Caught on Facebook! Rewearing an outfit to another wedding with a different circle of friends. Normally, I would get away with it....no thanks to Facebook.

Can women everywhere please agree that re-wearing outfits to events is okay? Let’s make a pact. It would make our lives easier.

Reese Witherspoon's engagement ring was the only ring on her left hand during their engagement. Photo Source: abcnews.go.com

Unless you’re of the lucky few (especially in this economy), you haven’t sported a ring worth thousands on your hands. I wore a thumb ring on my left hand for most of my college career and a few years after. When I got engaged, I didn’t think to move it. After scolding from close girlfriends, I moved the ring, and finally never wore it again. Same goes for my other rings. I was a little disappointed at the time because those rings were also part of my personality (I’m over it, I promise) but looking back, it was the right thing to do because it showed how important the engagement and wedding rings were.

How have you worn your engagement or wedding rings? Do those rings deserve the entire hand? 

We ran a contest last month to win ~$200 worth of jewelry which was designed by Kate Bosworth. I would recommend the fashion jewelry for events like the rehearsal dinner, after-wedding brunch, or gifts for bridesmaids.

And now, for the unboxing!

The Packaging

The JewelMint.com package came in my mailbox, in a thick bubble wrap with the JewelMint logo on it.

After opening the black bubble wrap envelope, I was greeted by a nice pamphlet from JewelMint and a cute little box with a bow on it.

The box was slight damaged, as you can see. The contents of the box were safe though. The box was secured by the bow and a hidden magnetic latch, when opened, would reveal the contents.

The Contents

It's hard to see in this picture, but the earings were secured in the top corners of a foam insert, and a bracelet was safe within a bag.

The earings and bracelet Windsor Set from JewelMint.com

A nice personal touch, JewelMint also includes a description of the jewelry.

Example JewelMint jewelry

It pays to be thankful! We’re pleased to announce that Chelsea Rogers is our contest winner of jewelry from Kate Bosworth’s JewelMint, valued ~$200! This contest was a nice break from the usual business of wedding planning to step back and think about the things we are thankful for in our lives. Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their thankfulness with us. Your thankfulness is encouragement to us.

The contest question was,

What are you most thankful for in 2011?

Chelsea was chosen by random drawing. Her response was,

“First of all I’m thankful for my parents, they are there regardless of the time or day. I’m thankful for my mothers health as just last week she was in the hospital, I’m glad she was able to come home, and be here for the holidays. I’m thankful for my brothers, who are there to fight with, and lean on when things get hard, and truly thankful that they have given me my very cute nieces and nephews that I can spoil and love on.
As I move on, I’m thankful to God for bringing Tye and Nicole into my life because I don’t know what it would be like now without them. I’m thankful for Tye taking care of me, and loving me even on my worst days when he probably should walk away. I’m thankful for getting the chance to marry my best friend, and the chance to be a mother to the cutest and funniest little girl a woman could ask for. So I thank Tye for bringing her into this world, and into my life. On to my friends, the people who have made my days, put a smile on my face, fought with me, and protected me throughout the years. I’m thankful to have you guys to lean on.I also want to give a big thank you to the Doctors out there that are helping my mom like Dr. Warner, and want to thank the Doctors at St. Francis Hospital for catching the blockage in my mom’s heart and fixing it
I am thankful to Gunderson Rail company, PTMW, TFI family services, and the other companies my family work for. Thank you for employing all the people I love for and making sure they have income and insurance
Lastly, but not least thanks to my fur babies Boo, Sassy, Porsche, Chevy. Thank you for always knowing how to cheer me up when I’m having a bad day, thank you for being so cute and lovable, and lastly thank you for being a heating blanket when I’m cold.”

This jewelry can be worn at the rehearsal dinner, after-wedding-brunch, gifted to bridesmaids, or any other occasion. Chelsea, let us know how you wore the jewelry!

Example earrings for the JewelMint contest prize. Photo Source: JewelMint.com

It must be the influence of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales because I’m on a roll. I made my first order on JewelMint, which is Kate Bosworth’s jewelry company. It’s a subscription-based service that recommends jewelry based on my preferences. You could use your credits to purchase jewelry a fun piece for your rehearsal dinner, or for your bridesmaids, or for any other occasion outside a wedding.

Example necklace from the JewelMint contest prize. Photo Source: JewelMint.com

Also, remember to leave a comment about what you’re thankful for to be included in the drawing for jewelry valued ~$200 from JewelMint! In spirit of Thanksgiving, we heard lots of heart-filled thanks and a couple of silly comments. I hope you’ll share what you’re thankful for!

1900 MERVIS WAY, TYSONS CORNER, VA 22182 TEL 703 448 9000

Our friends at Mervis invite Big Fat Cake readers to their Tysons Corner location for a trunk show. It’s their once-a-year savings event so don’t miss out on the chance to save for engagement and weddings rings.

• Dec 2 – 6-10PM
• Dec 3: 10AM-5PM & 6PM-10PM
• Dec 4: 10AM-5PM

Click on the ad on the right or the image above to get a reminder email.

Alfred Angelo offers the official knock-off from the ceremony for $799. I honestly expected a more vintage look….maybe with more Victorian influence to make it seem older for Bella’s vampire groom. But it was still pretty.

The front of the official knock-off doesn’t show the strong lines of the original dress from the movie. The front of both versions make it seem very unsuspecting of the drama in the back. Almost sounds like the theme of a mullet, but I won’t go there:

Alfred Angelo's official knock-off of Bella's dress. Photo Source: wsj.com.

And then the drama in the back:

The dramatic back of Bella's dress. Photo Source: alfredangelo.com

Did you see the movie? Does it belong in the best movie weddings list? Did you like the dress? Would you buy Alfred Angelo’s official knock-off? 

Win jewelry valued up to $200 from jewelmint.com!

Big Fat Cake was invited to feature JewelMint’s jewelry, exclusively designed by actress Kate Bosworth and Stylist Cher Coulter! Of course we had to say yes. We are holding a commenting contest for a jewelry package valued around $200 from JewelMint! Contest runs until November 30, 2011. Look below for a special discount code, too!

In light of Thanksgiving Day, we’d like to ask you:

What are you most thankful for in 2011?

The response does not have to be wedding-related. And for a limited time, Big Fat Cake readers get 50% off their first time with code BFCJM- good until 11/30/11.

To understand what Jewel Mint is about, watch their intro videos that describes how items are hand-picked for you based on your profile:

Commenting Contest Rules:

1. Please note that leaving your email will add you to JewelMint’s email list. You can always request to be taken off. The email address you leave will be the method to contact you about your winnings.
2. Respond to the question: What are you most thankful for in 2011? Needs to be substantive comments. Comments like “ha ha” and “lol” will not count. Decisions of what is substantive will be at the discretion of Big Fat Cake. We also have a spam filter for comments so comments with ads or profanity will not be counted.
3. Comments on this post will be counted from today to November 30, 11:59pm EST. Comments on our Big Fat Cake Facebook fan page are also appreciated but do not count for this contest.
4. You do not have to be a bride/groom/bridesmaid, or know anything about weddings to comment.
5. Shipping is limited to the United States.
6. Winner will be chosen by lottery.
7. No bashing of people…..however, bashing of thoughts is okay (but please try to have constructive criticism)
8. These rules are subject to change or be added upon (but there is no intent to).

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/sex/men-are-spending-way-less-on-engagement-rings-2531582/

What about me, you ask? Well, I didn’t have great resources like Big Fat Cake to help me answer my questions about how much I should spend on an engagement ring, not to mention I was a year out of college when I asked Christine’s hand in marriage. All that said, I spent about 1 to 2 months salary, less than the “recommended” amount. Did spending less on an engagement ring bother Christine? I don’t think so, but I’ll let her respond to that. In the end, I think it’s more the man’s love and intention to get married, and less the the cost of the ring.

I want to hear from the men and women out there. Men, did you spend 1, 2, or 3 months salary on the engagement ring? Women, how do you feel about the cost of the engagement ring?

$1 MILLION engagement ring at Costco. Photo Source: Costo.com

What’s going on at Costco? They broke into the wedding industry with their wedding dresses, they have flowers for your wedding day, and several other services. I know that they’ve had engagement rings forever, but now they are going for an over-the-top diamond solitaire engagement ring that costs $1 million dollars [pinky to the mouth]. All I can say is “holy cow!”

It’s 6 carats and the IGI value is $1,496,255. But at Costco, you pay only $1 million and there’s only one!

Is your finger worthy of a ring valued at $1.5 million?

Photo Source: http://www.chinatraderonline.com

In certain cultures, the groom receives gifts of a watch and/or a suit. Because the watch and suit are more of a personal taste, many grooms are given the choice to select their own gift. I’ve been given the opportunity to choose a watch for myself, so I’ve been spending a lot of time learning about watches. Listed below are 3 things I’ve learned along the way that may help you in your search:

1. Watches are generally powered by battery, solar, motion, or by hand. Battery, solar, and some motion powered watches use electricity and quartz crystals to keep time. Seiko makes a line of “Kinetic” watches which convert motion into an electrical charge, stored in a rechargeable battery, allowing them to use a quartz movement. Other motion powered watches (also known as mechanical or automatic) tend to have no electrical components. The “reserve charge” is a spring that powers the watch even when the watch is not moved for a period. Hand wound watches need manual turning of the crown to wind the spring.

2. The following paragraphs from http://www.chronocentric.com/watches/accuracy.shtml#quartzvsmech explain how the accuracy and consistency of a quartz watch and a mechanical watch compare:

“The day-to-day performance of quartz is much more consistent than mechanical under identical conditions. Quartz performance is affected mainly by temperature changes and weakened batteries. So a quartz watch that you measured to gains 0.5 second yesterday will be consistently increasingly off correct time by about that amount. You can be pretty certain that in 60 days, it will be about 30 seconds off. At the end of a year, it would be likely be over 180 seconds off.”

“Compare that to a mechanical watch that you measured to gain 2 seconds yesterday. It would seem that our example quartz watch is 4 times more accurate than this. But while the daily measured daily variations seem much higher, they are not likely to be as consistent, so will have a dampening effect. You cannot accurately predict that this mechanical would therefore be off by 120 seconds at the end of the same 60 days. It might be right on time, or it may be 200 seconds off. That broader range of variations allows most mechanical watches to stay closer to correct time than the daily variation rate implies. Over a year, some mechanicals can on average stay closer to correct time without having to be reset than a quartz watch might.”

3. With cell phones and laptops, a watch is not as necessary for time keeping as in the past. Since cell phones can get the time automatically by signal, it can be more accurate than any quartz or mechanical watch. Buying a watch is not merely about accuracy in telling time but about personal style. To some, it can be a status symbol (e.g. Rolex has successfully marketed itself as a status symbol over the years).

Ok, so you might be thinking this is interesting but what watch did I choose? I haven’t yet, but I’ve narrowed it down to the Citizen Eco-Drive World Perpetual A-T, Mondaine Sport I Gents Chronograph, and the Orient Journeyman. Before my research, I never even heard of Mondaine or Orient, but here’s a short synopsis of each brand and where I’ve found has the best deal for each brand:

Photo Source: certifiedwatchstore.com

Citizen is one of the top three watch companies in Japan (along with Seiko and Orient). Their Eco-Drive watches are solar powered. The specific model I chose is an atomic watch (it receives a radio signal and automatically sets the time). It is also a world watch, meaning I can choose the city closest to my time zone and it will automatically set the time for that location. Their watches tend to be water resistant up to 200m. Basically, it’s the most technologically advanced watch of the bunch. The styling is simple and not too busy. The best price I found for this watch was at certifiedwatchstore.com . BUT, they are not an authorized dealer so you don’t get the manufacturer’s warranty. Instead, they offer their own warranty equal to the length of the manufacturer’s warranty. They are a wholesaler rather than a dealer, so that’s how they can offer those low prices. They got high ratings on resellerratings.com and I’ve also checked on them with the BBB in NY and they seem to have a good record. Factoring in that the only time you should need the warranty is for repairs or battery replacement (eco-drive watches don’t need battery replacement), this may be a great website to buy from.

Photo Source: http://www.mondaine.com

Mondaine is the official watch of the Swiss Railways. Their design prioritizes visibility and looks stylish at the same time. Although the model I chose is not the “classic” version, it is a very classic (and classy) looking watch which I would be glad to have commemorate my marriage. Various online stores sell Mondaine watches but my model was out of stock in most. I’d start with their website mondaine.com and check out their dealers because I’ve noticed that even the authorized dealers of Citizen watches (e.g. jewelry stores) offered a 20% discount from the MSRP.

Photo Source: http://www.orientwatchusa.com

Orient is a relatively unknown brand in the US. They focus mainly on mechanical watches and are now part of Seiko. Orient recently began targeting the US market using the website orientwatchusa.com . If you go on their website, it shows you a 30% coupon code (mardigras11), but I discovered through watching their video reviews that they have a 50% coupon code (Affordable50), and it works during checkout. I’ve checked reviews on Orient watches and it’s hard to find a negative review. I had a question about how mechanical watches handled dates (since months have different days) and I found it hard to contact the company. My emails haven’t been replied to and when I called their phone number, it went directly to voice mail with a greeting more like a personal mailbox than one for a business. So although the products seem to be great, I don’t know what their service would be like.

I hope that this has been an informative and interesting read. For most people, choosing a watch will not be a drawn out research project as mine has been, but I enjoyed it. Please feel free to share any insights or deals that you come across!