“It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.” -Rita Rudner
Poets speak of it, songs are written about it. The realization that you are in love and want to spend the rest of your life with one specific person is both overwhelming and intimate. There is no other feeling quite like it and it tends to lead us into doing rash and sometimes even foolish things.
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Getting Down to the Nuts and Bolts of Engagement Rings
What should drive the discussion is what your partner expects and how close you were paying attention to all those subtle tips on what her dream jewelry is. Here are some points you should take into consideration:
- Expectations. Talk with your partner and find out what they want for an engagement ring. Diamonds, of course, are the most popular, but not the only option. Alternatives to diamonds, such as a romantic ruby engagement ring, is increasing in popularity with many people.
- Meaningfulness. The best engagement ring often isn’t the most expensive. Family heirlooms and rings that represent a shared or common passion can have a great deal more personal meaning than a gaudy band that drains your bank account.
- Finances. The real world does interfere. You and your partner should determine a budget that you can afford without causing hardships.
Losing Your Heart Without Losing Your Head
Not to take anything away from the romantic dreamers that think you can survive on nothing more than love, but you can’t. The feeling of bliss that we associate with love is caused by endorphins in our bodies making us feel positively giddy with happiness.
As chemical reactions go, it’s a lot of fun, but it doesn’t pay the bills, plan for the future or determine life direction with our future partner. If it did, those plans and directions would have to be leavened with a healthy dose of reality.
Take a Deep Breath, Release
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You have found the perfect partner for you and the perfect ring for your partner. You have sworn your undying love and have begun talking about marriage and living the rest of your life together. Now what?
Traditionally the demesne of the bride, modern marriage has relaxed many of the traditions associated with marriage. Finances are important to both partners and the cost of weddings is on the rise. Talk about the financial aspect of the wedding with your future spouse and ensure that you are both on the same page about size, lavishness and cost. Starting your marriage in debt can be very stressful.
Not just where you are going to live, domestic arrangements will have to be settled for pets, children and yourselves. Talk about what you expect from and what you expect to give to the household and the marriage. Few of the problems can’t be overcome, but it’s nice going into a permanent situation with your eyes open.
Finding the right engagement ring is important. Your future bride will be looking for the jewelry that not only represents your life together, but also something that she will be wearing every day for the rest of her life. That kind of decision is not one to be made lightly.