diamonds?

i really wish i had known about etsy when we first got engaged. i am always finding things that i think 'man, that would have worked perfectly for our wedding!' or something like that... i was reading a thread (on etsy, of course) earlier today about a guy that is planning on proposing to his SO and was looking for advice on the ring. should he pick out one to present? should he let her choose the one? maybe they could go shopping together?

it got me thinking about engagement/wedding rings. doug and i went shopping together for my engagement ring and we just couldn't believe the prices! i was really looking for something a little more vintage-inspired (if not actually vintage) and in a low-ish price range as we were still both students on a very tight budget. i ended up with a very pretty ring that always reminds me of one that my mom wears all the time. it's really not a very traditional looking e-ring, but hey - i'm really not all that traditional either. (i promise, i'm going somewhere with this...)

as i was browsing in etsy's handmade wedding gift guide, i noticed this beautiful ring above (by singleBbeautiful) and thought - wow, that would be exactly what i would have picked out! and... that's not a diamond, it's a white sapphire. i know there's a lot of controversy behind the mining of diamonds, and if ever given the option to select a new ring for my left hand i would really like to either own a beautiful vintage ring or something new with no (new) diamonds on it. singleBbeautiful also uses lots of recycled metals in her work, which is another added bonus. 

maybe someday in the future, i can order this gorgeous ring (or something very similar)... but for now i will just have to look at it lovingly from my computer...