So my wife and I are finally going to have a wedding next year. I have 2 things on my to do list right now and that is finding a location for the reception, and getting her a bigger rock.

I live in So. California and need some ideas for locations. So far I'm looking at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel and Pacific Palms Resort. I know they're all hotels but I'm not limited to hotels only, just looking for a place with a nice setting and banquet hall. Any suggestions ??


Now for the rock. When we got married last year I gave her a 1 carat princess cut ring VVS2 but looking to get her a rock double that. I'm wondering if the guys and gals could give me input what to do. Should I just buy a loose diamond and get it put on a new setting and save money ? or should I just go to tiffanys and pay a huge premium ?

If it was me I would try to keep the wedding budget down and save money for a house.

Real Estate normally increases in value and offers tax benefits. The party and the ring is nice but a home and long term wealth will allow you to have a family and long term happiness.

I am not trying to preach, just giving my old guy thoughts and experience.

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X5world - Where you come for the information but stay for the friendships

I just stayed at The Ritz Laguna Niguel two weeks ago. I thought I died and went to heaven. The property is spectacular! It is immaculate clean, service is superb. The grounds and views are breathtaking. If I had to get married again (someone shoot me) that's the place. And I live on the other coast.

As far as the rock, everyone will give you different opinions. No need to go to Tiffany's. I'd say get the stone and the setting separately. Make sure you deal with a reputable diamond dealer. I think B-Line can point you in the right direction. He's in So Cal. FWIW - you do know doubling the size with the clarity she currently has is going to cost alot more than double depending on the color.

Get ready for the CZ peeps to come out of the woodwork.

Congrats

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location---- bmw dealership

That's all the advice u need right there

Ok, diamonds..

Here is my recommendation.
Do not buy Tiffany's. You will be spending 45% of the value of the diamond on a little blue box.

Buy a diamond, then have it mounted.

Ok, here is what I did, you can make adjustments according to budget.

There are four things to know about diamonds, cut, clarity, carat, color.

Colors are based on letters, top tier being, D, E, F.
Second tier being, G, H.

I wouldn't go lower than H for color and in my opinion, F-G stones are the best value to quality. Lean towards F if you can find one.

Cut, You know, Princess, good choice... Very popular.

Clarity, There are lots of opinions on this, but here is my advice. Clarity means, how many dirt molecules you can see in the stone. Some you can see with the naked eye, other molecules you need magnification to see. It is my opinion, that buying a stone that has a clarity value higher than "visible to the "naked eye"" is a waste. VS2 or VS1 is in my opinion, the way to go. Yes, there are "inclusions" but you need a microscope to see them. And if any of your wife's friends are walking around with microscopes, looking for inclusions, they deserve to be punted in the head.

So the last thing is ct. Well, that's budget. But understand, a 2 ct. diamond is not twice the price of a 1 ct. diamond. It's much more, as Laura said.

So lets recap:
1) Don't buy street level diamonds (retail stores at malls, etc. go to a diamond wholesaler, pick stone and have mounted.)
2) In my opinion, the BEST price/grade value will look something like this:


F-G color
Very Slightly Included (VS1 or VS2)
at highest ct. weight you want to spend.

You also want a stone that is GRADED, by GIA. (lets call it a certification and serial number).

There are some other things to consider like girdle, depth, etc. But they are less important.

Some other things to keep in mind, you can find a 1.5ct. diamond that looks bigger than a 2ct. diamond, depending on the way they look. Diamonds have a life of their own, you really need to look at them. Just cause it looks good on paper, doesn't mean it will look good in your hand.

Try to find a wholesaler who will get you 3-4 diamonds to look at. Then you can compare them to one another.

Also, www.pricescope.com is a good resource for finding diamond values, vendors, etc.

Email me if you want some names of people to call. I don't vogue for anyone in terms of absolute confidence, etc. Like buying a car, I can send you to a dealer, salesman, but you need to do your homework. Their objective will to always be, maximize the value of the sale, and your objective should be, to get the best price. Which means, you need to do leg work.

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"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss

Oh, and weddings, Here's an idea for you..

I got married in late October, 2007. We decided, we wanted a small wedding, so despite the cries of most of my friends and extended family..

We went to Hawaii and got married on Maui at the most beautiful location. In front of a restaurant called Mama's Fish House, on a Lagoon.

We only invited immediate family. Brothers, sisters, their spouses, parents. 13 of us in total. It was fantastic. So glad we didn't do the big wedding, with the brides maid and grooms party and pictures and band and blah, blah, blah..

It was a small, romantic wedding. And instead of spending all the money on all the B.S., I spent the money paying for everyones trip. Airfare, hotels, meals, etc. No one had to spend any money to get to or stay in Hawaii. And we even had these fantastic cottages, right on the beach, where we got married.

Everyone wore Khaki's, sandal's, white or Hawaiin shirts.
- For the rehearsal dinner, we went to an exquisite luau...

The whole thing was fantastic... And yes, we did take some heat for not having friends, cousins, aunts and uncle's, etc. But we got married the way we wanted to. Simple, beautiful, romantic.

Just a thought.

B - been to Mama's Fish House when I worked for the government. That's a nice place...

lakai - don't get hung up on a certain region. But, definitely check out Maui. Of all the Islands, Maui is my favorite.

And I would tend to agree with Laura.

Oh! I forgot to tell you - congratulation on your upcoming wedding.

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