Wedding bands

One of the things Matt & I did while we were in Austin during New Year's was to look at wedding bands. Not of the singing variety, mind you, but of the pretty & shiny variety (though I guess some bands can fit THAT description...).

Being young and just about to graduate college, we were definitely on a budget. However, my naturally expensive taste combined with what genuinely looked best with my engagement ring resulted in me/us wanting a channel band.

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 Diamonds aren't cheap, but we searched at Blue Nile (where my e-ring came from) and the chain jewelry stores in various malls. We eventually found what size in carats we wanted, etc, but the prices were too high. Then we went to the nearby Zales Outlet store, and found the perfect one for $100 under budget! Woohoo!

I know the diamonds won't be as 'high quality' as the Blue Nile ones, but the sum carat weight is small enough that it doesn't matter. Metal is the same. It is inexpensive enough that if we want, in ten years we'll be able to replace it for a anniversary thing. So basically, it's perfect.

Don't worry-- I'm not forgetting Matt! He knew going into the shopping experience what he wanted-- palladium. It's a relatively new metal (in terms of use in wedding bands) and it has the strength and other benefits of platinum, but isn't nearly as expensive. Matt didn't want diamonds or anything else 'fancy,' very fitting of the practical engineer he is. 

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We were able to determine the width of the band he wants, but we haven't ordered one yet. We're still waiting on some price quotes from a couple of stores.


So there you have it, our somewhat-easy wedding band shopping trip!