DORÉ

c’est marrant ce post tombe à pic ! je viens tout juste de me fiancer et j’ai l’impression que la mode américaine arrive peu à peu chez nous ! mon amoureux m’a offert un sublime solitaire Cartier (mais sans mettre le genoux à terre) et toutes mes copines se sont quant même empressées pour voir THE ring ! finalement, je crois que ça a de l’importance pour les frenchie aussi :-)

Je fête mes 4 ans de mariage aujourd’hui ! Ca ne pouvait pas mieux tomber ce post !

Pour nos fiancailles, on s’est arrangé pour faire du romantisme sans gnan-gnan ! J’avais “pour rire” dessiner la bague de fiancailles de mes rêves. Je ne m’en souvenais plus d’ailleurs, mais lui avait gardé ce morceau de papier. Il l’a amené chez un joaillier qui lui a donc fait une bague pour moi ! Après la demande en elle-même, comme on était jeune (j’avais 19 ans !!!) ca a été relax… Un matin il m’a dit “au fait si on se fiançait? “, j’ai dit ok et genre 6 mois plus tard on s’est fiancé ! On a attendu 4 ans avant de se marier (il a dû refaire une demande plus formelle cette fois-ci) et tadaaaaaaaaaa 4 ans plus tard ca roule toujours !! ^^

Hahaha…yes this is funny. I have been watching a few episodes of ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ as well. And it is hysterical. Some brides are bringing such a big entourage, no wonder it all ends in drama!!! It was very simple for me: I was by myself, browsing thru a flea market type expo for I don’t remember what, when all of a sudden it found me: there it was hanging on display; a beautiful little cream colored lace dress, with short sleeves and a scoop neckline!!! I saw it and I knew!! Just checked the size tag in it, tried it on, and yes it was just perfect!!!! No biggie….: ) It surprised me myself. Because as a little girl I was always fascinated by the bride dresses displayed in store windows, dreamily looking at them when I passed by. But when my turn came, I just didn’t see myself in a big fairy tale wedding dress. (Fyi, I am German, but got married in California.)

We got engaged in a most simple and old-school manner – flowers, dinner, then ring. :)

http://acupofgie.com/2012/06/engaged/

Moi, j’ai eu un enfant avec l’homme que j’aime et c’est la plus belle preuve d’amour qui soit… Le mariage pour moi reste très superficiel, je préfère être “prisonnière sur parole” comme disait Brassens, ça demande d’être attentif et aimant à chaque instant… C’est ma façon de voir le romantisme, rien que de très français, en somme !
Bises

Oh, you’re right!!!! Here in Sicily we used to organize engagement parties but now it’s not trendy anymore….but we organize really big and great weddings, we book even 2 years before the great day in order to have the best gowns and the best restaurant/venues! Yes, I’m not joking….my cousin organized her wedding 2 years before! We want everything to be perfect and amazing! Crazy??? Maybe a little bit, but I loooove so much this habit! It’s the best day of our life…isn’t it? :)
xoxo

http://www.sparklyfashion.com/

Bon, ben moi mon mari m’a demandé en mariage avec une bague de fiancaille.

De part chez moi, pour ceux qui se marient, la bague de fiancaille est un signe d’engagement et généralement coïncide avec la demande en mariage.

Maintenant, moi j’ai reçu une petite bague, toute mimi avec un petit diamant ( chaque fois que mon mari m’en parle, elle gagne en valeur “tu ne te rends pas compte, cette bague c’était un mois de salaire”… aujourd’hui “tu ne te rends pas compte, cette bague a couté plus que la voiture”… lol) – et bien que je suis contente d’avoir reçu une bague, c’est plus le geste et la façon de me demander en mariage qui m’a touchée. Je n’irai jamais vérifier si ma bague est un 1 carat ou une 10000 carats, mais le fait de penser qu’il est allé chez le bijoutier, qu’il m’a invité au resto et que nous sommes allés nous promener..alors que moi je n’avais rien vu venir et qu’il a préparé tout cela seul dans son coin.. alors ça, ça me touche!!!!

Bizz

http://happyme.skynetblogs.be/

Even in italy the ring is not so important. Even if “diamonds are girl’s best friend” :-)

Kisses

Silvia
http://bornineightytwo.com

j’aime le post: c’est vrai que l’europe paye moins d’importance au cote economique du mariage :)

http://hipshops.com/

Given the fact that I’m French, I totally agree with you. But I have to recognize that it wouldn’t be depleasant to propose with an awesome ring.

http://www.younglington.wordpress.com

My husband proposed while we were jumping out of a plane. Obviously it is to loud to talk, so he revealed a t shirt with a big red heart printed on it, in the heart two rings and a question mark. He tried to give me flowers in freefall, but since I was so perplex, we missed each other and he had to give me the flowers after we landed with our parachutes. It was very romantic and after this most special jump we celebrated with our friends, it was such a beautiful day and we are still in love 10 years later! I even got an engagement ring, even though it’s not very common in Switzerland. My engagement ring is not the typical one, it looks more like a marriage ring, the engraving says: “Stay hungry, stay foolish”, a very romantic phrase I think.

Chez moi on se fiance… à notre sauce.
Mais c’est moi qui ai demandé la main de monsieur (dans le métro, hein, on ne rigole pas).
Et je voulais une bague toute mini mini parce c’est mon alliance qui me faisait rêver (l’Amour, l’Amitié, la Fidélité à mon doigt), et pas de diamant, plutôt un joli point rouge sang sur mon doigt (une mini-oui toute mignonne avec un rubis).
Elle n’a plus jamais quitté mon doigt, petite beauté gracieuse et légère qui est tellement discrète qu’elle fait partie de moi.
Ce que je n’aime pas dans le romantisme à l’américaine c’est son manque d’imagination. A chaque couple d’inventer sa demande en mariage et ses fiançailles, c’est ça le romantisme qui me fait rêver et avancer.

I want to have a diamond ring one day. Big one to wear on my index finger as I boss people around with my finger. That would be divine.

C’est un post vraiment intéressant et bon à savoir.
La seule chose qui me vienne à l’esprit là : c’est ce vieux film (maintenant) 4 mariages et 1 enterrement avec la scène où le couple échange leur bague et manque de bol le garçon d’honneur du marié a oublié “the ring” et on voit en gros plan une bague plastique très moche et la tête de la mariée ensuite. Je n’ai aucune expérience en la matière mais après avoir t’avoir lu, il me semble que les françaises prennent ça assez à la légère genre : “oh noooon mon chérie, je taime et c’est ce qui compte alors la bague tu sais on peut aussi bien aller chez tatie”. J’exagère….un peu.

Oh I understand you!
I’m portuguese, just like in France we say we will before the I do just for the sake of love, no diamonds involved.
My boyfriend is irish, we live in Ireland and all my friends here are in the “marry(ing)” age. Sounds like cats fighting to me all this engagement ring yada-yada, they take it so seriously!
The tradition in Portugal (the way it was explained to me – it’s not that much in use nowadays) is that if the guy wants to marry you he asks you permission to speak to your father about it and then he asks the father permission to marry you.
In this little chat, the father will make sure that the guy’s intentions are good, that he has a good job/salary to give to his daughter the life she’s used to (all the cute-nice-OMG things a girl MUST have) and what are the guy’s plans for the future (where are they going to live, what are his expectations for their children and so on…). Scary huh?
If the father agrees, the couple have his blessing. Then it’s up to the guy’s family to pick a piece of jewelry (usually a ring) that belonged to the family and offer that piece to the girl. The simbolism in this is that she is being welcome in the family as someone of the family. That piece of jewelry is supposed to be kept in the family and later be given to the couple’s children or grandchildren.
After the blessings and permissions, the couple buy the wedding rings. Yes, wedding rings. Not engagement ring. They both shall wear it on their right hand for the duration of the engagement. Afterall, they’re both engaged. Before the wedding they are supposed to polish the rings and engrave them and those will be the rings they will get married with.
I love jewelry, some of the engagement rings I’ve seen are gorgeous. I would love to have one. Now when I think of the amount of money I would carry around my finger… I always think of the number of guests/flowers/wedding dress that ring would cost.

Great post! Love your blog.

P.S. – When I met my boyfriend that Beyoncé song was playing ;-)

I felt so bad for those poor men under all the pressure to buy an amazing ring – when usually they know NOTHING about jewellery, let alone diamonds – and suddenly have to spend thousands of pounds on one…SO…I set up a business as an Engagement Ring Finder!! Here’s my site if anyone wants to take a look: http://www.thecutlondon.com.

I have secret phonecalls, emails, meetings and even shopping trips sometimes! It’s really great. I love my job. The men wanting to find something unique and original are so much cooler than the lazy ones who end up in Tiffany…

Anyway, just thought I’d share as the post made me laugh! Maybe I should set up a branch in NYC!

Kate x

P.s. I used to call myself an Engagement Ring Hunter until I realised that made me sound like I desperately wanted to get engaged…not so cool…

Awww!!! I love the end of your comment!!! That is the best way/ the best ring! He remembered!!!!!

C’est curieux, après tout ce temps à Paris je ne savais pas que les françaises n’avaient pas de bague de fiançailles. Je dois être singulièrement inattentive. Mais ma mère est française de souche et féministe de surcroît (“Pourquoi l’homme ne porte pas de bague de fiançailles? C’est moins important pour lui?”) et je ne voulais pas de bague par tradition familiale. Mon futur mari était tellement soulagé quand je le lui ai dit! Il n’avait pas un sou à l’époque.

Pourtant notre fille parisienne m’a interdit de raconter cette histoire auprès de son bien-aimé qui finissait par ramasser trois mois de salaire pour lui demander la main avec un joli trophée diamants-et-or.

cela fait quinze ans que je vis avec Monsieur, nous avons trois enfants, une maison et sans être mariés ! Et puis, la quarantaine approchant, on s’est décidé à se marier, on a annoncé la nouvelle à nos parents. Et là, paf, la bague de fiançailles m’est tombée dessus, sans préavis (j’ai, depuis neuf ans, un solitaire ancien fêtant la naissance de mon aîné et mes trente ans). C’est Jolie-Maman qui la gardait pour la femme de son fils aîné : un diamant énorme, monture contestable, héritage familial, bref, j’ai dû louer un coffre !!! Donc, l’important, c’est surtout le motif pour lequel cette bague se pose sur mon doigt et les fiançailles, bof. Je garde mon tout petit solitaire.

And the same in London ! How craaazy !

Us – little Frenchies, are way too romantic… All the talks around me is about how? and where? And how big!! We – Frenchies, would talk about a “romantic” moment, they talk about a “romantic” object…

That being said, I am not ready to get one, but if the moment would come, I would expect a beautiful one! AND THE SIZE DOESN’T MATTER!! True story!

Bisous from London

http://murmureparis.wordpress.com/

I’m italian, i’m 26 and i stay with my boyfriend for 9 (!!) years. i live in a small town and here, everybody at my age are married, they’re building (!! again) a house, thinking of children. they do all this just because they HAVE TO. they take it so seriously but in a very antique way and they spend sooooo much money for it.
engagement ring by the way is not so important, some of the girls even didn’t receive any.
..to me? i love my boy, i live with him for 4 years, we are a family, but i don’t need to be married. if he will ask me, probably i’d say yes. but it’d be better if he’ll have a big ring for me :)

In traditional Malay society, the whole process starts with the guy’s family visiting the girl’s family and asking the right questions such as “Is the flower in your garden still unplucked?” i.e. is your daughter available? This stage is called “merisik”. Once both parties are satisfied, the guy’s parents make another trip over to the girl’s side and makes a delicate negotiation and proposal on the dowry, which the groom will have to pay the bride etc.This is called “meminang”. Only then will you have the “pertunangan” or engagement, where rings and trays of gifts may be exchanged in front of witnesses. Of course, the actual wedding itself also has several stages such as the “akad” or saying of the vows and the “bersanding”, where the couple sit on a dais and are blessed by their elder relatives. It’s all a long process with multiple days of celebration but its a great, colorful spectacle and enormous fun.

Of course these days its all a bit more straightforward but the meeting of the parents to negotiate before the engagement is still important. However, I had a very modern engagement- after he asked, and I agreed, we updated our facebook status and the whole world knew about it in 15 minutes!

My city is very commercial about this engagement thing and many people do it like following a formula: a plan (so-called a surprise party giving to the girl), a diamond ring ( better a Tiffany’s one), and prewedding photos in similar styles. Its boring.

Why is it necessarily a diamond ring? I dun understand at all.

Your view on this issue is great. You speak out what i think about it.

Pour mes fiançailles, c’est moi, la fiancée, qui ai acheté ma bague avec un diamant !!!
Bon ça fait 22 ans que nous sommes mariés et c’est donc pas la valeur de la bague qui fait la durée du mariage!! Il y a des choses plus importantes donc.
Mais je dirai que les français sont assez radins côté bijoux.

hi! In Poland we tend now to separate the moment when man proposes to his girlfriend and the official proposal – with girl’s or both families present. The wedding is another matter ;-) I personally wanted to keep it simple, intimate and often said that even plastic ring sounds cool for me and that I don’t want standard ring with big stone that will ruin my stockings and other delicate stuff and that kneeling is not necessary :P Result was that my boyfriend was even more terryfied with chosing ring for me (what a irony!). What I definately didn’t want was proposing in public in front of other people. Luckily – we both thought that way. In the end, my boyfriend proposed on the day of our anniversary/special day for us during romantic weekend at the lake and made it all perfect with the ring that was small, delicate, flat and yet with the stone ;-) My point is – he didn’t have to do it all because i knew he loved me but I was glad it was important enough for him to arrange all this. He even cared to arrage a private meeting with my Dad to “ask him”(it was cute i found about it later). Now I wouldn’t say to a boyfriend what i think THAT moment sould or shouldn’t be like (or maybe only most important things like – not in public place!) and just ensure that he knows that he is most important for me so everything he would come up with will be wonderfull. Because telling all other stuff can make him unnecesarily nervous ;-)

The tears and laughter are still rolling down my face at Joya’s gorgeous video! Thanks for sharing! So beautiful! However I would take the spontaneous declaration of love over the orchestrated proposal any day of the week:) PS my husband had a plan which I foiled so it ended up being very casual!

ohhh also ….forgot tell you by the way …i just bought a copy Paris Vogue! (& got at-shirt for fashion night out)

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! So proud of you and your article

Le mariage… je parle mariage, je dors mariage, je bois mariage, je mange mariage, je ne vis que mariage pour l’instant et j’adore ça!!! Je suis en pleine préparation de notre wedding… J’ai lu plus haut que le mariage en Belgique était ennuyeux… Ah bien non alors! Je dois certainement être américaine dans l’âme pcq je suis totalement sur la vague: le mariage et son romantisme à l’accès … Peut être que ça vient aussi du fait que LA proposition (superbe et inattendue) a eu lieu lors de notre 1er voyage à New York (en pleine féérie de noël)… Bague tiffany et demande parfaite… Mon ptit belge à moi, il l’a fait version américaine ;-) et sans que personne ne lui souffle rien du tout ….alllez ok…. peut être une toute petite fois devant un film, j’ai du lui crier mon amour pour la petite boîte turquoise ;-) … Nous nous sommes rencontrés à l’âge de 16ans et après 10 ans d’amour, nous allons enfin nous dire oui en juin 2013!

Et si ça dépendait de l’éducation ? La mienne (et celle de mon homme également) est bourrée de romantisme à l’ancienne. Pour preuve : nous ne sommes pas fiancés, mais nous nous sommes échangé des “anneaux de promesse”, avec un message gravé à l’intérieur, nous promettant ainsi l’amour, la fidélité et tout ça, avant même de se fiancer. On a déjà énormément parler de la bague, il a demandé ce que je désirais et compte la faire sur-mesure (avec ses goûts à lui aussi), qu’elle soit unique, pour son amour.
Et ça, je trouve ça hyper romantique.
Et le connaissant, ça va déborder de romantisme le jour où la demande se fera ;-)
P.S.: nous sommes français, comme quoi…

As an outsider looking in? The business of weddings keeps the American economy going.

I have to admit that I have never cared about the ring, but I don’t judge people who do. I think part of the difference on the two sides of the pond might be economic, as in recent decades (at least until the crisis), it was much easier for young people to get a foothold economically in America than in Europe. My boyfriend is Italian and I know how difficult it is for young people there to get independently established, financially speaking. Of course the tradition of a ring and the associated value is also influenced greatly by culture. In Canada, where I live, we see much lower rates of marriage and much higher relative rates of co-habitation and having children together without being married, in Quebec rather than in the English-speaking parts. Part of that though is an extension of a forty-year push away from the opressiveness of the Catholic church in Quebec, especialy relative to women, in earlier decades.

Tant que la bague est sublime… haha
Félicitations? :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mWXrHi1Rks

The 19:57 from Euston!!

X

quelque chose à nous reveler Garance sur la demande en mariage!!!!!!!!!
moi je trouve les bagues de fiancailles trop classiques, ringardes comme les solitaires tout le monde en a!!!! moi je veux un autre style de bague et surtout pas un diamant mais une autre pierre. Pour moi la demande en mariage doit etre une surprise et la video que tu as poster pourquoi pas c’est trop sympa et ça change un peu…..
les françaises sont ouvertes aussi à ce genre de proposition et un mariage doit etre avant tout une fete et pas un stress sur l’organisation, la robe.. plus on prends de l’age et plus on comprends l’importance des choses et des gens que l’on veut à notre coté pendant ce moment magique!

I’ve always wanted a scene in my life to be like a musical. If I was the woman in that video I think I could have died happy on the spot! But I don’t think I really want that to be my engagement.

Being from the Midwest, all that you’ve said is still so very true in my corner of the world. If there is a difference from NYC, I’d say it’s that men out here also try to plan something extra special like the man in that video did. Often they attempt to turn the engagement into a little bit of an adventure.

Personally, I’d want a much more private, subtle engagement. There definitely is some beautiful romance in the drama that Americans have surrounded marriage and engagements with but I’m not entirely at home with it for myself. If my man was just sitting across from me at dinner, with that look that just says you’re the world to me in his eyes, and quietly popped the question (still sitting in his chair), I’d be happy and elated.

I was just talking about this a few weeks ago with an American boy who is engaged to his long-time girlfriend. The ring situation is quite different for us Argentines, because, you see, I have a ring that my boyfriend gave me (it’s made out of silver, not gold or platinum) that symbolizes our commitment to each other, but it does not at all represents a marriage proposal… And the American boy couldn’t understand how and why and all that.
Here in Argentina we don’t have the whole marriage proposal preparation like Americans and, sadly for me (ha ha), there is no diamond ring involved either, BUT there is a nice tradition of the boyfriend buying rings (silver, with no ornaments and with the name of each of them written on the inner side the other one’s ring) when he feels he is in a committed relationship and wants to make a statement. Not everyone does this, but you’ll see people running around with a silver band on their right hand.

As I see it: right hand: serious relationship, left hand: marriage.

Génial tous ces commentaires all over the world ^_^

Pour moi le cérémonial cheesy, le genou à terre, le diamant etc… je trouve que c’est un peu trop conformiste.

l’essentiel c’est l’amour, c’est l’engagement que l’on a l’un envers l’autre. tout le reste c’est personnel et il n’y a rien de “normal” “bien” ou “pas bien”…

Mais les bagues, c’est quand même vachement beau!!!!
J’adore surtout les bagues de famille. J’en ai une qui vient de mon arrière grand-mère que j’adore. Je la donnerai surement à ma future fille.
J’aime cette notion d’héritage, une histoire d’amour différente de celle du mariage, plus authentique pour moi.

L’ironie étant que ces bagues étaient toutes des bagues de fiançailles au départ.

bises.

Sujet très intéressant ! Personnellement je n’ai jamais rêvé du mariage, de la bague, de la robe de mariée… Je suis avec mon homme depuis 7 ans et nous allons nous pacser en octobre (vive le romantisme!) sans bague, sans robe, sans cérémonie uniquement lui et moi suivi d’un repas avec nos parents et grands-parents. Je me marierais peut être plus tard, je pense qu’il faut suivre son instinct et vivre ses rêves.

Je porte une bague tous les jours, une “babiole” très simple que m’a offert mon homme (étudiant fauché à l’époque) pour notre 1ère année ensemble et mes 20 ans. Si je la perdais ou si elle se cassait je crois bien que j’en ferais une maladie, elle me rappelle le temps qui passe, notre histoire, notre passé et notre présent et elle symbolise notre amour :) Je trouve ce genre d’attention plus touchante qu’un bout de papier qui officialise l’histoire d’amour…

Je pense que le mariage devrait être aboli, cela ne crée que des problêmes dans toutes les sociétés. Les individus font un bout de chemin à deux, cela dure un moment ou quelques années, puis quand l’histoire se termine on se retrouve seul ce qui est la position naturelle de tout individu dans le monde et ça n’a rien de choquant, c’est même plutôt bien. J’ai raté mon rendez-vous à la mairie pour cause de grève des contrôleurs du ciel, il y a bien longtemps, et je ne l’ai jamais regretté.

Je suis française ET je veux une belle bague (de préférence un diamant jaune ou rose de chez tiffany!)

Nous en Tunisie, et au maghreb arabe, la bague de fiançailles est trés importante aussi, les fiançailles en général, c’est pas du baclé, ça s’organise à l’avance (trés en avance même) comme le mariage. Le jour j, le prétendant vient demander la main de la fille auprés de son père et aprés toutes les festivités commencent! Bref, c’est un trés grand jour chez nous, presque aussi important que celui du mariage.

Bisous Garance, j’adore ce post!

http://fromtunisiawith-love.blogspot.com/

I’m from Northern Italy. Ring? Not so important (except in the North-East apparently). It is more common to hear couples saying “We have decided to get married”. I live in Ireland though. Completely different story (more NewYork like). Here, when a friend tells you that she is engaged you have to: admire the ring (even if it looks like all the others you have seen before), ask how he proposed, where he proposed, etc.

I’ve seen this one on the other day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F9WZgTgB9E

Omg that proposal is OUT OF CONTROL!!!

A perfect clip to share in light of your musings!

Je ne suis absolument pas romantique, c’est pathétique. Et jusqu’à ce billet, je pensais que c’était purement un truc de comédie romantique ou de séries. Je me souviens encore de cet épisode Friends Dans lequel Monica hurle sur son balcon “I’m engaged” après que Chandler lui ait fait sa demande. Je me disais “elle en fait un peu trop”…

My fiance, who’s a little out of touch with decorum, proposed on the Pont de l’Archevêché bridge. It was very romantic, love lock and all, but he didn’t have a ring! Being the American girl I am, I was confused. When I stooped to asking the ever-gracious question, “…do I get a ring?,” he was unconcerned and inexact in his response. “Of course, you can have whatever you want.”

“OK, BUT WHEN?” was too forceful a response, so I contained myself until my self-pity was such that only a weepy, public breakdown could relieve my anguish. He was utterly stupefied. He had no idea he was being so shockingly un-American in his ring-less proposal.

We began our joint ring shopping adventures immediately upon returning to the States. We designed a gorgeous ring that I adore, and have a tragicomic engagement story to boot.

Non mais c’est fou ça ! Tu écoutais notre conversation au déj ou quoi ? Je parlais de ça avec mes copines de bureau ce midi justement.
Tu as totalement raison, nous les Parisiennes on veut du low profile, on s’en fout de la demande et de la bague juste purvu qu’elle arrive !
C’est ce qu’il se disait majoritairement ce midi, comme toi avant : toute cette pression nous angoisse et au fond on kifferait de se faire demander en mariage au saut du lit même sans bague.

En fait, contrairement au New-Yorkaises, on a tellement peur de finir seules qu’on ne chipote plus !! C’est ça la vraie raison je crois ! Déjà que tu galères pour être heureuse, quand tu l’es tu t’en fiches pas mal d’avoir une demande à genou dans le jardin des Tuileries.

Merci pour ce post toujours dans la tendance Garance !!!!! C’est si vrai !

I think it is really personal how and what you do. As long as you stay true to yourself. We had dated for a long time and he had asked a couple of times and I wasn’t ready. Then one summer night we both looked at each other and said: let’s get married! And we both hate engagement, specially a long one, never understood why you get engaged and then after 3 years get married. Since we wanted it to be very private we didn’t tell anyone and then a few months later eloped to a beautiful island and got married! It was the most romantic and fun time! And the ring, we picked it out together, a vintage understated diamond band from the 1920’s. Since we are both from europe and live in New York, I can tell you that when I came back to work married, everyone was interested in the ring, everyone! and because it wasn’t a gigantic diamond ring, I got a lot of ” oh I feel so sorry for you” looks! Interesting enough, I have witnessed sadly that a lot of those girls that craved the big ring , big proposal etc, have gotten a divorce a few short years later. So, I don’t think it should be about the ring, the dress or the wedding, in the end it should be about you and your partner enjoying your day and the rest of your life, however makes you happy!

Oh my goodness @ the video that Joya posted…….I SWOON!!!!!
xx

Je viens de me marier et quand je l ai annoncé à mes copines américaines elles avaient l air plus heureuse que moi vu leur réaction ;-)
J ai eu la chance d avoir une très jolie bague mais bien après le proposal enfin à la française ;-)
Moi ce qui me choque ce n est pas la process de la bague qui aux us doit représenter environ trois mois de salaire de ton chéri ….. C est vraiment la convention sociale ici et puis parfois elles ont des gros diamants mais moches… mais c est le business autour et tout l argent que les gens peuvent dépenser ( il y en a qui s endette!’) et le temps qu ils y passent!C est dingue ! J ai organisé mon maraige en deux mois et ça ça les a fait halluciné !!!!

haha, Garance, the beginning and photo absolutely looked like a prelude to the news about your personal life, you’re right ;-)
here, in Russia and to more locate – in Moscow, the ring has become a tradition already, what happened very quickly… maybe 5-7-8 years ago it was about “we want it to be like in [a hollywood] movie”.
Now I don’t know anybody who would believe me if i’d say i’m getting married and didn’t show a diamond ring. In the best way “Dreamer!” (or maybe even “liar”) would be my third name.
So, I’m pretty surprised to hear from you and oher frenchies on here that the Ring has not spread out from America to all around the world. Well, you and other people in other countries who didn’t blindly catch this up, are much much stronger and more original than us in this way :-/ )

Je l’ai fait lire à mon mec et voici son commentaire:

“C’est très joli, même avec mon regard de macho bourrin…
Elle en propose souvent des cours de romantisme comme ça ?”

#No comment!

Oh, I have a question about American engagement ring-things, and since there seem to be a number of American ladies around: I often read about ‘ring shopping’, which you’re supposed to do together with your boyfriend, way before the proposal. I don’t quite get it. Then there’s no surprise anymore! Or did I misunderstand?

Mais la tradition de la bague de fiançailles a existé en France. C’est juste que cette tradition s’est perdue.

I think you are speaking for me! I am living in NYC now for over 8 years with the same guy, however, I am European (who cares about the country). I got married last year and I dont have a ring! I had one 7 years ago, I lost it and never cared to get a new one.. . My American friends feels like I am committing a crime or something! And I always laugh at them and feel disgusted sometimes how important the ring is for them and how marriage isn’t… and I have been against this hysteria and keep refusing to receive any ring… although recently sometimes I would like to have one, but just because some of them are so pretty…

J’ajoute qu’après que ma mère s’est enfin décidée au bout de 9 ans de vie commune – c’est-à-dire de mise à l’épreuve – à se marier, mon père n’a depuis plus eu qu’une peur : que ma mère le quitte, car il lui a toujours fallu continuer à faire sa conquête, même dans le mariage.
Il faut dire que ma mère est Bretonne… :)

Bonjour Garance,

je me suis mariée cet été et je dois dire que j’ai passé un an sur les wedding blogs américains, anglais, français, italiens : il y a autant de façon de faire sa demande, d’organiser son mariage que de mariés et c’est ça qui est super.

Et l’important c’est déjà que les futurs monsieur-madame soient d’accord sur le style du mariage.

Pour moi, le plus précieux dans tout celà, c’est la sincérité et l’émotion qui se dégage…

J’espère que ça se déroulera comme dans tes rêves pour toi.

Bises

Garance, un article sur la robe de mariée s’impose maintenant ! PLEASE !

J’allais te dire qu’en tant que bonne parisienne et la quarantaine passée, la demande, les fiançailles, le mariage, la bague et tout le tralala je m’en fiche un peu, et puis j’ai vu la vidéo de Joya, et j’ai été émue aux larmes…. Je crois que, même si c’est conventionnel, culcul ou cliché, quand ça vient de celui qu’on aime, ça nous touche ! et c’est ça qui est beau !

That’s amazing proposal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJWlavnM6b0&feature=related

Well, I’m from Mexico and here girls do expect a big ring for the proposal, but I strongly disagree with this tradition. I think it is unfair that one person has to spend so much money to make a marriage happen, while the other gets to show off jewelry. I mean, if both men and women work, why should only a man give an engagement present? It seems sexist to me and I think it contradicts gender equality issues. And I also don’t think that expecting something as expensive as a diamond ring without giving anything back is the best way to enter a live-long partnership. I am married and I only have my wedding ring, as does my husband.

I am so with you! As a brit, I think it’s sad really that the emphasis is all on the ring and the wedding, blah blah blah. My other half gave me his grandmother’s ring, and I couldn’t be happier. (Of course, I wouldn’t have been unhappy with a beautiful modern ring either but, y”know, either one totally works, it’s about the man not the ring!)

I would have thought that in Paris they’d be all about the production of love and marriage. Hmm. So interesting. I live in California and we’re all about the proposal, ring, wedding location location location and whatnot, but really, to me it’s about the man and what this means to him. I’m a girl and want the fairytale but I want a fairytale with someone, not just with myself…. and they lived happily ever after!

xoxo
http://www.thewrittenrunway.com

P.S: Après avoir lu une bonne partie des comments (pfiou!), je vais mettre mon grain de sel (assez bref). Le truc, c’est qu’en France on a perdu toute notion du SACRE, tout s’est banalisé jusqu’au mariage. Au USA, le SACRE est encore très présent dans de nombreux actes, comme le mariage. Les américains sont trés attachés aux rituels, aux rites de passages, le mariage en fait partie.

:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) this is an amazing post, dear Garance! I think here in Romania we tend to borrow the commercial part of the “Ring” and also the commercial part of “Valentine’s Day”, really! It is important for most of the girls the place, the ring, the everything, but I hate it when people just do it in order to take a picture and uploaded it on facebook or their blog. Come on, it is your personal moment with the love of your live, you do not have to smile and take a picture right after you said yes and he like it and put a ring on it :D. No way, that’s not romanticism. I like to keep all simple, no upload on facebook, no diamonds ring and I won’t mind if he doesn’t go down on his knees, au contraire ;)

As my engagement ring was being set with a beautiful old mine-cut (but I prefer princess) diamond my fiancee had to fly to Toronto for business. What to do?

Pick up the diamond from the jeweler, fly off to Toronto myself to hand it to my fiancee…….so that he could then give it TO ME! Thought it was romantic at the time.
We’re still together – 20 years now.

life/style blog at http://intrigueimports.wordpress.com

My fiancée gave me a rolex watch with the inscription our love is timeless. I wear the watch everyday with any outfit and it is as much part of me as my simple gold wedding band.
He knew well enough that diamonds were not my thing.

This is fascinating. Only because at a deeper level it has to do with socio-economics and how American culture is consumed with materialism. I read a book called ‘All the money in the world’ and chapter 2 is called ‘What else could that ring buy?’ The chapter discusses a wedding-as-ending concept which a lot of people buy into, hence; huge ring – which a man usually saves up months, maybe years for; lavish wedding – where couples usually go into debt for. This is all usually do to societal pressure here in the US (where the the wedding industry is making BILLIONS.)
I understand wanting to feel like your union is special, it is! The union is totally sacred and should totally be celebrated! But it’s sad to have pressure for a perfect day and a perfect rock. The focus should be on the relationship and how to grow together into people you actually like.

Ohhh que oui totalement en train de changer d’avis !!! Est-ce l’amour ? Est-ce l’âge .. de raison ?
Est-ce cette révélation “If you like it then you’d better put a ring on it !” ?

Je VEUX ma bague !!!!

Nicole,
This is so romantic!
Your husband really knows you.
It’s beautiful to do things your own way, so refreshing!

Récemment j’ai lu que dans la noblesse, au Moyen Age les hommes offraient une pierre précieuse à leur épouse pour les protéger des maladies, tel un talisman.
Le diamant était bien entendu le saint graal des talismans.

Ce geste a perduré durant les siècles, perdant peu à peu sa signification pour devenir la bague de fiançailles…
Voilà la petite histoire, et de quelle beauté !

And now I am jamming to my gurrrrl, Bey!!!!!

Ha, thanks!

Sadly divorce rates are so high…..I agree….the engagement ring and then the huge wedding pressures and then both families adding more pressure….ugh…..

Hi Garance,

Nice article! You should do your blog more like literature than fahion. Of course you can still have the pictures, but you should do write more about everything in articles.

Good luck!

Bisou

Andrea

Le mariage je ne cours pas aprés, mais effectivement les americains ne le conçoivent pas. Il y a pas longtemps j’ai diné avec des americains et un d’eux a demandé à mon chéri quand est-ce qu’il comptait me demander en mariage et quand on a repondu jamais, alors là il était surpris et n’a pas compris pourquoi, on a eu beau lui expliquer le pourquoi du comment il comprenait pas. En meme temps l’un d’eux a été marié 4 fois, donc ça compte vraiment pour eux.
Super la vidéo, dans le meme genre il y a la demande faite à Disney World.
http://www.classy-dressing.com/wp/catalog

My husband and I dated for four years. We decided that we were going to be with each other for a long time anyway, so we decided to “put a ring on it.” He took me out to a nice dinner, and afterwards we walked through a park. This was in wintertime. He asked me at the restaurant, without fuss, and when I accepted, put the ring on my finger. We were very happy and overcome! He got me a very simple and chic David Yurman set. One simple sterling silver band with the rope detail on the inside, and one simple stack ring with a little oval of tiny pave diamonds. The whole set cost only $500. I wouldn’t have it any other way!! I would rather him save up the money for a trip to Europe or Morocco or something like that! xx

In general, the French have a more modern, free, practical approach to marriage whereas Americans (maybe with the exception of those who are progressive and/or from big cities) tend to have a traditional (conservative?), sentimental approach. America doesn’t have a class system so one’s position is defined by wealth(big ring, big reception) or one’s vocation. That said, in some circles the big ring, wedding, etc. is seen as indiscreet.

Chez nous, et en Afrique de l’Ouest en général, le soupirant demande la main de la femme auprès du père, et c’est la dot qui symbolise les fiancailles; ca ressemble pas mal à la manière dont ca se passe chez les Malay: la famille du soupirant va dans la famille de la fille et après pleins de bavardages symboliques, ils présentent la dot, qui se constitue généralement de noix de colas, de pagnes, d’or (beaucoup d’or), etc… Cette étape cèle l’union des familles (ah oui, le mariage n’est absolument pas un affaire entre 2 personnes, mais plutot entre 2 familes)
Le jour du mariage traditionnel, la famille du marié doit aller chercher la nouvelle mariée avec un valise remplie de cadeaux et…d’or.
Personellement, je préfère qu’on me «demande» ma main à moi même. Je veux une belle bague quand même, mais plutot un rubis qu’un diamant, et surtout rien (ni demande ni mariage) de spectaculaire ni d’exagéré: pas de salle de reception, pas de robe à traine ni de voile, pas de demoiselle d’honneur etc..etc..juste de la bonne compagnie, de la bonne nourriture, de la bonne musique, et un Polaroid :)

I’m an American who lived may years in Fr and was married to a Vrai french man! and that pasted too. All I can say is Americans are more interested in planning an ostentatious wedding than having an elegant affair. Its all about inviting as many people you know, bragging about how much money the wedding costs and wearing dresses that are far to white. YUCK! In the end I married an American and we had an elegant wedding between the two of us….and we are living life together happily ever after!

LOL Garance… Disons que leur attirance vers les gros diam’s rejoint un peu toute la culture américaine. Personnellement, je ne les trouve pas tellement romantiques, non. Surtout à New-York où la plupart de mes amies son célibataires et dès qu’elles parlent de “ce qu’elles cherchent”, elles commencent par premier critère la fourchette de revenus… alors logiquement, oui, si elle veut qu’il ne fasse pas moins de 150K par an, elle veut un diams proportionnel et une demande dans une endroit bling-bling, mais avouons que si on demande nos critères à nous, les françaises, ça serait plutôt qu’il soit gentil, attentionné. On ne scanne pas son compte en banque avant de demander son prénom. du coup ça va bien ensemble, dans un pays ou on confond un peu souvent valeur humaine et réussite, surtout dans les grandes villes.
Sinon as tu vu celle la ? (J’ai pleuré comme une grosse madeleine, j’avoue… n’empêche que autant j’aime le côté “big show” et démonstratif, autant ça a un côté trop irréel) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJWlavnM6b0

OK, this is the post I want to comment, because lately I’ve been talking to lots of people about this. I originate from Bulgaria, but I don’t live there now. Since I’m living with my boyfriend, my friends and family started asking me the same question: are you planning to get married? What if I am not planning? Why, the hell, should you choose to be married and put yourself on the risk of getting divorced when you can spare yourself that risk and feel free? We have so many rules that we have to follow. There are so many chains that stop us from being and doing what we want. Here’s another one – marriage. So are we masochists or what? And don’t start with all that theory about eternal love, romance and dream about “happy ever after”. If you love a person and he loves you, you don’t need to be married. How hypocrite do you have to be to promise to somebody that you’ll be by his side forever? That’s a love contract you’re making! Truth is marriage doesn’t guarantee your happiness or eternal love. It’s old fashion! Yeah, you could live all your life with someone before, when life expectancy was 35! :)
Anyway, I don’t want to hurt anyone personally, I just want to tell to all the people: Do not mess with other people’s lives, everybody has their own choice and judging them will only show how much you disrespect these people. I am saying that as a person who’s being judged for her choice of not getting married.
Oh, by the way, I love Beyonce and I always sing on this song: “If you like it then you shouldn’t put a ring on it!” ;)

Kiss kiss,
Zura

http://zuramode.wordpress.com

moi je m’en moque de la taille du diamant et de la bague… !
et puis ça voudrait dire que si tu n’as pas beaucoup d’argent ta demande va être nulle parce que tu n’auras pas pu acheter une big bague … or c’est faux !!
tout ce qui compte c’est l’imagination qu’il y a autour…
si on réfléchit bien on est beaucoup plus touché(e)s par les choses qui ne s’achète pas ….

The way i see it is, your wedding day isn’t the best day of your life, its just a symbolic beginning of the best days of your lives to come.
I had a little wedding, and my husband bought me a ring from a local artist that I had been admiring for some time. Nothing extravagant, but we saw our wedding as a way of celebrating our new beginning together with the people we love the most. I think it does not need to be any more than that.

I’m Swiss, but I don’t think that our engagement was very traditional. My fiancé asked my Dad first, which I thought was really sweet, so when he actually proposed I knew what was up of course. He did go down on one knee and was incredibly nervous and the ring, well, I didn’t like it. I told him that and he was fine with it and I got to choose a new one which is very dainty and usually people don’t even know it’s an engagement ring, but I love it!

I love this post.
I couldn’t agree more – I find it shocking how much effort, time, and expense is placed on engagements and weddings. Please notice I’m not talking marriage, that is hopefully, a lifelong journey.

I do love my engagement ring, my husband spent much more than I would have ever expected on it. But for our wedding, I did a civil ceremony with our parents as witnesses and then a party in my parents’ home for about 30 people. I can’t believe how enormous the wedding affairs have become.

And beyond movies and tv shows – look at all the reality tv out there – say yes to the dress, 4 weddings, rich bride-poor bride – it’s all designed to be a massive show. Unnecessarily I feel.

~Natasha Fatah~

Honey…. I’m Italian.. no huge rings required.. none..
BUT! IN ITALY the traditional weddings require to involve the entire family (even that people you almost don’t know)! And the majority of our marriages are in the church.. here the Vatican is sooo felt!

I don’t pretend a super super romantic proposal, I like the simply things… but I have to admit that I cried during the video.. ;-)

It’s nice to read so many opinions and personal stories. Thanks!

There’s a great article on Huffington Post by Ira Weissman who was in the diamond business for many years: “7 Reasons Why Diamonds Are a Waste of Your Money:”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ira-weissman/7-reasons-why-you-shouldn_b_1720870.html?utm_hp_ref=weddings&ir=Weddings

There are so many ways to celebrate a union between two people who love eachother but one thing that it should always be is debt-free!

The American wedding industry is SCARY. So much pressure for young kids who are indoctrinated at a very early age… Tabloids also play a part by constantly reporting on weddings and in particular ring SIZE of celebs! Disgusting and stupid considering the average length of today’s marriage! 50% ? Keep it simple and save your money for a down payment on a house/condo! My wedding party consisted of 35 people and for me even that was too big! (big family)! There is one wedding scene that brings tears to my eyes whenever I travel to Italy… After the ceremony the newly wedded couple exit the church or town hall and take a stroll down the main street or piazza of the village or town. At this point people stop and let them walk in the centre as they all applaude them! It is a beautiful, joyous moment that welcomes the new couple into the world by family, friends and strangers! It is almost a good luck initiation! Ciao

In Uruguay we re a little bit more traditional. If you come from a “good familly” and want to impress your future familly in law, then you should ask the father for permission first. He will obviously say yes, but you should do it anyway.

Anyway, thank god i don t have to spend 20.000 dollars, just to “show” how much i love my gf. i think you can perfectly do so, by doing little things, every single day, that show how much you care. of course, you can give awesome, kick ass presents as well (actually, girls tend to encourage them ahahhaah) but they are not expected when proposing.

Salut Garance,
personnellement je n’ai jamais vraiment fantasmé sur les fiançailles, trouver quelqu’un avec qui on va passer le reste de sa vie me paraît déjà assez laborieux pour qu’en plus je m’embarrasse des modalités autour du mariage. Cependant, je trouve très beau le principe de sceller son amour autour d’un bijoux précieux (mais pas nécessairement un diamant ou même une bague), il me semble qu’une approche un peu “revisitée” de la bague de fiançailles, serait d’autant plus touchante et originale.

p.s : ce post serait il un message subliminal à Scott ? ;)

I really don’t like the “bigger than life” thing… for me it’s just the love you feel, the simple pleasure of being together and the relaxed moment where both of the people involved in a relationship take de decision of getting married. Don’t really fell comfortable with the stereotypes of men and women present in this habits
sorry for my (bad) english! Luckily in Argentina the ring is not important at all

Hello,

Ma carte de visite ….. un PACS et un collier Rochas. J’ai les mariages en horreur.

http://urbanjustine.blogspot.fr/

And btw I think it’s silly to relate the lenght or intensity of one’s love to the price of the jewel. I had one boyfriend that loaded me with rings and earings. Years later I found out that he cheated on me with half of Rio de Janeiro, our hometown. Now I am more than happy with my marxist low budget History professor who gave me a pair of pearl drop earings that he’s paying in five installments. :-) He respects me. That’s what counts.

La dernière video va peut être faire changer d’avis pas mal de francaises qui comme moi ne croient pas au mariage

I totally get what your saying about American weddings, Garance! And you didn’t even touch on the subject of the cheesy engagement photos sessions. (ack!!!) My parents had nothing like this when they were young and in love so I wonder if it might be as much a generational thing as it is cultural? Anyways, I’m an American and had a very simple engagement and fairly simple wedding… it was big but not fancy. I wouldn’t say that I “couldn’t care less” before my engagement. I wanted to get engaged and married!! But I didn’t feel the need for a dramatic to-do! All I wanted was a heartfelt request from the man I loved. (and yes, I still very much love him).

Carolina I.: I couldn’t agree more!

Nah, mais vous etes serieuses, les filles? La bague est un must!

J’adore! And its so true what you are saying! I feel like I am in between the parisian and the new yorker!
I am also a young illustrator, photographer, and i love fashion!
please check out my blog! http://lavieetrosee.blogspot.com/
merci!

Je m’en fiche pas mal de la taille de la bague, mais j’aimerais une vraie demande, avec genoux à terre, eventuellement chorégraphie, chanson, et tout ce qui peut aller avec en mode comédie musicale romantique américaine (non, on ne peut pas faire plus kitsh là je pense).

Wow vu le nombre de commentaires, effectivement ça soulève quand même des passions des 2 côtés de l’Atlantique

I’m with Cate- don’t believe everything you see on television! I’m American, and my husband is too. We got married because we wanted to share a life and, if we’re very lucky, grow old together- not to put on a show! My American friends are of a like mind.

To each his own, just remember that the wedding is over in a day, the marriage is for life!

I’m not French, but from Europe tho and my “Gawd” (paraphrasing you), you cannot imagine how happy I am that someone else on this North American continent (I’m in Canada) think in the same way as me. Maybe there are few more…

I have a solitaire and little diamonds with sapphires band. Nice looking and this is whati wanted at the time because i am french-canadian and for some reasons i disnt really care! Now I wish we had spent more money on the ring and less on the dress and reception! Most of my friends have big ri ngs on their finger and I love the way it looks!! Big rings make such a statement since I do not wear any other piece of jewelry…. So make sure you love your ring because you will have to wear it forever!

Déjà c’est culturel et traditionnel ici en France: je viens d’une grande famille et oui, les fiançailles c’est important (demande en mariage, dîners officiels des présentations des familles blabla bague au doigt et cie…) oui toute la famille est concernée, les amis aussi jusqu’au mariage!! c’est une étape de dingo dans une vie !! par contre j’ai des amis en effet autour de moi qui ont eu une éducation laïque, et qui vivent en couple avec des fois des enfants sans voir l’obligation de se marier!! on sent beaucoup moins cette rupture aux US je trouve…
des bizettes!!!

Even though girls here in Portugal tend to give a lot of importance to getting married, there’s no such pressure around the proposal! Honestly! I mean, most of my girlfriends want to plan the marriage themselves, find the perfect spot as a couple and such, and would probably frown at the idea of having someone pick everything for them xD
Then there are those like me who don’t care much about actually getting married, it’s more about finding the right place to live with the right person and live happily without pressure (ok, honestly, I would be terrified if I had to make it to a big wedding with the endless list of guests that some american weddings have).
Ps: Funniest wedding proposal indeed! Loved it!

My Own Project

I think Australia is slowly going the American way, with bigger and bigger rocks. But it still varies a lot. I’ve known girls who have had no engagement ring, girls who haven’t had a diamond, girls who’ve taken a relative’s ring (from his or her side), and girls with three carat rocks. All from relatively similar social circles. I think there is less societal pressure on the couple though.

My now-husband painted ‘marry me’ on the side of a horse, a la The Simpsons (the episode called Lisa’s Wedding). He couldn’t get hold of a cow. It was what I kept jokingly asking him for by way of my ‘big proposal.’

I just watched that second video, and *_* wow. Um, in response to that video and the American need to make romance bigger than a Friday night special from Chevys (shudder) – I blame Disney!!

..but I suppose it was a sweet gesture ;*)

This youtube marriage proposal was in my hometown, Portland, Oregon. Our famous city slogan is “Keep Portland Weird” so don’t take this as typical “American”. Life is a bit more colorful out here – I think because we live with rain 7 months out of every year. Seriously. We’re a little wacky once the sun finally comes out (but in the best possible way!).

I agree, it’s a cultural difference. But I don’t know if the dividing line is American/French, I think it varies wildly even within the states depending on family traditions and upbringing. My husband proposed to me in a simple restaurant in Spain that we ate at all the time, with a beautiful delicate little ring that he picked out all by himself, no pressure, no stress. I was overjoyed of course, cause I love the guy, but I’d never thought much about marriage. My soon-to-be sister-in-law on the other hand is currently engaged and planning her dream wedding, and watching her is like watching someone from another planet, culturally speaking. But like you say, it is sweet, and there’s no reason for us to be judgmental either way. It’s just different, and that in itself is beautiful.

http://nomadic-d.blogspot.com/

I like it the French way, I got a small diamond without engagement and the biggest proof of love was having a child.

Today? We are married with two beautiful children and I had to wait to turn forty to get the most amazing ring :)

Although you wrote a disclaimer I would like to ask Scott, what are you waiting for?? You are looking at her and you speak about her with love (I watched the kate spade video that’s how I can tell), you two are soo sweet. Scott, Garance te tend la perche avec ce billet (good luck with the translation ;)

Any sincere expression of love is dear and romantic. My husband proposed with a modest diamond in a park we frequented in a light rain. He was so nervous and all that makes thememory, even 10 years later, precious.

In response to Lori • “Americans need to be more concerned with the marriage rather than the ring. Maybe that is why the divorce rate is so high, no? A ring is a nice sentiment, but it’s about two people madly in love who want to build and spend a life together. Thanks for clarifying why a ring is the most important thing, Garance.”

Um… yeah… so way to be judgmental. Firstly, Americans (from the United States b/c there are other countries in the Americas) don’t have the highest divorce rate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s high, but not the highest. Don’t believe what you see in the movies about engagements.

I, having grown up in the US, never thought a ring or even a wedding was paramount. I did however want a ring (engagement/wedding), but it didn’t have to be a diamond. I just wanted one that reflected us as a couple. People can thing, “eh, whatever… it’s not the most important thing” and I agree, but here in the US it is a symbol of a very important promise. You are also going to be wearing it everyday. So it doesn’t have to break the bank, but it should be at the very least thought out. I like the that someone else shared about the Dior ring. I think that is the point.

When I got engaged my man gave me a lovely antique ring and the moment I saw the box I knew. We had discussed it for months and I was so excited that I didn’t give him a chance to propose before I said yes. We laughed and then I cried. We didn’t have a wedding either… well we eloped in the court house, but we did have a party in the park with our families (really small- maybe less than 40 people).

I don’t know any female friends that put that much emphasis on the ring or even the wedding. In my experience that type of pressure comes usually from the families- particularly with weddings. I think Lynne brought up a good point about financial independence dictating wedding traditions.

My husband proposed on impulse while at the top of the Eiffel Tower. He was very nervous and acting strange and thought he was scared of the height. At first I was kind of annoyed that he wanted me to sit down! He presented me with the miniature Eiffel Tower statue that he had teased me about buying downstairs earlier. I was caught totally off guard and it was very sweet. We bought a pink galvanised steel ring from a market as the engagement ring (which I have since lost). We were traveling around Europe at the time and I wanted to save our money for one really beautiful wedding ring made by a family friend. So for me, the ring wasn’t important, it was about the commitment we were making. That said, I do think my wedding ring is pretty special.

I have never commented here, but I had to now as as my unconventional engagement ring and wedding have been raising eyebrows for years. My husband proposed with a personalized gold band (I hate diamonds), and we got married outdoors next to a river in hiking clothes. And, yes, we still performed a ceremony even though it was just the two of us (this tidbit really seems to blow people’s minds). It was perfect, and so “us.” I think this conveys my thoughts on the American marriage/wedding obsession, so enough said.

Have you read this? http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/ It’s basically about how the whole “a diamond is forever” engagement ring idea is just a very clever marketing strategy. After reading that, I think I’d want either a vintage ring or one with another kind of stone, not a diamond.

Normal size ring, Vegas wedding, 20 years and counting. If your wedding day is the happiest day of your life, your life is going to be downhill for a long long time. If you need a huge rock, just buy it.

in my opinion (the greek girl) a ring is nice but of course it does not have to be like a giant stone ! well, not TOO small either but, you know, a something is nice… and personally I would not like a super organised proposal at all. my brother proposed to his wife during their usual , saturday morning, on the top of the mountain, seeing a beautiful view of athens, walk… and it was so cute! I mean it should be whatever the man feels like doing, whatever matches to his personallity and makes him feel confortable…

and I will never stop wondering: WHY would you spend 1-2-3 milion $ on a ring??? well I hope it only happens at Hollywood otherwise I cannot understand it…

ce qui me laisse perplexe par rapport à une demande en mariage à l’américaine est que dire non est vraiment, mais vraiment difficile.

As you said, Garance, I find the “american way” so un-chic.

My distant French Bohemian heritage must be coming through, because even though I am an American, I don’t relate at all to this American standard. It could be also that I am from the West Coast, Oregon to be exact (hippies, mountains, laid back relaxed lifestyles). I used to focus so much on dreaming about extravagant weddings and rings, until I met my boyfriend of two and a half years. He has totally rocked my idea of love. For me love is not a showy thing, but instead the life blood of our relationship. At my wedding I want people to be focused on the depth of the commitment we are making to each other, and less about the decorations and the huge diamond ring. I want people to see me and my man for the love we carry with each other, a love not centered on materialism, but instead centered on a passionate romance and friendship. Everybody is different, but I tend to lose sight of what love is truly about when it gets infiltrated with material things.

No ring, no flowers, no candlelight dinner. We just decided to get married, informed our parents and had a very simple wedding 3 months after. It was quite anti-romantic considering all the relationship drama that we had.

Moi qui pensais qu’on voyait ça uniquement dans les films..

http://aucuntitre.tumblr.com/

You shud watch this ! it’s awesome http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcrQWp5eUB4

Nice post! Us being Dutch, we went all practical :-) We had talked about marriage in general terms and decided it would be good if he had his studies wound up first. So when his finals were approaching I brough it up again and we simply sat and picked a date (a practical one) together. We bought wedding rings which we wore as engagement rings and then had them engraved before the wedding (slightly oldfashined now, it used to be the norm in my parents’ younger days). We planned our own, totally idiosyncratic wedding: we had the civil ceremony and a mass, then a home reception with homemade cakes, sandwiches and drinks, then a nap-break for our dear grannies (our maid of honour and groomsman made us take one too), the parents with kids made that a beach/playground break. After that we had a restaurant dinner with a small group and then a big party (no reception) with dancing and a late night buffet. We had a ball. We skipped the formal wedding cake as we’d have had to cram it in and overload the programme. We stuck to a budget we were comfortable with. People had such a good time they talked about it for years (really!). It’s been more than 16 years now, ups and downs of course, two teenage kids by now and still married :-) If I had to do it all over again, there’s not a single thing I would change about that day.

Another American view:

One morning, upon waking, he asked. No ring, just morning breath. I said, Probably. He got in the shower, I called all my friends and told them we were engaged. When he came out, I said yes. 9 months later we found these beautiful platinum art deco rings from the late 20’s. We bought all 3 for next to nothing. I wear them with his mother’s platinum bangles (6 of them, all from India). We skipped the ceremony, I kept my name, and we call each other husband and wife. We did it our way. . .

Boston meets Mumbai:

He asked one morning as we lounged in bed over magazines. I said probably. He showered. I called all my friends. I said yes over breakfast. 9 months later we came across 3 platinum art deco rings from the 30’s for next to nothing in a thrift store near home. I wear them with his mother’s silver bangles from India. I kept my name, we skipped the ceremony, and three years later we consider ourselves married. The mere IDEA of a ceremony (in Boston or Mumbai) left us both overwhelmed and exhausted.

We started calling ourselves married after people kept asking if we were married yet and when we said no — they reacted as if someone had died! Oh my god, what happened? I’m so sorry. You don’t have to talk about it. . . . Its just easier to say we’re married than to explain that we don’t want a ceremony!

Oh! I almost forgot. He flew me to London and Paris for an impromptu vacation the summer we decided. I guess if I forgot this, it wasn’t the most important part, but it was terribly romantic! I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’m from London. My boyfriend and I have been together for four and a half years. Lived together for over two years. We’ve discussed marriage and I’m definitely waiting but he’s freaking himself out about the kind of ring HE THINKS he should get.

I constantly reassure him it’s not important and he could get me a £5 ring from a cheapy accessories shop, I just wish he’d get on with it! But he won’t budge.

So I agree with you, Garance; guys are definitely more obsessed with The Ring than girls. I think it’s an ego thing. They believe that if they can get the most expensive ring out there, they are real men. LAAAAMMMME! JUST DO IT!

Most traditionnal I heard was when my grandfather’s father went to see my grandmother’s father in his best suit, with cream-colored gloves to ask his daughter’s hand for his son. My then-not-yet-grandparents had already informally agreed to marry btw.

Love this wedding image
j’adore cette image de marriage.
Long live romance!

http://pinterest.com/pin/168744317259110157/

Ah, hello. Not all the Americans are so different from the French on this. My boyfriend and I have been saying for years “Oh yes let’s get married . . . as soon as we can think of a good reason to do so.” And we haven’t yet — our relationship feels whole to us, and we don’t feel like being officially married would change anything. Except . . . you’re right that everyone gets married here. So if you’re not officially married, people assume you’re not in a serious relationship. E.G., men will continue to hit on you if you’re not wearing the ring, even if you’ve told them you have a boyfriend. Married couples assume that they’re somehow more committed than you are. I say that a commitment is a promise that’s lived out everyday, not one that is made once on a piece of paper.
However, perhaps the reason Americans value marriage so much has something to do with our social system and (in an unexpected and a bit half-hearted way) women’s rights. If you’ve got the document, you’re guaranteed some financial support — for potential kids or just a cut for yourself — in the case of a divorce. A lot of women still don’t work, but we don’t have great social support, so maybe this is a way that women (probably unconsciously) protect themselves financially?

Here in Argentina nobody engaged, or never met anyone who does that. Here isn’t a custom, in that sense we’ re more like the french people.

Apparemment cette tradition viendrait du fait que les Américaines n’avaient autrefois aucun contre-partie financière en cas de divorce ou de la mort de leur conjoint. Ou comment une tradition avec une raison reste ancrée pour tout un peuple!

chuis déçue j’ai cru que tu allais nous annoncer tes fiançailles et nous montrer ta bague ;))))

Approach to marriage, among many other issues, is way different in Europe and the States. Americans seem to be very materialistic and to them, a value is only acknowledged if expressed materialistically. They buy big houses, big cars, diamond rings, etc. Everything has to have a financial stamp of approval; otherwise, it’s as if they don’t exist.
The same goes for everything in relationship – who’s gonna say ‘i love you first’? omg, that’s out now, i guess next step is moving in, and if that happens, well engagement should be around the corner, oh! what kind of ring will i get (her), etc. Everything seems so structured and predictable and soul-less, so no wonder why 50% of marriages in the US end up in divorce. Most people are so obsessed with getting engaged and throwing a lavish party for their wedding that they forget what marriage truly represents.
We could also say that the way Americans approach engagement is very similar to arranged marriages … which Americans view as an old-fashion tradition (just like Europeans view American approach to the entire thing). It’s all very superficial. They read way too many fairy tales and project them on their lives later on, when they start looking for Prince Charming.
How many guys cant pay for the ring with cash, so they take a loan for it? Personally, that’s beyond irresponsible. But to each his own, I guess.
Also, Americans say ‘i love you’ way too many times. “Honey, I’m a grocery store. Do you need anything? OK. I love you.”, “Babe, I’ll meet you there in 15. I love you.” Once the cat is out of the bag, it’s really hard to control it: the true power of saying ‘i love you’ kinda weakens eventually.

In Europe, it’s completely different. People get married cause it’s a stage in life – their ancestors did, so shy should they do any differently? They don’t shop for a loan in order to afford an engagement ring. The love is very unspoken and kinda given – you’re with me so you prolly love me. But that climate has changed cause Europeans have started to perceive marriage as an archaic custom; they are fine with a partnership.

When it comes to social issues, the US is way behind Europe. For instance, while 47% of Americans believe in creationism, only 16% Brits believe that God created human beings.
It seems to me that Americans have long way to go to really scratch the surface of what entails to be a human and with that being said, ring (a simple wedding band) is only a symbol of a partnership; it’s not and shouldn’t represent an ownership and/ or a status symbol.

Gigi is right – that video proposal is *very* Portland. From the knit dress to the marching band. Not that everyone does that here! But we are total DIY weirdos, and we think of a lot of joyful group activities to do while we sit inside in the rain. (Case in point: a group of sketchy bearded men arrested with a gun on a major city bridge weren’t about to commit a mass shooting … they were having a photoshoot for breast cancer awareness: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Police-shut-down-Ore-bridge-detain-13-bearded-men-167986556.html?tab=video&c=y )

Ha ha ! Y a peut-être pas de rapport avec l’actualité entre Scott et toi, mais comme manière détournée de lui glisser qu’après tout, tu n’es pas opposée à un solitaire de 3 carats (when it feels right of course) au cas où il aurait cru que ton cynisme français aurait pu laisser penser le contraire, c’est quand même pas mal ! ^^

(Je suis FAN de la vidéo postée par Joya : c’est si romantique !!!)

Ben bravo garance, j’ai bien chouiné en regardant cette petite vidéo… C’était too much mais si mignon, je dois un peu américaine!

http://coconutchili.blogspot.com

Awww…*sob sob*
Best marriage proposal! My eyes are watery for real.

Big hug Garance x

http://www.stylishevafter.blogspot.com

I am from Angola and marriage is a huge thing, but the ring is not the major thing, the really important thing is the traditional proposal. This is when the family of the groom ( notice that it is his family not him) comes to the home of the future bride’s family to ask for her hand in marriage.
It is about each side, each family getting to know each other, pointing out what is best about the future bride and groom. And Where the groom’s family has to bring money and gifts to the bride’s family.
Some of it can seem really out dated and strange to some people. I think that the beauty of it all is that the emphasis is on making sure that this union will last, that the bride and groom are sure of what they want.
Yes it is about two people coming together but it is also very much about the union of two families.

My husband and I married eight years ago, without the ring. I work with my hands and would never remember to put it on, he isn´t really a jewellery kind of guy. I changed my name, everyone knows we are married anyway. So, no ring. It´s all about the love.

I have a funny experience to share, and I hope you’ll take the time read :)

Just this morning, I texted my two best friends, both of whom I haven’t seen in a while. I texted them both that I missed them and I love them. The first one replied, saying the same to me, plus adding, “save the date on 12 June 2013.” To which I replied, “OMG! You’re engaged?” And she said, that not yet, but she and her beau are already planning.

Then my other best friend replied back to my text message, saying the same to me (that she misses and she loves me too), while adding, “You’re the next one after my family who will know.” To which I replied, “Know what? Sounds exciting.” Then she told me that her boyfriend came home from overseas and proposed to her! So I told her, “OMG! You’re the one who is engaged!”

I’m seriously happy for both of my friends, but I have to be honest, upon receiving both news, I wanted to hyper ventilate… My friends are moving forward, while I’m still single and not in a relationship. But I do trust that in the right time, I will meet the right man who will love me enough to marry me (and of course I’d love enough too to marry as well). Sigh, I’m such a hopeless romantic.

Oh by the way, if I do get engaged, I don’t want it super extravagant. I just want it to be sincere, and true, filled with love.

My partner and I have been together for years and had talked about marriage but life kind of got in the way..last week while on holiday, I noticed some newly-weds who looked so bored with each others company that I ranted about them all the way home and how’ you shouldn’t get married if you weren’t happy and in love’.. Anyway my boyfriend managed to silence me with a marriage proposal!! He had the ring with him and thought it would be a great moment!..ha ha anyway I’ve been engaged for 3 days now and happily havent shared the news yet with friends and family yet ( apart from you guys!) as I just want to enjoy the feeling for a while….

Oui, on dépense quand même beaucoup d’argent pour un mariage, même de ce côté-ci de l’Océan; il y a 14 ans que je suis mariée, et je dois vous avouer une chose : je ne me souviens de presque rien de la cérémonie, ni de la soirée, non pas parce que j’avais trop bu, hein, mais parce qu’on est dans un état second ce jour-là, on flotte un peu, et on n’est pas vraiment là; En revanche, mon voyage de noces, ça je m’en souviens: 1 mois en Australie!
Les Français ont une réputation de romantisme, à tort je trouve. Je regarde autour de moi et le mari de mes amis le plus cool et le plus romantique que je connaisse est anglais!
Mon mari m’a acheté une bague de fiançailles parce que j’en voulais une, ça l’a un peu agacé, il ne voit pas l’intérêt des bijoux en général. Pour autant, il porte son alliance religieusement depuis presque 14 ans. Pour finir, nos fiançailles se sont passées à 2, weekend romantique au bord de la mer (ce fut une idée commune) et ça je m’en souviens. Mais quand nous avons annoncé aux gens que nous étions fiancés, peu de réaction, sinon de la surprise (genre, comment pouvions-nous être aussi ringards!) C’était il y a 15 ans donc, et il n’y avait pas vraiment beaucoup de séries américaines ou autant de romcoms, à ce moment là…

My husband and I got engaged 19 years ago. We were living in Berlin in a scruffy artists/students flat, no money but seriously head over heels for one another. Germany rings,engagements are no big deal either. Romantic yes but no ring.
He proposed after a fabulous party by giving me a piece of beautiful silver jewellery he had had made in India years before with the idea that one day he would have a woman he would want to engage!
Nothing could be more romantic than that! I “fitted the shoe” so to speak.
However knowing that where I am from rings are a big thing ( “the rock”) I was given a painting of a diamond ring with the promise that one day I would receive one. I did. 5 years later for my 30th birthday. It is beautiful but my silver pendant still means more.

In ISRAEL its more about the wedding ring and dress rather than the engagement ring.
:)
love your blog!

My husband did not propose, and he did not have a ring. We had had an ongoing dialogue about getting engaged, and one day we just said, “Okay, let’s do it, let’s be engaged.” I went without a ring for a few months because he had a close family friend custom design one for me. People always ask for our proposal story and are disappointed when I don’t have the classic “get down on one knee” to tell them. But the way we got engaged is the same way our relationship has always been – simple, genuine, and very us. To each their own!

*j’avais pas fini mon commentaire*
Franchement -disais-je-, tu as le droit de dire non?

En fait, la question n’en est plus vraiment une, et de même pour la bague, ça devient la concrétisation d’un mois de salaire plus que de tes sentiments.

Et puis j’ai toujours été choquée par le “Diamonds are a Girl Best Friend” de Marylin Monroe, tellement matérialiste! Que je ne suis pas prête de changer d’avis…

Ceci dit, si la mise en scène pour la demande est intimiste, why not?
Mais peut-être qu’un Américain se sentira obligé de prouver qu’il a des big big big balls et faire sa demande devant un restaurant rempli de monde prêt à applaudir ?

Bises,

C.

C’est drôle Garance, je reviens des US et justement je me faisais cette réflexion en voyant beaucoup de bagues de fiançailles, j’ai même constaté qu’il y a même un modèle qui revient souvent, on pourrait en faire un autre post! Le solitaire avec en général un gros diamant, et en dessous une grosse alliance large en argent avec parfois aussi des diamants incrustés (ça semble être le top!). En France, c’était traditionnellement plutôt la Pompadour, plus classique, que j’aime aussi beaucoup (en saphir), pour moi c’est l’image des fiançailles françaises. Et je dis OUI, vive les fiançailles, c’est ULTRA important!!!! Et c’est beau d’entendre qu’aux EU les hommes se donnent tant de mal…

Garance, you are being waaaaaay too generous to your American friends! It’s not about the engagement ring and the frou-frou surrounding it, it’s about love. Love. I am an ecstatically married (38 years!) woman of 57 years old. Because my sweetie & I were oh-so-young when we were engaged & married we pretty much left all the planning to my mom. We wanted a small wedding, Mom & Dad wanted grand. So … the wedding was fine, blah, blah, blah …

38 years later the ROMANCE part is best of all: I receive from my hubby a “Friday Surprise” Every. Single. Week. Sometimes it’s flowers, sometimes a card, one time it was a huge sack of white cotton socks (I wear these around the house). Sometimes it’s jewelry. But it’s always something thoughtful and wonderful.

So …. engagement & wedding: “meh”. Married life to the one you love: joy!

J’ai pas mal de potes mariés/fiancés à des américaines et j’avoue que j’ai toujours été assez horrifiée par le rapport à “the ring”. J’ai assisté à des conversations entre ces nanas américaines assez bizarres pour la frenchie idéaliste et romantique que je suis, du genre “you can’t accept less that 4 carats” (véridique!) ou” I love your ring but it’d look too small on my finger” ou encore “I can’t totally open my heart to him since he hasn’t given me a ring”… euh.. hello?! On ne peut pas généraliser, mais ces américaines-là me font froid dans le dos. Et c’est vrai que les mecs américains jouent le jeu aussi car dès qu’ils vous annoncent qu’ils sont fiancés, ils s’empressent de vous brandir la main de l’heureuse élue sous le nez pour que vous puissiez admirer LA bague (ce qui me met toujours un peu mal à l’aise, je ne sais jamais quoi dire… “euh… oh! quelle belle french manucure!”). On dirait que c’est plutôt pour les autres et le qu’en dira-t-on que cette fichue bague est offerte. L’ombre de la bague plane sur les fiancailles, et gare à celui qui ferait un faux pas! Perso, bien sûr que j’adorerais avoir un joli bijou, surtout si je vais le garder toute ma vie, et c’est beau de marquer le coup, mais il ne s’agit pas d’un concours. Pour finir, il me semble que l’une de mes copines pleine de bon sens a trouvé une phrase assez juste: “les françaises préfèrent avoir un diamant de qualité, même s’il est petit, alors que les américaines préfèrent un gros diamant, qu’elle qu’en soit la qualité”. Pensée philosophique du jour à méditer….

*vient de voir la vidéo*
Ok, je ne dirais pas non à une demande à l’américaine!

Mon mec est francais, je suis roumaine. La demande a ete sympa, avec une bague comme pour y attacher les cles car il ne connaissait pas la taille de mes doigts (il ne savait meme as que ca existe, les tailles) et avec un carton sur lequel il avait colle des lettres pour la soupe pour faire: I LOVE YOU WILL YOU MARRY ME? (le ? a ete difficile a faire)

My husband and I were a bit unconventional in the whole ring shopping/purchase. We had to accommodate his limited budget at the time (he and I don’t believe in going into extreme debt for things like a ring). We actually found my ring on e-bay. It is a beautiful ruby with two rings of diamonds and looks quite vintage-esque.

I knew my husband would be proposing, I just didn’t know what day or how. He set up a friend to do engagement photos (requesting that we go to our local LDS temple to take some photos first for his mom). He surprised me with the ring and I love that we have our engagement captured in photos. It was beautiful and romantic and totally us.

Bon, sur le concept je trouve que le mariage n’est vraiment pas indispensable.
Ca c’est ce que je dis. Sur les faits, je me suis mise à pleurer comme une quiche devant la proposition de mariage, que j’avais déjà vu. Deux fois.

J’aime beaucoup le nouveau design du site, et tu as l’air de t’épanouir totalement professionnellement, ton blog est l’un de mes favoris, bonne continuation ^^ !

As a newly engaged (and overwhelmed) woman, I can’t tell you how excited your words make me for the future my husband-to-be and I are going to share.

I always said I would never want an engagement ring but if I did get one, I would want a very simple modern solitaire. 8 months ago I called off my engagement. The proposal was a surprise. I wasn’t sure but didn’t want to say “no”, break his heart, and ruin a perfectly romantic moment. So I said “yes” and decided I’d figure it out later. After a few days of shock I told him about my reservations. We never recovered. After a year of trying to “come around” I called it off. It was so hard and how I wish he would have asked me about where I was in the commitment process before proposing. As for the ring, it is nothing like what I would have chosen for myself. Instead of simple and modern it is sparkly, intricate, and “pretty”. It says something about how he saw me compared to how I saw myself. In the beginning I had so much angst about wearing it no doubt because of my reservations about the engagement. Moreover, it ate towels and delicate fabrics. Over time I thought it was the most beautiful ring anyone could have chosen for me. It made me feel so special. I couldn’t marry him but the ring showed me that he had worked very hard to find something that was as pretty as he saw me to be. When we called off the engagement, he said I could keep the ring because he knew how much I had grown to like it. Now I enjoy wearing the ring (on my right hand) more than I would ever have imagined. Nothing turned out as I hoped or expected but sometimes life is like that. However much I cherish my ring, I would happily trade it for the right relationship and true love and happiness.

J’avoue que ce n’est pas dans mes projets en ce moment (car ce n’est pas une priorité ni une fin en soit), néanmoins, ça me parle un peu…
Si mon mec me faisait sa demande, je ne pense pas que je dirais non tu vois ;)

Bises et bon weekend Garance !

PS : j’ai beau écouter de la techno, du bon vieux rock et tout ça, cette chanson de Beyoncé ne me laisse pas indifférente ^^

My parents got married only five years ago, when I was eleven. It wasn’t anything big, it was at 9 ‘o clock in the morning and the witnesses were late because they were buying fish at the market in front of the town hall. It wasn’t a big deal, we had a very nice lunch in a teagarden after. But most people in the Netherlands have a big wedding with a white wedding dress and a beautiful old car to go to the church and a big party afterwards. I don’t really know how important the proposal is. I don’t think it is very important.

I’ve been together with my boyfriend for five years now. We love each other very much but we both don’t want to get married. I just don’t see myself walking down the isle and paying for dinner for people of which half I don’t know. As one already noted above, weddings have become very unpersonal in Belgium. We do want to buy ourselves wedding rings someday, just as a symbol for the both of us, no one else involved…

I too was very “liberal” in my way of thinking and planning my non-engagement until…..my fiancé (husband now) arrived with a bouquet of 24 roses in one hand…. and a little Tiffany box in the other hand…and got on his knees in the middle on the restaurant he had taken me too (I should have seen it coming ;)

All my convictions flew away as I was slipping my finger through the Solitaire and I said to my self: “Wooow, I am actually living the American girl’s dream”! It felt soooo right!

Ring or not ring….what matters is WHO asks you to stay around for the long run.

In Sweden we are divided in to two groups; one wants this big farytalewedding in the american spirit with the dress, THE RING, cake and all that. And the other group (my group) isnt sure if they want to get married and if they do, they want a small and private cermonie :) But everyone agrees that the ring should be personal!

You can choose whatever you like, both are ok!

We promise to love each other for the rest of our lives, we also plan to get married, but suddenly my love broke up with me without saying anything.My heart was broken and i have no where to turn to for help until i meet DR.ADUWAWA.Who was so nice in helping me get my lover back in a flash.I just wanted to say a big thanks for helping me, THANKS YOU.I have tried other spell casters and they failed me,please i advise you not to waste time contact DR.ADUWAWA now.(aduwawaspiritualtemple@ yahoo. com)

hi.. I am from India and its just like Newyork here..but here more than the couple itself, parents from both sides want it as much badly…its a matter of social status of parents than the couple.. as for me, ring matters, size of diamond..not as much….and honestly, nothing matters more than him being with me…

I heard legends about how they do it in America :) in my case it was unexpected and really romantic. We were in Turkish Riviera on vacation, it was morning, I woke up and saw him holding a ring and asking me THE guestion. It was perfect. Not sure if planned really thouroghly but it was just enough.

http://www.lifestylebyola.blogspot.com/2015/08/celebrate-your-life.html#more

Bon, en Roumanie on imite beaucoup la culture américaine dernièrement. La bague de fiançailles, les bachelor parties etc., tout ça n’existait pas avant les années 90, en comunsime, mais maintenant on donne beaucoup d’importance a cela et c’est 100% les filles, pour les mecs, c’est terrible. Hahaha
Personnelement, je me vais marier avec un homme méxicain, et sa culture est similaire à l’américaine, alors oui, voilà, moi aussi j’ai tombé haha.

I confess I am an American that is very un-American in this regard and a bit more French (you see, not ALL of us are about the ring). My husband and I just walked downtown one day, scheduled an appointment with a judge and poof, a month later, it was all said and done… we got a little dressed up and I took my son, sister and a nose gay and that was the end of it, no major anything, certainly not a giant ring. My ring is 100 years old, an imperfect miner’s diamond that cost us nothing but has been in my husband’s mining family for generations. We have been together for over ten years and I hardly even ever wear the ring except when I feel like adding some bling.

I love these kind of cultural differences! We Europeans need ‘over-the-top’ Americans in our livestream to point out all the awesome things we normally take for granted.

In The Netherlands marriage is probably even less a deal than in France. Buying a house or having a baby together are a much bigger deal (and commitment).
For a lot of my friends the wedding is just the cherry on the cake: a nice party to celebrate love with your family and friends.
Something is changing though. For ages everyone got married in quite the same way: city hall, church, photo’s, reception (for guests of whom your mother thinks they’re not important enough for the real deal), dinner and dance, the last part in a very practical and interchangable room in the back of a not very good restaurant. With all cousins you haven’t seen in 10 years.
It’s changing and we’re copying the American style a bit, because by searching for your unique and special wedding (location, guestlist, food, invitations, dress and more) the stakes get higher to arrange the ‘perfect’ wedding that suits the couple like a glove: stress!

I’m 7 months pregnant now, and just bought a beautiful place with the love of my live. I’m looking forward to celebrating that. But what a pity: last weird thing for us overly emancipated Dutch women: we can’t ask them, they don’t allow that… So I’ll wait and secretly hope for my cherry on the cake…

I have read so many articles or reviews concerning the blogger lovers
however this article is really a good paragraph, keep it up.