Engagement 101 Magazine

Amy Winehouse steps out with engagement ring

engagement101mag — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:24:12 +0000

Troubled singer Amy Winehouse stepped out in London a few nights ago with a sparkly new engagement ring on her finger. Just a few weeks ago it was rumored that the singer was planning to remarry ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, so I guess the ring on her finger sealed the deal. Winehouse originally divorced Fielder-Civil in July. classic solitaire piece

According to News of the World, Blake told a friend that the ring was the original $3,000 Tiffany engagement ring he got her the first time.

The picture at the source is a little blurry, but it looks like a plain classic solitaire engagement ring on a white gold or platinum band.

But engagement ring aside, do you think remarrying an ex-spouse is romantic or an inevitable path to heartache?

Love,
Engagement 101

Worst places to hide an engagement ring

engagement101mag — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:44:27 +0000

Since the holidays are approaching, many guys are planning to surprise their girlfriends with engagement rings. But one thing guys should be aware of is where to hide the ring. For one, you don’t want her to find it, and two, you don’t want her to swallow it (hiding the ring in food is always a no-no, and it’s a proposal idea we strongly despise).

So what are some other questionable places that one should never hide a ring? An article at CantonRep.com says some of the worst places to hide an engagement ring is on a hot air balloon, in a cup or on a bridge. Of course, I highly doubt men are hiding their rings on bridges and under overpasses (seems more like a case of buttery fingers), but basically the gist of the article is to remind men that an engagement ring is an important investment and not something frivolous you can attach to a balloon or something.

Anyway, what are some of your suggestions for worst places to hide an engagement ring?

Love,
Engagement 101

Woman retakes wedding photos after losing 140 pounds

engagement101mag — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:40:40 +0000

A London woman decided to retake her wedding photos to show off her new slimming figure. The woman, who weighed 294 pounds when she first married, wasn’t happy with her original wedding pics. After joining Slimming World (I’m assuming some kind of British version of Jenny Craig), the woman dropped down to 154 pounds.

When her husband saw her new slim figure as a bridesmaid at a friend’s wedding, he suggested for the two to retake their wedding photos.

“I love her whatever her size,” he told prestigious publication News of the World. “But she looked amazing – so I suggested we got a wedding album to be proud of.” (Editor’s note: Ouch!)

So, the bride bought a new dress and booked a reservation at the same hotel where they were married. They even invited all their friends and family.

“This time I felt like a princess,” she said. “The first time I knew people would just see a fat bride, but I’m so proud now.”

Hmm, what do you guys think of this?

Love,
Engagement 101

Public proposals: Yay or nay?

engagement101mag — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:38:57 +0000

Yesterday, the web was buzzing about a proposal that took place over Tumblr. I didn’t get a chance to blog about it yesterday, but I did post about it on Facebook. Basically a guy hijacked everyone’s Tumblr dashboard to propose to his girlfriend. Most of the response has been positive, with folks gushing over the romantic theatrics. But a blogger over at Videogum had a bone to the pick with the rising popularity of online proposals:

But the thing that bothers me the most about these stunts is that in this day and age they just feel like blatant, aggressive attempts to get on the morning talk shows, and maybe a coffee table book of hilarious proposals, or a movie on TLC. That is what happens to elaborate, very-public stunt proposals (and choreographed Chris Brown processional dances). We know that. These guys definitely know that. “Oh my God, we never thought that it would have this kind of response.” Right. Of course, maybe that is part of the “finding your happiness” thing. Maybe your guys’s love is not strong enough to just do its own thing, maybe it has to do everyone’s thing. Maybe getting validation from hundreds to thousands to tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands to millions of strangers is part of it for you.

I personally don’t have a problem with over-the-top proposals. I mean, they’re fun to write about, and it’s something mom and dad can tell their children about some day. But what do you think? Do you think public proposals are romantic or showy?

Love,
Engagement 101

Cheap gift costs no money, requires zero effort

engagement101mag — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:57:32 +0000

Here’s something a little fun I found posted at Lemondrop. Everyone knows of singing telegrams, aka guys who show up at your door dressed like giant bumblebees and singing “You Are So Beautiful To Me” while holding a large bouquet of roses. Well now you can reap all the benefits of an awkward singing telegram without spending a cent.

The virtual singing telegram lets you input your own lyrics and then sings it for you. Now, it might not sound like the real song, or even resemble anything similar to a song, but it’s hilarious nonetheless. It’ll make an excellent gag gift for the holidays. Give it a try.

Love,
Engagement 101

Engaged by Christmas?

engagement101mag — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:33:46 +0000

An article at HuffPo yesterday gave a step-by-step rundown on how to get your man to propose by Christmas. Blogger and relationship coach Jag Carrao said that after nine months of dating, it’s commitment time. Carrao suggests that ladies should start dropping hints at month seven and, if successful, should have a sparkly ring by month nine. She also advises for couples to not move in together before marriage and that couples should avoid seeing each other, keeping weekly contact to just “three times a week.”

There’s lots of great advice in Carrao’s column, including “stop making excuses for him” and to not “bring up marriage too early.” But one thing that didn’t sit well with me was the nine month timeline. If you only been dating your guy for nine months, and you only see him three times a week, and otherwise remain “mysterious” and unavailable for him, is that really enough time to truly know each other? And if, for whatever reason, the relationship spans several years without a proposal, does that warrant kicking a perfectly good relationship under a bus? Thoughts?

Love,
Engagement 101

New Facebook engagement feature

engagement101mag — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:46:37 +0000

Ever since Facebook’s redesign a few weeks ago, there have been some additional new features added. One of them is a new feature for couples announcing their engagement via Facebook status. Now once an engagement is announced, a photo of the couple along with a story appears. Pretty cute, yes?

I found this out over at All Facebook who also said the new engagement feature is most likely for all relationship status updates.

I usually try to stay clear of Facebook relationship updates; they can get you into trouble. What do you think of Facebook and its role in relationships?

A movie trailer proposal

engagement101mag — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:52:20 +0000

The title of the current viral video hit, “Best Marriage Proposal EVER!!!!”, seemed a little presumptuous at first…until I actually watched it. It really is a video fit for its title.

A guy decided to hire an entire production team to shoot a movie trailer based on him and his girlfriend’s relationship. He then played the trailer at a movie theater packed with friends and family. His girlfriend watched the trailer thinking it was just an ordinary trailer for a movie. “She had no idea this was a marriage proposal until the last three seconds of the trailer,” he says in his YouTube info.

Below is the actual trailer. I can’t get over how good the production is! The whole thing must have been really expensive and time consuming.

Love,
Engagement 101

Guy loses engagement ring on hot air balloon

engagement101mag — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:49:57 +0000

There seems to be an ongoing theme of guys losing engagement rings via theatrical proposals. A few months ago this guy lost his fiancee’s engagement ring when he dropped it off the Brooklyn Bridge. Now another guy, James Ng from Ohio, lost the engagement during a hot air balloon ride where he planned to pop the question to his girlfriend.

“I just watched it tumble and it hit a tree and spun around and the stuff fluttered out of it,” Ng told WKYC. “And I just put my head down on the side of the balloon and I was just – I just couldn’t believe I’d just done that.”

The box, which held the ring, fell into the woods. But Ng, who spent an entire year saving up for the ring, didn’t lose hope. He plotted the area, used maps/grids and searched the woods for the ring. Then finally, a week into their search, they found the ring still in its box.

“It was amazing. I just kept looking at it,” said fiancee Sonya Bostic. “It was so beautiful. It was perfect. It was everything that I wanted. And that we found it, and I never thought in a million years we’d find it. That was truly God. It really was.”

Love,
Engagement 101

Tara Reid’s pink diamond engagement ring

engagement101mag — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:40:43 +0000

Credit: Flynet Pictures via E! Online

Although the American Pie actress hasn’t been in the news much, recently she stepped out in Miami to show off her new gigantic pink diamond engagement ring, according to E! Online.

The actress has been dating billionaire Michael Axtmann for several months now, but there’s no official word on their engagement or wedding plans.

Pink diamond engagement rings have become trendy since Jennifer Lopez rocked one while engaged to Ben Affleck. Funny, the writer at E! Online called the ring ugly and “gaudy.” I think pink diamonds are cute! But different strokes for different folks, I guess. What do you think of pink diamond engagement rings?

Love,

Engagement 101