To Buy, or Not To Buy: Grooms, Brides and Engagement Ring Shopping

Believe it or not, there’s a certain element of engagement ring shopping that seems to starkly divide couples. It’s this simple question: should you buy the ring together or leave it all for the groom to decide?

Okay, maybe that’s not such a simple question. Either way, we we’ve weighed up the options…

Buying Together

The obvious benefit to joining forces when shopping for a ring is that the bride will end up getting something she’s 100% guaranteed to love. It’s no secret that many men aren’t the most in the know when it comes to fashion and jewellery. And there are some women – usually the kind who care about every detail of their style and have very distinctive tastes – who wouldn’t dream of not being involved in the decision. So if you don’t trust your man to know your style and pick out something you’ll happily wear forever, life will be much easier for you both if you team up to shop together.

Shopping together also has other advantages however. Purchasing an engagement ring is big decision, both symbolically and financially. It’s just the first of many important decisions you’ll be making as a couple during your lifetime, and when compared with some of those other decisions (like having a baby or buying a house, for example), it’s nowhere the near the biggest. So collaborating on your engagement ring is great practice for things to come and gets your partnership off to a great start.

Finally, the process of buying an engagement ring can be a little overwhelming, no matter how clear a picture you have of your ‘dream’ ring. If you know nothing about jewellery, you’re faced with the 4Cs, diamond cuts and carats, setting choices and a host of other confusing things to pick. If you’re not sure what you want, the choice can be very intimidating. Teaming up with your other half means you have another pair of eyes to judge and another mind to help you remember what you liked and where you saw it.

Don’t Tell the Bride

Old romantics out there will prefer the traditional route of the groom surprising the bride with an engagement ring, and there’s certainly a lot to be said for that. The phrase ‘romance is dead’ is often thrown around these days, but a surprise engagement ring certainly goes a little way to refute it. Doing all the research, store visits and decision making yourself, all for your lady love, is a lot of effort that will be endlessly appreciated.

If you’re a groom buying solo, you’ll have to spend some time getting to know your wife’s personal style in order to pick out a ring she’ll like. This might sound like a difficult task at first, but look at it this way; you’ll get to know your soon to be wife on a whole other level, and the knowledge will come in handy for future Christmas, birthday and anniversary gifts (remember you’ve got a lifetime of those ahead of you too!)

The look on your other half’s face when they see their ring for the first time is a truly magical moment. Keeping it a surprise and buying it yourself is a surefire way to create a memory you’ll both cherish forever.

And the Other Option…

This isn’t exactly traditional, doesn’t buy into the romance idea and may even be considered a little mean by some, but there are a few brides out there who choose to go and buy their engagement rings themselves! If you’re the strong independent type then what the hell is stopping you from going out there and finding your dream ring on your own? Just make sure your other half is okay with it first… your ring is supposed to stand for a partnership after all, and it could be seen as slightly creepy if you buy a ring before there’s even been a proposal (mutual or otherwise)!