Image Source

Planning a wedding is by no means a small feat. There are all sorts of things that you need to plan, purchases that you need to make, and arrangements that need to be kept to. Sometimes it can become easy to feel a little lost in the whole affair. Perhaps the hardest part of planning a wedding is knowing what you actually want and how you want things to pan out. Some people have planned their wedding since they were a child, so they can simply start bringing their plans to life. But the vast majority of us probably haven’t thought all too much about our big day until we’re actually engaged and the pressure is on to start pulling things together. But not to worry. Sometimes you just need to gather a little inspiration to start coming up with ideas in regards to forming expectations for your big day. Here are just a few sources of inspiration that could help to give you a push in the right direction! 

Celebrity engagements are always splashed across the media. In fact, different publications will often battle it out to get exclusive coverage of particular celebs’ special day. Now, the majority of us won’t have the budget to completely replicate celeb weddings, but you can draw a lot of inspiration from them. Keep an eye out for different colour schemes, themes, and show stopping entertainment that appeal to you and try to recreate them within your budget. If you see a celebrity have a huge fireworks display amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars on the eve of their big day, you could recreate this with a more humble array of fireworks. There are also plenty of features in celeb weddings that don’t actually cost all too much, such as chocolate fondues, table decorations, or seat sashes, so you could implement the exact same steps into your day too. 

Pinterest is a world of inspiration. This website allows you to search for pretty much anything, then provides you with a seemingly endless series of aesthetically pleasing images of whatever it may be that you searched for. You can then “pin” these images onto your personal boards, allowing you to check back on them for reference later down the line. Alternatively, you can browse other people’s boards. Just find someone who seems to have similar taste to you and you can find ready made boards with hundreds of ideas in a matter of moments. You can take a look at some of the most popular wedding boards on the site here. 

These are just a couple of sources of inspiration that you could lean back on when it comes to planning your own wedding. Sure, you’ll probably want to put your personal touch on things once you’ve got your ideas together. But the ideas that you draw from celeb weddings or Pinterest boards really can serve as brilliant starting blocks!

Image Source

We have entered an age where buying things online is no longer considered a new-age trend. Instead, it’s almost a mundane task performed by the masses. Right from groceries to a flat-screen television, there is no limit to what we can buy online. Jewelry is certainly no different. There are dozens of online stores selling everything from diamond encrusted rings to stainless steel bracelets. This often makes people wonder, is there a need to go to stores to buy wedding rings? In today’s fast-paced life, swiping and tapping your way to find the best wedding rings online certainly seems more convenient than going to physical stores. For most parts, buying jewelry online is definitely an evolutionary step forward. However, there are certain things you need to keep in mind before buying jewelry online. Following these will help you get a good deal and ensure you get an authentic piece. Without further ado, following are 4 things you need to do before buying wedding rings online. 

Browse Aimlessly: It may sound like a weird advice but browsing a jewelry store online without any preconceived idea is a good thing. This allows you to explore all the options and get a more in-depth look of the entire collection. It also helps you find an alternative to typical diamond and platinum pieces. Simply by choosing to explore you may end up buying a beautiful wedding ring set at half the cost of your original budget. When browsing, make sure to mark all the items you like by favoriting them so that you can find them later. 

Read Customer Reviews: Most online jewelry stores proudly display positive customer testimonials on the homepage. As a smart consumer, you know already that those reviews are either fake or selectively picked from a list of random customer reviews. To get the best picture about the reputation of the store, it’s always recommended to checkout an independent listing site like Yelp. If a site sells fake jewelry you will definitely find angry customer reviews online. 

Checkout Their Return Policy: An online seller that doesn’t offer a no-questions-asked return policy doesn’t really have much faith in its own products. As a consumer, you should be able to return a piece unless you damage it in any way or past the date of return. Most reputable online jewelry stores show their transparent return policy by displaying texts like“free return” or “easy returns” on the homepage.

Learn More About Accreditations and Certificates of Authenticity: To ensure you are not dealing with an unscrupulous website, you need to find out if the site is accredited by independent organizations. For example, National Association of Jewellers is an independent organization that certifies online jewelry stores in the UK. Apart from that, you also need to check certificates of authenticity that come with the wedding ring. Make sure the certificate is issued by a reputed gemological organization. Also, it's important to know what to look for when reading jewelry grading reports or certificates.