Amazing Engagement Ring

WOW.  Now THAT is a ring!!

Cushion Cut Engagement Ring

Holy cow!  I'm pretty sure this is the stuff that dreams are made of (at least it's the stuff my dreams are made of)... ahh!  Just a little something pretty to start to weekend off right!

I heading up to Napa today for work - we will be staying the night at the Bardessono in Yountville - possibly my favorite place on earth.  I am really looking forward to some wine tasting, laying by the pool (weather says it should be close to ninety degrees!) and some pasteries from Bouchon Bakery tomorrow morning.

We'll be throwing a big party tomorrow night to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday, so there is so much to look forward to!  Friends, family, wine tasting, warm weather... Happy Weekend!

xo

Engagement Photos: Balloon Save the Date

I have a total obsession with balloons.

I once saw this wedding show (I think it used to be on TLC) where a couple's friends planned a wedding for them in 24 hours with the help of a wedding coordinator.  I distinctly remember the wedding planner vetoing the use of balloons, saying that they were tacky, cheap, and meant exclusively for children's birthday parties.

I could not DISAGREE more!  I think that balloons are charming, whimsical, and just plan fun!  Take that TLC!  This photo is so simple and I am in love!

Enjoy the rest of the wedding / engagement photo's I've pulled together that involve balloons.
xo






























Kind of amazing... right?!?!

Dream Engagement Ring

Isn't this ring stunning... I mean STUNNING?!  Love!

Clearly I've got rings on the mind.  It's odd - I go through phases where I don't think about it, and then this wave of engagement fever hits! What's a girl to do?!  Clearly, a girl is to indulge in her obsessions a bit.

Over the past year, my tastes in rings have changed, and changed again... and changed again, but I think I've reached a point where I've settled on two engagement ring types that I love:
    - Ideal #1: Classic...
    - Ideal #2: Classic... with a twist

Ideal #1: Classic
What could be more classic than a round solitaire?  A round diamond has several benefits - one, the way the facets are cut, round diamonds outshine all other diamond shapes, proving to be the most sparkly...  awesome... what else?  Round diamonds also offer the largest surface area per carat of all cuts.  Super awesome!  As a girl who loves everything that glitters, would I settle for a plain band?  Of course not - so there it is... round diamond on a micropave diamond band. Simple, elegant, timeless, and yet... it brings a wow factor that is hard to beat!

         Classic Round Solitaire with micropave band:

     

             

        

        

Ideal #2: Classic with a Twist
Ok, I might need another cup of coffee on this sleepy Monday morning, but I swear this is a category!  I am not talking contemporary settings.  On the contrary, this "classic with a twist" is actually a blend of contemporary diamond cutting and vintage styles (halo settings actually became popular in the 1920's and 30's when glamorous art-deco aesthetic dominated the day).  Becoming popular again, I have sort of fallen in love with the revamped micropave halo setting.  I love them to frame either a very symmetrical cushion cut diamond, or a round stone.  As opposed to the more ornate vintage styles, I am drawn to the cleaner more contemporary halo's, thus the classic... with a twist... ha!

         Round Micropave Halo:
         
         
         
         


Cushion Micropave Halo:
         
         
         
         


So there we have it... a bit of diamond porn to start your week off!  And for any men looking for engagement ring inspiration and / or advice, print out this post, take it to a jeweler and start pricing these babies out!

Engagement Photos: Rustic Session

Unicornpwrz via Tumblr
A lot of my friends are starting to get engaged and married, and so my world is full of everything "wedding" (kind of awesome).  With weddings and engagements on the brain, I always get excited when I come across photographs that grab me.

Isn't this one so sweet?  It's nothing fancy - no props, no designer shoes, no "model-y blank stares at the camera".  It's casual, simple, and keeps the focus on the couple.  I just love it!

Happy Hump Day!
xo

Engagement Ring Guide: "Virtually" find the one for you!

For all you engagement ring junkies out there, this is your lucky day!  I just discovered the most amazing invention since sliced bread.  Tacori has just released an augmented reality "Try it On" feature on their site, where you can virtually try on the most gorgeous engagement rings.  Um, YES PLEASE!

I am by no means the most technologically savvy person, so trust me when I say, it's so easy!!

            Step 1.  Print out the funky paper ring - this will serve as the marker for your webcam

            Step 2.  Download software here

            Step 3.  Cut out paper ring, and secure it around your finger

            Step 4.  Hold up marker to webcam and prepare to be dazzled

Play around - print out a few pics for your wish list, send it to your mom (definitely going to do that later), or leave them around the house for your honey-bear to find...

I'm not sure which was my favorite... I loved them all!

Clearly, it's been a SUPER hectic day at the office ;-)  Don't judge!

Engagement Ring Guide Part II: Maximizing Impact

Regardless of budget, every girl wants a ring she WANTS to show off to the world.  While not everyone is a Kardashian with a 17 carat paperweight on their hand, I've learned a few simple tips to keep in mind that will maximize the ring's wow factor.

1. Round Diamonds Look Bigger than All Other Sizes

• It's true - in terms of surface area per carat, the round / brilliant diamonds give you more bang for your buck.  Compare a 1.0 carat round diamond to a 1.0 carat diamond of any other shape.  The average length to width ratio in millimeters for a round diamond would be 6.3 x 6.3mm.  For a 1.0 carat cushion cut diamond, the average length to width ratio is in the 5.5 x 5.5mm range.  That is a significant difference!

2. A Sparkly Diamond Always Looks Bigger than a Dull one

• Look for a diamond shape that naturally reflects the most light.  Round will top the list every time, because of the way that the facets are cut, but close behind the round diamond for "sparkliness" is the marquise (I was shocked by that one), oval, pear, heart, and then Princess.  From there, sparkle tapers off rapidly, but if you are like me, and kind of hate the fancy shapes (marquis, pear, heart, etc) then stick with the round, oval, and princess - all safe bets.  
• Do not sacrifice cut for carat - the result will be a dull, cloudy, or dark diamond.  In the first post, I talked a lot about the importance of a quality cut - going for an ideal or excellent cut will give you the most sparkle - substituting a good or fair cut for a slight increase in carat size is a very bad idea.

3.  Elongated Diamonds can Appear Larger

• A non-symmetrical cushion cut that is rectangular can fake people out for a larger carat.  Especially if you have thin fingers, the length can create the illusion of a larger diamond. Also on this list of elongated shapes are the emerald cut (not a personal favorite of mine), radiant cut, and oval diamonds.  I'm not fully sold on this idea, but if you love this look, go for it!

4.  Settings with Additional Diamonds Enhance the Size of a Diamond

• Extra embellishments on a ring do exactly what they promise - they enhance a center stone, so whether it's opting for a three stone ring, (with two sizable diamonds on either side of the center stone), or if it's having a micropave band that adds just a bit of extra pizzazz to your ring while still leaving the center stone as the main focus, or whether it's going all out for a micro-pave halo setting (having even more diamonds encircling the center stone and band), these are all great ways to enhance an already beautiful engagement ring.

Engagement Ring Guide Part I: Sparkle

Marilyn Monroe sang, "diamonds are a girl's best friend", and lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about the most important diamond a girl will receive... an engagement ring.  Most recently, I have been noticing lots of really different but amazing rings on other women and in the window's of my neighborhood jewelers that are not what I have traditionally liked.  I've been thinking about, how to save money when buying a diamond, what makes it most sparkly, and what the priorities should be...


Deciding to do some research, I think I have narrowed it down to my top "engagement ring essentials".  Because there is so much to learn and think about when buying a diamond, I wanted to break out these essentials into a series of posts to avoid an overwhelming amount of information.  It's really interesting and really helpful in terms of understanding priorities when you are looking since there are SO MANY options, so many things to weigh, and of course since it's costing several month's salary.


1.  SPARKLE:  Bigger is not better if the diamond doesn't shine.  This is not to say that I don't want a big rock flashing about on my left hand, but recently I have seen some women with very large stones, that are dull, and not very pretty.  I've never been a diamond expert, but wanting to know what causes this dullness, lack of sparkle, and even cloudy appearance, I've done some research...  The factors that most affect a diamond's sparkliness are CUT, SYMMETRY, DEPTH, and TABLE. 

• CUT: This one is pretty easy to remember - the better the cut, the more light enters the diamond (meaning more sparkly).  This is probably the most important part to getting a sparkly diamond, so ALWAYS go for  the best cut possible (either ideal, or excellent).  Anything below that, and you will be losing significant sparkle. 

                    

• SYMMETRY: This refers to specific aspects of a diamond's cut; with poor symmetry, light can be lost as it enters and exits the diamond - a good rule of thumb, symmetry and cut go hand in hand, so if you stick to an ideal/excellent cut, you will end up with good symmetry.  This diagram gives a good idea about how this works and why poor symmetry can be a BIG problem:

                  

• DEPTH: This is really a matter of quality control - if the diamond is too shallow or too deep, light is lost and the diamond looks dull - something really interesting that I learned was that a too deep diamond adds carat weight without looking bigger - shady!  The best diamonds are considered to range in depth percentage from 58% - 64%.  Be sure you specify this when looking and you'll be good.
• TABLE: Similar to depth - this is all in the cutting of a diamond, and is more mathmatical than anything; the ratio of the table width to diamond diameter and affects how much a diamond sparkles - the best diamonds range in table percentage from 53%-64%.  Stick to this, and you'll be fine.

So much to learn, so little time!!!  Next up, the how to maximize the impact of your diamond!

Engagement Photos: LOVE

Oh my Goodness Gracious!  I hate to be a re-poster, but I just stumbled upon the most GORGEOUS engagement session I think I have ever seen.

As an officially wedding obsessed girl, I am extremely picky over what I swoon over.  So many photo shoots are so staged, and while it can be artsy, I could never picture some of them for myself.  This engagement shoot (while over-the-top extravagant) looks easy, and natural, and oozes romance.  It's classy and timeless, and I honestly can't wait to see the full wedding spread.

Even though I will not be flying to Paris for a photo shoot when I get engaged, I could totally imagine something this simple, authentic, and lovely.

Single girl, Obsessed with Weddings

It all started when I was 8.  Well... the fantasy of being a princess began when I was 4, but the real obsession began with a secret page torn out of the pattern books at the fabric store.  From then it snowballed.  How many flower girls would I have? Colors? Pink or pinker? Flowers? Galore!  Poofy sleeves?  The poofier the better!! (hey, it was the '80's)

A formal folder that was once reserved for school was started, and into it went clippings from the special spring wedding section in the Sunday paper.  In middle school, I baby-sat for a family whose mom still hung onto her old wedding magazines...... jackpot!  And then... the internet.  We got a computer when I was in high-school, and there were many MANY hours spent searching for dresses.  Rhinestone encrusted, full floaty skirts, tulle, beading, lace, pearls (because that is classy, and elegant) - the more the better.  That was the motto.

My tastes (thank god) have evolved, and now I have a much more modern, streamlined idea of what a dress should be.  Something simple yet unique.  Something interesting and beautiful.  Carefully pleated bodices, body skimming trumpet skirts, ballgowns that float instead of drag.

And it's more than just the dress... its the day... the magic, the whimsy, the celebration of life and love and this whole picture in my head that becomes more and more built up.

Luckily, I have discovered that there are tons of other bridal obsessed woman out there, and that I am not alone.  That I can be single, and be totally in love with the idea of my one-day marriage without freaking my boyfriend out.  I will get married one day, and then there will be no wedding for me to look forward to.  So for now, I do not feel bad at all, and thank god Kris laughs at my wedding magazines.  Yes, I have found one that accepts my crazy, still loves me, and tells me I'm his nut... and so, I can continue to day-dream...