Planning your wedding can be a busy and stressful time, there is so much to organise and arrange. From the dress to the church, wedding invitations and favours, there is so much to plan and think of and none of this would be possible without the help of your best friends and bridesmaids.
Your bridesmaids are chosen as they mean the world to you and you want them by your side. So don’t forget to show your appreciation for all the help they gave you, not only in the planning of your wedding day but throughout your life.
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Wedding Rings Direct have been trading for over 12 years; designing and making wedding rings to exact and detailed customer specifications. Over the years we have had some great designs, one of the most memorable was an engraving which read “put it back on”. We have got to know our customers from working closely with them over the past 12 years and we understand everyone has different requirements.
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On the 29th April last year, millions of people around the world tuned in to watch the much anticipated Royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. It’s hard to believe it was a year ago we were all glued to the TV or lined up in the streets with our flags watching the beautiful fairytale marriage of the girl next door to her real life Prince.
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If you are planning a wedding, you know only too well how important it is to plan and stick to a budget. Spending an extra few pounds here and there will soon eat in to the budget and before you … Read full blog post →
There are many myths and traditions around weddings, the most traditional in the UK is “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. Where do these myths, superstitions and traditions come from and why centuries on, are they still … Read full blog post →
Has your daughter just got engaged? Take our quick quiz to find out what kind of Mother of the Bride you will be.
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// The average UK wedding costs a staggering £18500. Planning wedding requires a lot of financial planning, by setting a budget based on average costs you can ensure you stay within your limits. This infographic illustrates how much each aspect … Read full blog post →
2011 saw some beautiful wedding dress trends with ruffles being very popular, making a statement on all of the major catwalks. This year is different, 2012 brings with it lace, texture and glamorous necklines to wedding dress. Straight from the … Read full blog post →
Thinking of proposing? Check out our latest blog on the Top 5 outrageous ways to propose.. Are you creative enough to come up with something like this?
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When planning a wedding we all look to the celebs to see how they are doing it. Whether it’s magazines, TV or internet, we look for inspiration (and sometimes a laugh). This weeks blog is about Petra Ecclestone and her lavish £12m wedding in Rome.
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Snaparazzi are the latest craze at weddings. They create a fun and exciting atmosphere and are the perfect entertainment for all of your guests (there’s no age limit). The vintage photo booths offer you and your guests the chance to dress up in fun wigs and props and have photos to remember the night forever. Snaparazzi won the 2012 Regional Industry Award for Best Newcomers, this says it all.
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You will know that you’ve got an extra bank holiday because of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, but did you know that you have the option of an extra hallmark as well? You’ve got until October 2012 to order your wedding ring with this extra hallmark commemorating just one of the many reasons 2012 is a special year for the UK. Read the full post for more information about this hallmark and how to order a wedding ring with the diamond jubilee stamp.
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We’ve been getting lots of emails lately from people who want to know if we’ll deliver wedding rings to their country. The first thing to check is whether or not your country is listed as a possible destination at checkout. To check this list, just pop the ring into the shopping basket and go to checkout. Before you enter any other details, just scroll down to the country name part of the address and see if yours is there. If it is then great – we’ll deliver there! If it’s not then we will probably still be able to deliver, but we’ll need to talk to you about a few things first. Read the full blog post for more information on the kind of things we’ll need to cover before we can open up your country as a destination at checkout.
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As my last post on the topic of women proposing to their men on February 29th 2012, I’ve written a round-up of the comments and (strong!) opinions I’ve heard on the issue. I’ve heard many pros and cons from colleagues, friends and from around the internet, from those who are determined that women should not be tied to tradition to those girls who want to take the pressure off their men.
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St Valentines Day falls on 14th February each year, yet never fails to catch everyone out in terms of buying decent, well thought-out gifts in time. Present-buying habits really vary from couple to couple, as does their way of acknowledging the day. Some couples don’t celebrate the day, some just exchange cards or extra-sweet nothings, and some people go all out with gifts of carefully-chosen jewellery. Which is where I come in. This post covers some Valentines Day gift ideas including engagement rings, diamond jewellery and Valentines Day gifts for men.
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As the second blog in my series about women proposing to their men, I thought it time to give a bit of inspiration for what women might want to use instead of an engagement ring when proposing to their boyfriends. Whether you want a mengagement ring in the form of a precious metal men’s ring that he can later use for the ceremony, a diamond-set contemporary design, a combination of the two, or something else entirely to propose with; in this post you’ll find inspiration for the kind of mangagement rings that have proved popular with our customers over the years.
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The first of a series of blog posts about the tradition of women proposing to their boyfriends on ‘Leap Day’ – Feb 29th 2012. A bit of information about leap years, why the usual rules don’t apply on February 29th and some myth about where the tradition comes from. I would love to hear from you if you have a strong opinion on (a) women proposing to men (b) whether February 29th is a good opportunity to do this and – especially – (c) if you are thinking of proposing on that day!
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Our bespoke team asked me to put together a blog post about how the bespoke service works, and specifically why they can not copy designs. We are often asked to replicate designs that potential customers have seen elsewhere, usually because they’ve realised that we probably won’t charge as much. This post talks you through our thoughts on this subject, and what we can and can’t do with regards to copying and customising designs made by ourselves and others.
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Autumn/winter is a pretty hectic season at Wedding Rings Direct. Once the summer wedding season fell behind us, we had approximately a day and a half of breathing space before people start coming to us for Christmas jewellery gifts, engagement rings and rings for Christmas weddings. So, with ten days (eight working days) to go, how are we getting on?
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Sometimes, when I am on hold or in a queue for the supermarket, I like to think of as many songs as I can on a theme. For example, songs mentioning days of the week, songs about people called Sally, songs that name check other bands. This afternoon, we rewarded ourselves for a week of hard work by coming up with a list of songs with diamonds in them. Which lead to a list of songs with gold in them…and so on. Read full post for the results!
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Want something to look forward to in January? Then enter our Facebook competition to win a pair of 18ct white gold and diamond earrings. The winner will be announced in the first week of 2012 – just in time to stave off those post-Christmas blues. The earrings are a cross design with diamonds set into 18ct white gold. They’ll be sent in a black leatherette display box, perfect for safe storage or for extra wow factor if you’re giving the earrings as a gift. Read the full blog post for information on how to enter the competition.
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2011 was a busy year at Wedding Rings Direct – our busiest ever! Whilst the country has been experiencing varying degrees of belt-tightening over the last few years, we’ve been ready to cater for lower budgets and big spenders alike. Sometimes trends surprise us, such as the phases when everyone seems to want one particular multi-metal ring with coloured stones from a far corner of our website, or when we go a few weeks without anyone buying our best-selling engagement ring. This blog takes you through the trends we’ve noticed, most of which are to be expected – it’s good to know that we’re doing the right thing by having products for all budgets, and services to suit everyone.
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Lots of men choose to propose at Christmas, especially if their loved one is a fan of the festive season. Coming up with original marriage proposal ideas can be tough, and many people lose sight of the main objectives – making sure it’s personal, romantic and special. Here I take you through general tips for proposing, as well as a selection of ideas for a traditional – yet special – Christmas proposal. Want to pop the question in a romantic, traditional, cute or creative way? Make sure you tailor it to her personality, and my blog will show you how.
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Buying wedding rings online can be a surprisingly complicated task once you’ve realised how much choice there is out there. I’ve put together this guide on how to buy wedding rings to take you through the basics, along with guidance and links to more detailled information on metal alloys, designs, and getting to grips with things like ring profiles. Choosing a wedding ring should be fun – and it will be with my advice as a starting point!
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New: Competitions from Wedding Rings Direct! This month we’re giving away a diamond and 18ct white gold necklace, and we’ve got lots of rings, earrings and more pendants to give away over the coming months. Read the full blog for a photo of the necklace we’re giving away and a link to our Facebook page.
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Wedding photography is a huge business, with hundreds to choose from in your local area alone. So how do you choose a wedding photographer, and what should you expect from them for your big day?
We’re excited to have advice from the expert for this post – the lovely Sara Reeve photographed Julian’s recent wedding, and impressed him by her friendly professionalism. Whilst also describing Sara’s efficient preparation in the lead-up to the big day, Julian’s main compliment was how she stood out from other wedding photographers by her ability to put everyone at ease to achieve relaxed and happy photos.
Read the full blog post for Sara’s top tips and advice on wedding photography.
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Cyber Monday – the biggest day of the year for online shopping – will fall on 28th November 2011. This is the day following most people’s payday, when they’ve have had the chance to browse the high-street for gift inspiration, but know they can get better deals online. Wedding Rings Direct will certainly be busy with orders for cufflinks, diamond pendants and diamond earrings – but we’ll also manage to squeeze in some time to get shopping ourselves online. Read the full post for the history of Cyber Monday and some information on the kind of products we sell that will make perfect Christmas presents.
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With Halloween coming up, we’ve had more people than usual calling to ask for advice on whether we think their partner is a vampire. It’s a fair question, and something you must consider when planning for your wedding and future life together. Vampires walk among us and can be tricky to spot. Take the quiz to find out if your beloved is a vampire.
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I’ve previously blogged about how it might not be ideal to order a ring from one jeweller based on a finger size given by another. Here’s my advice on how you can make the most of our services to be able to order your wedding, engagement or eternity rings with confidence. If you make use of our free ring gauges and samples, you can be sure of receiving the perfectly fitting wedding rings.
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Being a bit of a geek, it always catches my eye when I see the commodities we sell being used for very different purposes. Recently I’ve noticed the rise in upmarket skincare products that contain precious metals – the same precious metals that are in your wedding rings! Of course, I had to find out more…here are my findings about why and how some precious metals are used in cosmetics.
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An at-home hen party needs a little more planning than a night out – with the latter you can just give the girls silly outfits, start off at the bride’s favourite bar, and see where the night takes you. Here you can find my top tips for organising a low-key (but fun!) hen night at your house.
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Wedding advice of all kinds can easily be found online, but making sense of it is not always so easy. I recently turned to the internet for a cheat sheet when preparing a Mr and Mrs-style quiz for a hen night. I got there in the end, but I had to cut through a lot of dross. Read the full blog post for my final list of questions for the (un)lucky hen!
For those lucky to be young enough not to have seen the game show, Mr and Mrs is a quiz where one partner first answers some simple enough questions, and the other then has to guess their responses. The idea is to find out how well you know each other and how in tune your answers are to the more bizarre questions!
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We’re moving offices this week! It’s a pretty exciting time; meaning we have more space, more light and the chance to really develop our showroom. But, don’t worry, it’s business as usual – read more to find out why.
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A couple of months ago I was asked by two friends if I would do them the honour of reading at their wedding. I have had to do a reading before – but this time I was also given the challenge of choosing it myself! Should I try and find a sweet poem or bit of prose online? Should I write something myself? Read more to find out how easy (or hard) it is to search the internet for unique wedding readings. Don’t forget to check back next month to find out what I chose…
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Just got engaged and want to show your new ring at its best? Getting ready for your wedding and want to make sure your hands are ready to show off the wedding bands? Read my top tips for how to make your hands worthy of the ring.
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A round-up of the wedding-related stuff I have been coveting, enjoying and learning this week. You’ll find bridal magazine-appreciation, my new top tip to avoid losing your wine glass at a wedding, and some warm and fuzzies about Somerset wedding venues.
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A blog entry by popular demand! It’s often hard to spell out the process behind how we prioritise our orders – it’s a tricky balance between the date the order was placed, and how soon the wedding is. We aim for a balance between the two, and work very hard to make sure that orders are sent by the estimated delivery date. We ask for people’s wedding date at checkout for two reasons: First to ensure that all customers are aware of their estimated delivery date (we quickly know they’ve missed it if the wedding date is entered as before the EDD), and secondly so our workshops can make informed decisions about how to prioritise orders at busy times. Keep reading for in-depth information on our manufacture times, express service, why we ask for the wedding date and how we use this info.
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Once you’ve decided to propose, planned how to do it and chosen an engagement ring, you’ll need to find out her ring size. This isn’t always easy, although most girls hoping for a proposal will find a way to make sure you know her size! But not all girls are proposal-hungry, and others aren’t so cheeky as to be so blatant about the matter. Which leaves it to you to work it out! Read the full blog for my tips on ways to suss out her ring size:
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Recycling is, of course, a massive issue these days, and there are even websites out there dedicated to having a ‘recycled wedding‘. So we often get asked whether we can recycle a family heirloom or other item of jewellery to make a new pair of wedding rings. Not everyone’s motivations are green though – people often want to reuse an heirloom for sentimental reasons, or simply to save money. Read more for my quick guide to making a recycled wedding ring:
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Palladium wedding rings are hugely popular at the moment thanks to the budget-crunching recession, the introduction of a hallmark by the UK Assay office, and the increasing willingness of jewellers to work with the metal. However, there’s some confusion out there about the properties of palladium; and a lot of conflicting advice can be found online. No-one likes conflicting advice, especially when you’ve got a wedding to organise, so here’s my take on the matter:
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Everyone wants their wedding to be the most memorable day of their own lives, and also wants the wedding that will really stand out in the memories of their guests. Sometimes trying so hard to make sure every detail is right can detract from your own enjoyment of the day, and make the day less fun for all involved. Follow our top tips for advice on how to make sure your guests enjoy your wedding – and remember it over and above all the other weddings they attend this year!
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This post was written in the lead-up to Glastonbury festival, as I’m pretty much unable to think about anything else in the month of June! I’m so obsessed with the festival that I thought I’d get married there someday – until I found out about the ANY campaign and realised that options for where one can get married are actually very small. The more people that learn about – and hopefully support – the campaign, the higher the chance that I will get my wish by the time I get around to getting married! In this post I explore the current options for marrying outside, or close to outside, and give more information about the ANY campaign.
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After writing my last blog about how and why precious metal wedding rings scratch, my thoughts turned to our rings with wooden inlays – these can show wear and tear in very different ways to other jewellery. Whilst most of us have worn some kind of jewellery in the past and are familiar with how to look after it, most people have never had to even think about how wood should be looked after to withstand every day life. Read on for more information on how to look after these uniquely designed wedding rings with wooden inlays.
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People often get in touch to say that their rings have become scratched, which is a really tricky query/complaint for me to deal with as it’s not usually because of the metal. Wedding rings are so precious to people that the first few scratches can come as a shock – and it’s only natural to want to get in touch with the jeweller who made them to check that everything is in order. I wrote this blog to explain what kind of everyday objects may be surprising causes of wear and tear, and how to best deal with this occurrence.
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A bit of fun about what happened one day when Kim bought us a box of cupcakes! Who was tempted first? Did they taste as good as they look? Who ate the most? Who resisted temptation? Find the answers to all these important questions by reading on…
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In this blog I address the question of whether you need to ask for her father’s permission before popping the question. Some people think of the custom as antiquated, or even offensive – but other families might be offended if you don’t follow the tradition! Is there a middle ground to ensure you don’t upset anyone? And what if the father is not around, or if there’s other people in her life who’d appreciate the gesture?
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I spend a lot of time talking to people about how to find out their finger size, and why sizing sometimes differs depending on who you ask to measure the ring/the finger. In fact, I spend so much time talking about it that I thought I’d better put my money where my mouth is, and set off into town to see how many different finger sizes I could get in one day! I ended up with some really useful insights into the reasons that people are often given the wrong size by high street jewellers, and give tips on how to make sure you are given a size appropriate for the kind of ring you’re buying.
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I wrote this blog because I spent a LOT of time talking and blogging about the Royal Wedding…only plan a trip out of the country when the actual wedding is taking place! What do others thing about the big day? Will people be watching, a la the Charles and Diana wedding day, or steering clear? We’ve done nothing but talk about it for almost a year – but does anyone really care?
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Lots of people are allergic to different metals, and we often get asked what components of our ring alloys may cause reactions, so I wrote this article to make it easier for people to find the answers they need. I take you through the minority components of our platinum, palladium, different carats of gold, zirconium, titanium and tungsten carbide; provide information on the usage of nickel; and the true story of what happens when you wear a silver ring and end up with a green finger!
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Welsh gold wedding rings have shot to the top of the ‘must have’ lists for weddings in 2011, because of the Royal Wedding and because of the threat of true Welsh gold running out. Read more for background info into the history of Welsh gold, links between the royal family and Welsh gold, and why it’s so sought after.
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This piece was written with the hope of inspiring those who want engraving on their wedding rings but aren’t sure what to have. Common themes of engraving include classic names and dates and declarations of love; to lines from songs and silly in-jokes – continue reading to view the whole blog post.
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One of the best things about working for Wedding Rings Direct is that the items we create and sell are so special to our customers. This means that our customers aren’t just faceless consumers of every day items, but instead are real people who are making one of the most important purchases of their lives. Few other pieces of jewellery are as precious as wedding rings, so we want our website and services to make the buying and aftercare experience as happy as possible.
This article introduces the purpose of the blog and a bit of background into my world, and the world of Wedding Rings Direct.
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