July 23, 2012 (Updated March 21, 2023)

Wine Tasting & Wedding Band Shopping!

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

54 comments
Morning! How was your weekend? I was supposed to be in North Carolina at the beach over the weekend with my UNC girlfriends, but Matt and I ended up having to cancel last minute… it was a 7 hour drive each way and we’ve been out of town so much lately that we decided we really couldn’t swing it. I was really sad I didn’t get to see the girls (and felt terrible bailing so late in the game, although a couple others had to as well), but Matt and I were able to get a lot of wedding planning done, and I was also able to go to my high school BFF Jenny’s birthday party on Saturday. So fun! IMG_6099

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 Jenny’s husband, Dan, rented a limo and invited a group of her friends and siblings to celebrate her 30th birthday with a Virginia wine tour! IMG_6089

Crusin’ in style

It was a blast. Enjoy the photos! IMG_6087IMG_6090IMG_6093IMG_6095IMG_6102IMG_6104

Above with Jenny, Gretchen, and their future sister-in-law, Taylor (with an epic photo bomb appearance by Jenny’s husband, Dan).

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Above in the limo with Jenny and Lara, our friend from high school! She was my date for the day. 🙂

IMG_6114IMG_6118IMG_6123 I love that sign in the photo above. 🙂 Here are the wineries we went to, in case you’re in the area and interested in checking them out! They are all in/around Middleburg, VA. — The rest of the weekend was spent tackling our rapidly growing wedding to do list (click link to see previous wedding planning related posts)! Unfortunately most of the fun big picture planning (finding the dress, food tasting, flowers/centerpieces, the cake, etc.) is done and now we’re trying to get serious about the rest of the planning and the details. We still have a LOT to do — mostly all the nitty gritty things like figuring out a script for our actual ceremony (made some serious progress on this yesterday), picking out/ordering/sending our invites (appointment scheduled for Friday), picking songs for walking down the aisle and first dances, organizing the shuttles to/from the hotels, figuring out where everyone will sit at the reception and how we’ll tell them where they’ll sit, debating if we want to to welcome bags… etc etc etc! It’s kind of insane how much planning goes into one day! We also spent a ton of time yesterday going through all the (extremely unorganized in my case due to all the blog/food pictures every day) picture folders on our computers to find old pictures for a slideshow that will be played at the rehearsal dinner. It took forever but we got some awesome ones organized and it was a fun trip down memory lane. Our parents have already picked out a bunch from when we were little, too! Another thing we did yesterday was to try to pick out our wedding bands! This was definitely in the “fun” section of the wedding planning list. 🙂 We went and tried some on yesterday with the jeweler who Matt worked with to design my engagement ring. I was originally thinking I wanted a band with diamonds and sapphires to match my engagement ring, but when I actually tried them on both Matt and I agreed it was a little bit too much. IMG_0048 Plan B was a band with diamonds (not all the way around, just at the top). Matt and I both liked how this looked so we’re having the jeweler price it out. We’ll see! IMG_0042IMG_0043IMG_0049 I also liked this band with a design on it — although it didn’t really match that well with my engagement ring. IMG_0044 Any thoughts/advice? Matt also tried on some rings for himself — he’s going to go for something basic but with some unique twist — one he liked was actually very slightly squared on the outside of the band — very subtle but cool! He’s debating what type of material to use. Maybe palladium? We hear it looks similar to platinum but is cheaper! Again — any thoughts/advice appreciated! 🙂 I think I’m going to do platinum for my band because that’s what my engagement ring is. And with that, I’m off to work. Have a happy Monday, friends!
- anne

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54 comments
  • Melissa
    Hey Anne! We're going to look at bands for my fiance soon too but thinking the same thing as you - maybe a different material than platinum. Plus, rumor has it guys tend to lose them easier ;) But given you and I have simliar rings I wanted to tell you that I ended up making my band out of old diamonds from my mother's anniverary tennis bracelet. It looks just like the row of diamons you tried on - very subtle but perfect. I love it! We definitely have all the same things left to do - two months from yesterday for us! Good Luck!! Pinterest = my best friend!
    Reply
    • Anne P
      That's a great idea to make it out of family diamonds - I'm asking my mom if we have any lying around. ;)
      Reply
    • Tricia
      I'm 9/22 too!!! we are picking up our bands this weekend i can't wait!!! Men DEF lose their bands we went with white gold for him, i'm getting an eternity band that matches my sides stones of my ring. I don't want ot wait 2 months to wear it!!! I'm basically done with everything! so excited to go home and get mail everyday! (still need more no's!!!)
      Reply
  • Charise
    My husband and many of our friends have tungsten carbide. It has a cool color/sheen to it and isn't too expensive, if Matt wants to check that out. My wedding band is palladium - it does have many of the same characteristics as platinum, but it's lighter weight. However, my engagement band is platinum, as I had my first palladium band BREAK due to its thinness at points. The word from my jeweler is that they discovered palladium is not a very good metal for thin bands (it was a "new" jewelry metal when I first got my ring 5+ years ago), as it is one of those hard metals that cracks instead of a soft metal (like gold) that will scratch/bend. I'm sure a man's band would be plenty thick, as my wedding ring has held up fine, but just wanted to share that info with you!
    Reply
  • Lara ZP
    best date ever :)
    Reply
  • Megan
    We've dabbled at looking at wedding bands. Unfortunately, with my unique engagement ring, it's hard (and expensive) to find a wedding band that'll fit the shape of my ring. We finally found one, but it's a little more than we wanted to spend. My fi has looked at some different bands and wants to get titanium or one of the unique metals, but I don't like the idea that if he has to get it re-sized, he has to purchase a brand new one--they can't resize some of those metals. Plus, if they need to be taken off in an emergency, they're hard to cut off--not good for some career choices. So, the search continues for us... It is amazing all the small details you forget you have to do! Luckily I've gotten most of our invites out (waiting on last minute addresses) already, and we're not doing assigned seating, nor arranged transportation so that helps in my case. ;-) (I'm posting a wedding planning update of my own in the next day or so.) Happy planning!
    Reply
  • claire @ the realistic nutritionist
    I vote the second one!! The simple diamonds look so perfect paired with your more elaborate engagement ring! I got a limo deal for a few vineyards with living social so I'm excited to try it out!
    Reply
  • Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
    This is going to sound completely materialistic and I'm well aware but, I got a plain band for our wedding (no diamonds at all) and regretted it within a year. I ended up pretty much buying myself an "anniversary band" with them later on. My advice...get the bling ;)
    Reply
  • Kirsten
    Platinum for your band is a good idea, mine is gold and I have had to get it rhodium plated quite a few times already. Platinum you don't have to do that with so it's less up keep. Also for your invitations if you are looking for a supplier I would definitely recommend Etsy. They have great options and most things can be completely customized.
    Reply
    • Anne P
      I thought about Etsy, but I think all the options would overwhelm me - we're also having a massive wedding and worried about the $$ per invite with Etsy... it's more expensive usually, isn't it?
      Reply
      • Kirsten
        It can be more expensive. If you know any graphic designers, I actually got mine done for really cheap because my brother in law designed them and we got them printed (at 123print.com) We invited 280 people and only paid $80 for invitations (we did an online RSVP though so we didn't have RSVP cards which cut the cost.) The other place I've heard that has good deals is www.weddingpaperdivas.com (especially if you have a Costco membership, you can just order them through Costco and Wedding Paper Divas is their supplier so it's even cheaper than the list price on the site.) hope this helps! :)
        Reply
  • Renie
    Leave it to me to be contrary, haha. I love the sapphire and diamond band. I like for things to match. I also like the one with the design. You are the one that will be wearing it for a lifetime, so make sure it is truly what you want and not what someone else wants. I was never engaged, we eloped. I have a solitaire diamond with gold band platinum orange blossoms on either side and a gold band with matching platinum orange blossoms. I have never seen another one like mine. So far it has lasted 45 years.
    Reply
    • Renie
      P.S. I married when I was 17 and have not regretted a minute of it. Good luck
      Reply
    • Anne P
      How unique - I want to see a picture!
      Reply
  • Sam @ Better With Sprinkles
    A wine tour birthday party? Sounds like an awesome way to go about it. :-) I really like that last band with the design, I've never seen anything like it! When it comes to jewellery in general I'm definitely all about the unique designs.
    Reply
  • Carla Runs The World
    Personally I would go with either a channel set, or maybe smaller diamonds so it doesn't clash so much with your engagement ring? Also, shop around! My wedding band is from here: http://www.thefacetscollection.com and they had great customer service and awesome prices! (I learned about them from a diamond forum online with lots of recommendation.) It was the cheapest I could find for an eternity band, but even if you want to buy it in store vs online, they do have quite a bit of variety, so you can look up what you like then find it in store to try it out. Good luck!
    Reply
  • J
    Highly recommend tungsten for Matt's band. It doesn't scratch. My husband's looks brand new 5 years later (he has a tungsten band with platinum inlay that he loves and we got at Aspen Jewelers in Herndon, VA). Our friends got married on June 30 and his palladium band is already banged up.
    Reply
  • Elisa
    If you can swing it, consider getting the diamonds all the way around for your band. The ring will turn a lot and if you're like me, it'll drive you crazy to have to readjust constantly. I ended up doing diamonds all the way around and am very happy I did so. My husband got yellow gold. It's lighter than platinum, but doesn't require the maintenance of white gold.
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Hmmm yeah now I'm wondering if it would drive me crazy...
      Reply
      • deva @ deva by definition
        If you want a half-eternity, I had mine sized 1/4 size too big and added sizing beads in it so it won't turn. My knuckles are big so I may end up doing this with my engagement ring depending on how adding the band changes things there :-). By my knuckles being big I mean that there is a 3/4 size difference between the base of my finger and knuckle (my knuckle is 4.25, the base of my finger is 3.5) so getting my rings sized correctly has been an adventure!
        Reply
        • Anne P
          Yeah I've been debating about doing the beads on my engagement ring too, actually... it's a tiny bit too big but I can't decide!
          Reply
          • deva at deva by definition
            I can understand that! I'm in a similar boat - my engagement ring spins a lot, but if I go too much smaller, I won't be able to take it off to workout, shower, clean, etc. if you do the beads, mine were trial and error to get them to fit right over my knuckle, but I barely notice them. Now, I'm not married yet, but I have put my band on a few times to gauge things for mye ngagement ring (and so my friends can see how the beads in it work).
            Reply
  • Kris S
    Glad you guys had a great birthday celebration!! :)
    Reply
  • Victoria
    I love Middleburg. Every time I go home to my parents, I make sure we go there and go out to eat and roam the shops! Glad you had a fun weekend.
    Reply
    • Anne P
      I'm obsessed with Middleburg, too! I need to visit the town again soon.
      Reply
  • Paige @ Your Trainer Paige
    omgosh, Anne - I love the band and ring together! So pretty. My friend's doing a white gold engagement ring with a yellow gold band, and it looks so pretty, too...love original/different looking sets:)
    Reply
  • Alison
    My only recommendation is to get your Wedding date engraved on the inside... than Matt will never be able to say he forgot your anniversary, it is also a nice way to remember the day. Have fun picking - I actually liked the diamond and Sapphire.
    Reply
  • Sandra
    I really love the third band. It's very unique and looks very pretty with your beautiful engagement ring! I saw one comment that you should get diamonds all the way around your wedding band. If you do that you cannot size your ring if you ever need to. Something to think about. It is true that your wedding band will turn and then you have to keep turning it around to where the diamonds show because I have a wedding band like the one with the diamonds you are considering and it turns around my finger all day long and I keep twisting it back so the diamonds are on top.
    Reply
    • Anne P
      That's good to know re: resizing issues with infinity bands! Does twisting it around all the time drive you insane?
      Reply
      • Sandra
        I've had the ring for two years now and I'm used to it so I wouldn't say it drives me insane. It's just when I look down and notice it's turned around I twist it back. It can be rather annoying. I'm used to it now. Just something to consider. If the ring fits really well it might not twist. If its a bit large and when it gets cold it will twist.
        Reply
      • Leah
        First off, your enagement ring is gorgeous! Just a note...I work at a jewelry store and you can size an eternity band about 1/4 size either way by adding metal inside or taking some metal out. So there is a little leeway but not much. I do a lot of wedding band sales and agree that the bands with diamonds only on top twist around. Unlike your engagement ring, there is no large diamond to anchor it. I think a common prong set eternity band with round diamond would look beautiful with your ring.
        Reply
        • Anne P
          Thank you and thanks for the tips!
          Reply
  • Katie @ www.princessofpavement.com
    My husband who's a cyclist got his band made of carbon fibre and titanium — he loves it! And he's not a ring kind of guy. But it looks real unique and the fact he's pretty much wearing a part of his bike is awesome :) Good luck!
    Reply
  • Kasia
    I have an engagement ring with a saphire in the middle and diamonds on the side. My wedding ring is all diamonds. I heard from others the only thing about getting diamonds on top is that it twists and then you constantly have to untwist the ring. I love the look of your ring! Good luck with it all enjoy! I got married last October, its a great month for it! Kasia
    Reply
  • Adventurer
    #2 w/family jewels! :-) Very nice -- and the wine tour sounds fun, too!
    Reply
  • Brittney
    It looks like you might have the same issue I have with my engagement ring- the cathedral setting makes the center stone stick out so a band won't lie flat against it. That kind of drove me nuts when I was looking at bands and ended up having a band designed (at Jared) to fit with my engagement ring, where the center is curved and then I have stones on each side to match the ones on the band. Jared did a really good job. The only drawback is that the band by itself looks silly, so I HAVE to wear both rings together. It looks like this only with a round cut center stone: http://www.clarionfinejewelry.com/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/cache/62216_.33ct_plat_1_405.jpg
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Yeah I'm doing a slight curve in the wedding band I think, too - we'll see...
      Reply
  • Tara @ Gathered Roots Acupuncture
    My vote is for the antique style band, I think it looks amazing with your diamond and sapphire ring. Especially since the more antique rings had sapphires in them, so I think it totally goes. :)
    Reply
  • Lauren @ Sassy Molassy
    My engagement ring is palladium and I can't tell that's for sure. It was much more affordable than platinum and apparently looks the same. I think for the wedding band, I'll likely get something simple and actually wear it on my right hand. I like the look of my engagement ring on it's own. But who knows... For guys, I've always liked the antiqued or brushed metal kind of look. Not sure if that's what it is, but it's darker and more of a matte finish than most engagement rings. Happy searching!
    Reply
    • SpaceySteph
      My engagement ring is palladium too. I think it looks awesome, wouldn't be able to tell. My fiance is looking into the weird metals, like titanium, cobalt, tungsten, etc. Men have a ton of options, I'm almost jealous!
      Reply
  • Mari
    Definitely go with the same material as your engagement ring. You don't want them to rub against each other because the harder metal will scratch the softer one. As for your husband, I guess it all depends on his lifestyle. I know that palladium is between a 4 and a 5 out of 10, which is still pretty soft considering platinum is around the same as well. If he's active with his hands I'd suggest going with something a little harder like cobalt or tungsten. Just make sure the ring fits well and that he doesn't drop it since they are also brittle. Here's a list of articles we found regarding all the different types of wedding band materials for men: http://www.tungstenworld.com/resources/
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Thanks for the tips - will check out that website!
      Reply
  • Sarah
    I actually kind of love the textured band!
    Reply
  • K
    I would try on an infinity band to see how it feels before making the final decision. I didn't like the feel of the diamonds rubbing against the fingers on either side of my ring finger and ended up getting a band that has diamonds across about half of the ring for that reason. Weirdly, I have more trouble with my engagement ring twisting around than the wedding band and almost never find that the non-diamond side of the band has twisted to the front. One problem I did have was that the diamonds in my band rubbed against one of the prongs on my engagement ring and made a dent in it. I ended up having the jeweler change the shape of one of the prongs on my engagement ring setting so the rings would sit together on my finger without a problem. I've seen other people get a thin spacer band to go between the wedding and engagement rings, weld the two rings together, or get a curved wedding band for the same reason.
    Reply
    • Anne P
      I had talked to the jeweler about getting a slightly curved wedding band for that reason!
      Reply
  • Jocelyn
    I just put a deposit on a Palladium ring by Todd Reed for my fiance. Check them out, the rings are BEAUTIFUL and somewhat basic with that individual twist. The one we got was with raw diamonds and the metal looked kinda scratched? Which we decided was sort of good, because he wont have to worry about it getting beat up in the years to come.
    Reply