mind what I've thought I wanted, but I always struggle to find a good example. Michael C. Fina was a great place to go to ooh and ahh over beautiful, sparkly rings!

My engagement ring is exactly what I'd said I wanted...simple, classic, round cut solitare. Mr. S took a lot of time and care in picking out this sparkler!

Now, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall the day my ring was purchased. Our good friends S & B (who were married last year) took Mr. S to a shop in Chicago's jeweler's row. It was here, from the "Rolex King of Chicago*" my diamond was purchased. Mr. S had to pay cash for the e-ring - visiting the bank beforehand and nervously pulling lots of cash out. After picking out the diamond, the setting, and forking the cash over, S & B took Mr. S across the street to a bar for a few drinks while the ring was being made.

Rumor has it he was bright red and incredibly nervous when they went back to pick up the ring - apparently the jeweler even asked him at one point if he was ok, then wondered aloud about S and her obvious excitement for Mr. S and I and the impending engagement! While all of this was happening, I was at work and had no clue he was just blocks from my office buying my bling. The proposal a couple of weeks later was a complete surprise to me, and I wouldn't change a thing.

When it comes to purchasing our wedding bands, we'll head back on over to the "Rolex King." But that won't stop me from window shopping beforehand to make sure I find the perfect ring we'll use to seal the deal!

As fun as it would be to go crazy with the diamonds allover the band, I think I'd like to go a little less sparkly. This simple ring with diamonds spaced out and set into the band (sorry I don't know jewelry terms!) has captured my heart - the picture isn't the clearest, so follow the link for a better view.

Source: Michael C. Fina

We probably won't plan a visit on over to buy our rings for a couple of months yet...but I simply can't wait to slip a ring like this on my finger and see how everything looks together!What sold you on your wedding band?

*Note: while purchasing my ring from the "Rolex King of Chicago" may not seem like it's on the up and up, it most definitely is! As you'll recall, our friends S & B took Mr. S there, and B knows the "king" through his dad, who's a retired police sergeant. He wouldn't lead us wrong, and that's even where B bought S's ring!

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