[adamkaboom]

Originally Posted by snizzle

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Proposal Idea

I live in the Birmingham, AL area. There is this park downtown that is the location of The Vulcan; it's the largest Cast Iron Statue in the world. (A very impressive sight). It's a very romantic spot, and there is a great view of the whole city from there.

A few years ago they redid the park and started selling bricks that pave an area in front of the parking lot. You can have them write anything you want on the bricks, although most people have 'In memory of...' and stuff like that. I figured that this would be an awesome way to propose (on one of the bricks). It would prove an unforgetable night, and the brick would also be there for generations to see (and us to revisit!) That's the basic idea.

I was going to bring her out there and look over the city and probably make her think that it's the night that i'm going to propose. Once we are inside i'm going to have some friends come out and put down some red carpet type stuff (she's got a thing for it, i dunno....) with white rose pedals and candles leading up to 'our brick'. When they are done i'll have them call me and tell me they're done. However, i'll act like the call is inviting my girlfriend and I to go play games. I'll tell the person on the phone "Sure, we'll be right over. No, we aren't doing anything important." and tell her that we're going to go hang out with some other people. This is really going to tick her off probably. She doesn't like it when we don't get to spend time together because we hang out with other people. At this point she'll probably have completely forgotten about any kind of proposal ideas she had. Then she'll see it. We'll hit the parking lot and there will be the rose pedals and candles. I would let her walk up and as she turns to read the brick I would pull the ring out of my pocket and slip to one knee...

My friends that are setting it up also happen to be a wedding photographer and a videographer. So i would have then tape and take picture of the whole thing from the bushes.

What do you think?
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Sorry that was so long, but I'm REALLY excited about this and I just started to ramble!
-shane

wow shane! I hope when I have a girlfriend a propose that I can think of something like that...that is a really really awesome idea! Sounds to me like you're ready for it... Good luck to both of you!!!

[Chrysostom]

Originally Posted by snizzle

I went to a local jewelry shop on a friend's recomendation and started looking for rings. I found one that I really like and it's $1395 for the ring and setting. It's already set, they said that it's there on consignment. Here are the stats on the ring:

.45 carat
VS2
G-h Color
Round Brilliant Cut
Set in a white gold, cathedral setting

Now, as most people that buy engagement rings, I know VERY Little about all of this. I've read some stuff and pretty much understand the stats that I just listed I just don't really get the process too well. I'm going to try to get her to lower the price to around $1000-1100. How do you do this? I've haggled for cars, but it just feels weird bargaining with these people. I mean, they dress really nicely, and I am a mere Bible College Student!

Shane: Try bluenile.com. It's very trustworthy, I promise. You can build this exact ring for about $1100.

If you don't want to do that, let me give you some tips on haggling. The first thing is, dress nicely. Don't look like you're just a country bumpkin who's trying to look really nice to impress the ring people, but dress nicely. For instance, I wore nice jeans, dress shoes, and a really nice Oxford (long-sleeve, button-up shirt) with the sleeves rolled up halfway. Personal grooming is important, too -- shave, trim whatever facial hair you have, make sure you've recently gotten a haircut, and put product in your hair if you do that when you're trying to look nice (I don't, so I didn't).

When you walk in, walk in like you know what you're doing. Spend thirty minutes or an hour on the Internet (soyouwanna.com and ehow.com would work) learning about diamonds and diamond rings, so that you'll be well-versed in the lingo. Walk in with confidence, probably wearing sharp-looking sunglasses (but take them off when you get inside, obviously), and go directly to a salesperson. Tell him/her that you are looking for an engagement ring, and say that you know what you're looking for: around 45 points, G color, VS2 clarity, brilliant diamond solitaire in a white gold cathedral setting. Hopefully they'll try to toss out some more expensive diamonds at you. Look at them and resolutely reply that you want what you asked for -- 45 point G VS2 brilliant.

Now, when they actually get the ring you want, inspect it closely. Use the jeweler's lens to examine it for imperfections; it should be tough to find any if it is VS2. Think about it for a minute, then ask them how much it's going to be. When they reply that it is $1395, look puzzled. Act like you can't imagine that anyone would ever charge that much for this ring. Tell them that you will give them $1000 for this ring. Hopefully they will try to offer you a different ring or re-convince you of the greatness of this ring. If they do that, tell them that you'd like for them to write the info about the ring down on a business card and thank them for their time, then prepare to leave. Don't get involved in any complicated discussions.

They'll probably tell you that they are trustworthy jewelers who have been in the local area for four decades and that all their stuff is handcrafted, etc. Tell them that that's fine, but you'll give them $1000 for the ring. They will probably go down to $1150-$1250 if you press them like this (you might have to press more than once; don't let them get away with $1300!), but don't be afraid to walk out the door. You may need to let the salesperson talk to the manager. If you do have to talk out the door, call back the next day and ask if they've reconsidered. If they stand at $1395, tell them you've changed your offer to $1100 and hopefully you can get $1200. If that doesn't work, just buy at bluenile.com.

Or, you could just buy at bluenile in the first place. It's great. I bought at Jared's because I wanted to get a service plan at a national chain, but if you don't need that (and most people don't) then bluenile will treat you well, I promise.