Engagement advice

[garycref]

hi, my girlfriend has fallen preganant and I want to do the right thing, problem is we are both in a financial mess due to the credit crunch.
I need some help or ideas on firstly a ring, can I get a cheap one without feeling like a cheap skate....also where can I propose to maybe make the occassion more special than the actual ring

She has told me not to spend loads if I ever proposed and I think it's the unity that's more important to her

I live in London so any places near to propose? Any links to web fir rings....any advice at all is very needed
Thanks

[4getmenot]

its not the cost of the ring its the sentiment. argos do really cheap ones

[daffy654]

Please don't get an Argos engagement ring,I know they are cheap but there are places similarly cheap that don't have the Chav image that argos does.lol

[4getmenot]

it doesnt matter where its from

[LoftyLottie2]

Is a ring really necessary. It's the commitment that counts. I never got engaged as such and have been married for 37 years. You don't need a ring to propose!!

When you are in a better financial position and if she would like one you can shop for something really special.

Good luck Gary, your girlfriend is very lucky that you intend to do the 'right thing'. I hope your little family is very happy.

[daffy654]

It isn't the cost that bothers me 4get,I would be happy with a cheap ring,argos jewellery is rubbish quality though. My engagement ring was from a pawnbrokers and is very good quality for the money,it is obviously second-hand but that doesn't matter to me.

[sophie_1003]

I think argos has some lovely engagaement rings and if i were being proposed to my first thought definitely wouldn't be how much the ring cost or where it was from, I think if that's what women are most interested in they are rather shallow! In answer to the question, Samuels also do quite nice jewellery and local jewellers may have some baragins too.

[daffy654]

If the 'shallow' comment was aimed at me sophie you are way off the mark!!! Read my post above.

[sophie_1003]

no sorry, it wasn't at all! I was just thinking of a thread on here a while ago with someone asking for advice on engagement rings and some people expected so much to be spent on them! I would just be thrilled with a proposal and if given a cheap or even not very high quality ring I wouldn't think "Well, he can't love me that much!", I think the main thing I would be thinking, if at all, about the ring is if I liked the design of it!

[condom]

i spent 2.7k on mine recently and its still really nothing impressive. get her a cubic zirconia and tell her its a real diamond.

[condom]

take her to pizza hut and tell them its her birthday. they will bring a sparkler over in icecream. You drop to your knees and produce the 1 carat cubic zirconia.

The ring will be the last thng on her mind trust me

[angel21]

You don't have to get engaged just because shes pregnant. Its a nice idea and good that you want to stick by her but you can stick by her without buying a ring. Then in a few years when you're financially better off you can propose.

[condom]

i dont agree... do it now or you may be tempted away. cubic zircon in gold and pizza hut. dream engagement

[condom]

p.s. the only reason I got engaged 1 month ago was because my girlfriend was pregnant. we got married 1 week after the engagement too. Just do it. a baby needs a father

[annie0000]

Sorry, I don't live in London, so can't really help with the venue specifically, but is there somewhere nearby like a duck pond or something that you could go to and you could say that you are really looking forward to walking there with your baby and so it will be a special place for you in the future? Make up a nice picnic - it really is the gesture that counts.

As for a ring, I have a fairly cheap engagement ring because my husband was still a student when we got engaged - We could afford to replace it, but I wouldn't because it is special. It is his birthstone that I have which is a blue topaz ( or can be citrine)and really inexpensive - I didn't want my birthstone as that is pearl and I didn't fancy that!

Maybe something like this:
http://www.baxtersjewellers.com/acatalog/Birth stone_Rings_Celtic.html

[LoftyLottie2]

condom. Do I know you? Do you have a user name such as Bisto, Oxo, or something ;o).

If not, ignore me!!

[k8bailey]

If you want to get married then great do it, but don't do it just because she's pregnant.

As for condom and his 'babies need fathers' comment, my baby has a father, we're very happy together but have no intention of ever getting married!

In my opinion, design is much more important than price. You don't need to spend a fortune on a wedding either, spend your money on the baby instead!

[condom]

A DUCK POND ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

you must be quackers.

stick with the pizza hut and sparkler

[bednobs]

h, have you tried looking at second hand rings? Yo get much more diamond for your money. If you prefer, think of them as "antique"!
mine is "antique" and i got it in an antique/ jewellery/silver shop in oxford. I like to think the person who had it before me had a long and happy marriage (although do sometimes wonder what the ring was doing in an antique shop if that was the case!)

[brenda]

If you really need a ring --then there are some absolutely stunning dress rings which are costume jewellery , and when you are better placed, you can buy a better and more expensive one if you want to.


Just choose one you both like, and save up your cash for the future.

The london eye for the proposal, or on the top deck of a london tour bus.

Good luck.