One’s wedding ring is often a person’s most essential item of jewellery, because of the huge significance that it has for its wearer. It is intended to denote the love that exists between two people. In most countries, the wedding ring is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand – the ring finger, although in Norway, Germany and Russia, it is worn on the fourth finger of the right hand.

It is generally a good idea to have your finger measured by an expert, before buying an expensive ring, because fingers swell and shrink over the course of a life span and a good jeweller will know how much slack to allow. If the change in the size of your finger is likely to be lasting, it is a good idea to have the ring resized, this is so that it will neither cut into you nor fall off your finger easily.

These days a lot of couples like to go shopping for wedding rings together, because they want to get a pair of identical rings that both of them likes. However, it does not have to be like that. In fact it never was, because the man bought the ring for his fiancee as a surprise. So, if you do not share the same tastes, do not worry about it.

There are hundreds of styles to choose from and several kinds and qualities of metal too. Yellow gold is still the most popular, but there is white gold and specialist golds too like Welsh gold, which is very rare. Besides gold, platinum and titanium are very popular too.

A fast developing trend is for a couple to design or have designed a unique pair of wedding rings. At first, you would think that this would be very expensive, but it is not inevitably so. If you keep your design modest and the stones, if any, equally so, then the rings might only cost 10%-20% more than those off the shelf.

Gold is still the most prevalent metal for a wedding ring, but silver is starting to gain ground too, although it was always looked on as the poor cousin before. Likewise, diamonds are the still the number one stone of choice, but sapphires are also very popular nowadays. Or you could go for plain bands with something like a Celtic knot design.

Shopping for wedding rings can be fun, but it is easy to go over the top and spend much more than you planned to. You could decide how much you can afford and stick to it, not that that always works either. Count on to pay a lot more for the bride’s wedding ring than the groom’s. This is because the bride’s ring usually contains diamonds, whereas the groom’s is often a plain band of gold.

You could further personalize your wedding rings with an inscription and a date. Personalized, or unique wedding rings often get handed down through the generations. Possibly, yours will too. Or, if you want to wear your grandmother’s handed-down ring, you could personalize it in some way, so that it is both old and yet something of you as well.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Celtic Knot rings. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

The wedding dress is just about the most important item in the wedding ceremony apart from the vows and the rings. The bride wants to look her best and the groom wants to look his best too. A gorgeous wedding dress will help the bride’s dream to look stunning come true.

Therefore, it is imperative to select the wedding dress with care, as every bride knows. However, there are a few items that are not as clear as the wedding dress just looking stunning and we will list the most significant of these below.

Besides individual taste in fashion, the most important consideration has to be the time of the year. Which season are you going to get married in? What temperature is it likely to be? Could it rain? If it is likely to be cold, you ought to wear a heavier cloth than if it is likely to be hot. You might also permit the season to have an influence on the colours you wear, but that is a matter of personal taste. For example, winter colours might be slightly darker than summer colours.

Another vital aspect when choosing the colour of the wedding dress is the skin colouration of the bride. This matter is also true of the accessories. The bride will also need a head-dress, a veil, gloves and a bouquet, all of which should compliment the wedding dress and the bride’s hair and skin colouration.

Try to get a wedding dress that fits perfectly. This sounds obvious, but it is easy to think that you can make minor changes yourself later on. However, making changes is not as easy as it sounds and you could end up making matters worse rather than better. In any case, you do not want to be worrying that a stitch you made will break or come undone at the wrong moment. It is far better to get a good fitting wedding dress than to get the exact colour that you want.

It is imperative to bear in mind the quality of the image of the wedding dress, if you are buying or hiring from a catalogue or website. You also should leave plenty of time to be able to return the dress if need be. The fact is that photographs are not always true to life and packers do make mistakes, so if your selection is not what you expected, when it arrives, you will need to have a couple of weeks to return it and obtain a new one. Allow at least three weeks for the exchange; longer if possible.

White has always been the most popular colour for first time brides, but it is not a rule. Off-white or pastel shades look very good too and they will set you apart from the norm. Apple white or blush pink are very effective colours for a wedding dress, but as I said before, everything should be colour co-ordinated with the colour of the bride’s skin and hair and the bouquet, if you are dead set on carrying a certain bouquet of flowers, like, say, gardenias.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Celtic Knot rings. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

Everyone loves to take advantage of the reduced prices during the holiday sales. In fact, the best day to go looking for special offers is the day after the actual holiday finishes.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and it is the busiest shopping day of the year. You will get huge savings, but you will need to get up early, be prepared to queue and jostle.

Another example is jewellery and St Valentine?s Day. Many men buy their wives or girlfriends jewellery during this period as a St Valentine?s Day present. However, in the weeks after St Valentine?s Day, you can save a minimum of 30% on the very same pieces of jewellery that were on sale a week before. This is a clear sign that we are being hood-winked on these holiday occasions and that we ought to wait until the actual holiday is over.

OK, it may not seem so romantic to wait, but it must be preferable to be able to get 30% more gold for your money or to give the same gift, but be able to go for a meal too. If I were a woman, I know which alternative I would choose!

Or, instead of a nice silver or gold ring, you would be able to pay for gold instead of silver or white gold instead of yellow. You could get a exquisite Celtic knot or a Claddagh ring instead of a plain band.

Striking Easter outfits are also expensive before Easter. However, why not buy the items you want after Easter and either make use of them next year or use them for parties, exceptional occasions or church? You can save a bundle of money in this way, just by using a little forward planning.

In order to help cut down on how much money you spend on Christmas gifts, why not try buying them all year long as and when you find something nice in the sales? How many times have you come across something in a sale and said to yourself: ‘that would be the perfect gift for so-and-so’? It is better to take advantage of these opportunities and keep the items aside for when the right event comes up.

Then there are those post Christmas sales as well. The Boxing Day sales are a great opportunity to pick up items that you can give as gifts later in the year. And why not buy something for yourself too while you are at it? You can save a lot on your favourite perfumes. Buy enough to last you the rest of the year!

You can make your funds go a lot further if you take advantage of the post holiday sales. Rely on serendipity. Buy opportunistically and you will not only save yourself a lot of money, but you will never be stuck for a present at the last minute either.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

Celtic wedding are an ideal way of showing your being a Celt. It is also a way of incorporating traditional values, symbols, themes and customs into major events in your life. However, Celtic wedding are hugely popular not only among people with a Celtic tradition, but among other couples who are taken by the ancient Celtic culture.

Celtic wedding have traditional symbolic motifs, often based on the Celtic knot. Welsh, Irish and Scottish families will sometimes marry in ancient buildings like castles or old manors, but that is not the standard. A traditional Celtic wedding is not greatly different from a normal British wedding in a lot of ways.

However, the number of similarities between Celtic wedding ceremony traditions and normal British-style weddings goes a lot further than that. If you want a traditional British style wedding, you will be going unwittingly for a Celtic wedding. But you can beef up the Celtic element of the wedding ritual even further without sinking into silly theatrics.

This is a traditional Celtic poem about when to marry:

Marry when the year is new, Always loving, kind and true.

When February birds do mate, You may wed, nor dread your fate.

If you wed when March winds blow, Joy and sorrow both you’ll know.

Marry in April when you can, Joy for maiden and for man.

Marry in the month of May, You will surely rue the day.

Marry when June roses blow, Over land and sea you’ll go.

They who in July do wed, Must labour always for their bread.

Whoever wed in August be, Many a change are sure to see.

Marry in September’s shine, Your living will be rich and fine.

If in October you do marry, Love will come but riches tarry.

If you wed in bleak November, Only joy will come, remember.

When December’s showers fall fast, Marry and true love will last.

Here are a few other traditions:

Loving Cup: The traditional cup is a two-handled bowl with Celtic designs etched onto it. The idea of the Loving Cup ceremony is for the bride and groom to share their first drink together as husband and wife and to show the coming together of their two families.

The Bell of Truce: A bell is blessed and then presented to the bride and groom. The couple is required to ring the bell, while thinking tender thoughts of each other. The bell is then kept at home as a token of the wedding day. If an argument arises, the bell can be rung by either the husband or wife to call a truce. The tinkling sound is meant to remind the couple of their wedding vows and to help them recall happy memories from their wedding day.

Handfasting: Early Celts used to ?tie the knot?. It originates from a pre-Christian custom of literally tying a couple’s wrists together in a kind of probationary marriage lasting a year and a day, at the end of which a new covenant was made or the couple parted ways.

Bride’s Bouquet: In Celtic wedding traditions brides carried herbs beneath their veils to signify fidelity, and spices to frighten off evil spirits.

Ring finger: Ancient Celts thought that there was a vein in the third finger of the left hand that ran directly to the heart, so ring placed on that finger demonstrated a strong love and vow to the other.

Wedding cake: A thin loaf was broken over the bride’s head at the end of the service to indicate fertility. The wheat from which it was made symbolized fertility and the guests enthusiastically picked up the pieces for good luck charms.

It was also common for the Celtic groom to toss a handful of coins into the crowd after the wedding, in the hope that this would bring them luck in the years ahead.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring