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Originally Posted by lakai
So my wife and I are finally going to have a wedding next year. I have 2 things on my to do list right now and that is finding a location for the reception, and getting her a bigger rock.
I live in So. California and need some ideas for locations. So far I'm looking at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel and Pacific Palms Resort. I know they're all hotels but I'm not limited to hotels only, just looking for a place with a nice setting and banquet hall. Any suggestions ??
Now for the rock. When we got married last year I gave her a 1 carat princess cut ring VVS2 but looking to get her a rock double that. I'm wondering if the guys and gals could give me input what to do. Should I just buy a loose diamond and get it put on a new setting and save money ? or should I just go to tiffanys and pay a huge premium ?
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first off Congratulations!
As for locations here in So Cal, based on the locations you mentioned, you can also check out the Bacara up by Santa Barbara. As B-Line mentioned, a destination wedding is nice too, especially if you don't want to have a big wedding. My wife and I got married last year at the Ihilani in Hawaii. It was beautiful!(I know everyone says that about their wedding, but ours really turned out how we imagined it.) We had our ceremony on the lawn right by the water. Cocktail area was about 100 feet away, with an easy trasition to the dinner area right next to the lagoon and water. The Kahala hotel has a ceremony area that overlooks Diamond Head. We almost had it there but didn't want a banquet hall reception. Another beautiful place in Hawaii is the Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island. Really nice as well.
As for the rock, B-Line is right on the money...stay away from brand name jewelry stores...you pay double just for the name.
www.bluenile.com is also a good source to check out diamond prices and get educated. I would pick color over clarity. I would go no lower than an F color. I personally like the classic rounds, but princess cuts are nice too. If the diamond has great brilliance and symmetry, you can even get away with getting an SI, as the sparkles will mask the inclusions from normal looks. Make sure they're GIA certified. They have the strictest standards in grading. When you go to see diamonds, you'll notice that most diamonds will be 2.01, 2.02, etc., and not 1.99 or 1.98 because they can charge you more per carat when it's over, even though there is no noticeable size difference. They generally will put the 1.99 or smaller diamonds into necklaces, where they can charge more because of the labor involved in making the necklace. It's rare, but if you have good negotiation skills, maybe you can convince the jeweler to pull out one of those diamonds to be used in a ring. My buddy was able to get a 2.97 ct diamond out of a necklace and didn't have to pay the 3+ ct per carat price. If you can get anywhere from 15-20% off the Rapaport Report (or Rap Report for short) price, then that's a pretty good price. Just my .02. Good luck!