Two Birch Jewelers: Service and Product Review for Wedding and Engagement Ring Products

Two Birch Jewelers: 
Service and Product Review for Wedding and Engagement Ring Products

My fiance proposed to me with a beautiful, simple white gold solitaire. It was a family ring and amazingly, fit me perfectly without needing re-sizing. Anyone who knows me and my viewpoints on finances and expensive jewelry knows that I was thrilled that our engagement didn't create any sort of monumental debt. I don't subscribe to the idea of expensive jewelry and I'm always shocked in horror when people tell me that they are walking around with a $10,000 ring on their finger--particularly if their other half can't really afford to make a purchase like that! It's not what's important, and statistically, there's a lot of research out there that suggests a little humility might be an imperative thing if you actually want your marriage to last.

With that sort of frugality and sensibility in mind, I set out to find a wedding wrap (or ring guard) that would compliment my engagement ring on our big day. I was also interested in selecting two rings: one sterling silver or white gold that I could wear with silver jewelry, and one rose gold that would work with my bronze, rose gold and regular gold jewelry.

But wait--before you think I'm a total diva--you'll have to reserve judgment. =)

I knew I didn't want to spend much, and the local selection at  jewelers for ring guards and wraps was almost non-existent.

That's where Two Birch came in.

I found both of these rings--the Sterling Silver Contour Ring and the Rose Gold and Sterling Silver Vintage Fan Style Ring (both with Cubic Zirconia) for under $60 each. I viewed the Two Birch site but mainly did my shopping and browsing on Amazon. They are both beautiful! And if you are the sort of person who demands diamonds, you can get any style Two Birch ring for more with diamonds instead of CZ. Their selection of ring wraps, guards, wedding sets and engagement rings is amazing. I personally found their jewelry to be among the most affordable thing I'd found online!

Everyone who has seen my rings is impressed with their quality and luster (I couldn't really capture the sparkle and clarity with my camera!). When I noted my choice of Cubic Zirconia, people said, "You wouldn't even need to tell anyone! No one would ever know!" The quality pleases me, but I want EVERYONE to know...I paid very little for these rings, and they are beautiful! It's OKAY to choose CZ! 

I didn't have to worry about blood or conflict diamonds, and my wedding wrap didn't cost the equivalent of down-payment for a car. I'm saving for home ownership, why would I want to take on debt like that?

The best part about paying very little is the freeing feeling. If I were to lose or damage my rings, it's ok. The world won't end. It's just a ring.

I've saved the best thing about Two Birch for last--the customer service. (By the way, this post is not sponsored by Two Birch--the photos and opinions contained are all my own as a consumer, with no compensation given. They had no idea I was going to review their company in my blog...)

Before I purchased my rings, for $10, I ordered the PerfectFit kit by Two Birch, which came with ring sizers (handy) as well as molding material (very easy to use). This allowed me to send a mold of my solitaire to Two Birch for fitting purposes. The company then took this mold and matched it with different ring wraps, sending me photos along the way, and discussing the fit and different choices I might want to make. Because I really wanted something that would nicely compliment my solitaire and something I would love for--well, hopefully a VERY long time, haha--this took almost a month of sizing, pictures, and I even sent a few rings back in the process.

Dozens of emails and pictures later (I worked with a representative named Maria who was very helpful), I had my two rings--which I adore.

I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of customer service and attention I was given during this time for my purchase, which only totaled $120 all together.

I honestly can't recommend Two Birch enough as a jeweler, particularly for the couple who is trying to make an informed, reasonable purchase for their engagement or wedding. There are affordable CZ and diamond choices, and you can feel GOOD about not breaking the bank.

Announcing our wedding photographer...Rachel Kaye Photography!

*All photos in this rooftop session courtesy Rachel Kaye Photography, 2014

MEET OUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER, 

RACHEL KAYE!

www.RachelKayePhoto.com

Finding the right wedding photographer is one of the most stressful aspects of being married, if you ask me. I spent so much time agonizing over that detail of my wedding as a photographer myself--trying to balance our budget with what I wanted to achieve with our pictures. As someone who appreciates a photojournalistic, organic approach to wedding photography, I wanted to find a (dependable) outside-of-the-box artist but I also was working with a limited budget (c'mon, you KNOW I had to be thrifty!). I had been following Rachel's work for a while and felt like it was just what we were looking for!

We feel as though we struck the lotto with Rachel because her prices are very reasonable, and she is so much fun to work with. Right out of the gates upon booking our wedding date, she connected with me and provided me with a slew of great questions that would prepare us to work together (and many of them got me thinking about planning details I hadn't hammered out yet, which was great!).

We recently met up with Rachel for a short "save the date" session that actually piggybacked on a location I was shooting a session at myself, and my fiance and I absolutely love the photos. Rachel did an amazing job with the photography itself, but she was also a blast to work with--fun, energetic, and inspired. As much as Rachel is a free spirit behind the lens, she is a professional in her conduct. We really appreciated her delivery methods, follow through and printing advice as well.

"I get so fired up shooting weddings," she laughed at our first meeting. "I'm usually still worked up the next day!" Her enthusiasm was infectious and Ben and I really appreciated her palpable passion for weddings.

If you're getting married in 2015, you might want to HURRY YOUR BUNS UP and contact her, because she just MIGHT have something available for you! I think I will win bonus points if I suggest considering a July or August date if you WERE thinking about spring and fall previously--why not? If you are getting married in 2016, no sense in waiting around. I have a feeling Rachel will be in very high demand by that point. =)

Meet Rachel!   Rachel is a documentary style photographer based out of the West Michigan and Chicago area. Her photos are warm, fun and authentic. Rachel is also a fellow thrifty fashion blogger and the creater of "Slow Your Style"!

 

Pennies Into the Pig: Budgeting for my Wedding

Image courtesy of Dexknows.com

Pennies Into the Pig:

Budgeting for my Wedding

It has to be the least romantic detail of wedding planning: budgeting. No doubt, though, it is of paramount importance. Yet, as TheKnot.com says, 16% of brides surveyed "didn't even have a budget" (CNN Money, 2011).  

WELP!

I can't imagine trying to do this without planning finances carefully and it's not just because I don't want to overspend--I can't AFFORD to! Therefore, the first thing I did after the excitement from my engagement settled down was start number crunching. Although I'm not sure what my final numbers will be, I can tell you that I'm not planning on spending more than $5000 (honeymoon included) on my wedding. If you consider many people spend over $20,000 on a wedding (dress and ring included) according to polls, than that sounds like a mere fraction of most budgets. Then again, who has $20,000 to spend on a wedding? I don't. I think most people I know end up spending between somewhere in between--usually no less than $1000 on even the most DIY, backyard hitchin', and most of the time, closer to $10,000.

Between the costs of a venue, food, photography and incidentals, the dollars stack up quickly. Therefore I'm trying to budget for the big stuff right away. Though looking at the numbers can be scary for some people, I wanted to get hit in the face with them right away so I can budget and spend that money before it's even in my pocket (Dave Ramsey style).

Without getting too detailed, here are the basics for my PHASE ONE savings plan:

• All loose change is being saved in a bank for the wedding (to be deposited regularly in to our savings account for the event)
• My fiance and I are both starting to deposit $10 weekly ($20 collectively) into the savings account as a base, which will balloon as time passes.

Deposits will increase in amount, and we'll be taking a percentage of tax returns this year, but that is phase one for me! There are 53 weeks left until my wedding, so depositing that amount each week (without figuring in any loose change deposits) only brings us to a fraction of our cost. Therefore, we'll be looking at making that up somewhere along the way, but it's a start!

It's intimidating to think about--but what's the alternative? Burying my head in the proverbial sand and having a huge freakout in the summer next year? HAHA! Let the saving begin.

Also check out the Pinterest board I've made dedicated to saving, "Thrift Trick Thrifty Wedding Pins!"

_________________________

Looking for all of my wedding related posts in one place? Click on this icon:

Located on my top navigation menu as well!

LIFE EVENT: I said yes.

My new life-altering peice of jewelry...

LIFE EVENT: I said yes.

It's hard to believe it. For many years, I said I didn't even respect the convention of marriage. I never really talked about my personal relationships in my blog, and I always felt it was better that way. Sometimes, life changes can be hard, and maintaining a level of privacy is always important. I think there was always a part of me that was running from it...scared to truly depend on someone, and let it go.

That began to change a year and a half ago, when I started dating my best friend (and I mean, literally, my best friend of 20 years!). He was everything that I ever wanted in a partner, and more. He was dependable, loyal, feminist, creative, intelligent, caring, musical, doting, gentle, and wonderful with my son. He was supportive, interested in my life and...he even liked thrift store shopping.

This last weekend, we took a romantic weekend to northern Michigan, and, while we sat in the sun on Bellaire lake, drinking Peach Spumante from Lemon Creek Winery with our toes in the sand, he fumbled around in the pockets of his shorts for the ring he had been hiding there (shown above!), and asked me to marry him. It was his first proposal, as well as mine.

I said yes. <3

I'm not kidding when I say that the shouts of joy, comments, high fives and cheers have literally surrounded us for days in a warm cloud of happy approval--from family to long time friends. And, it only took about one day after our "Facebook Official" status for the requests to come in to my inbox about blogging the wedding. As if I wasn't planning on it, right?

So here's to inhibitions and privacy out the window. Come along with me in this journey to create a beautiful wedding on a shoestring budget, with as many recycled, vintage or thrifted materials as possible! Share in my joy!

Believe it or not, the date has already been set--September 26th of 2015. Until then, I will be featuring regular updates on how things are going with my wedding planning--from the venue, to thrifting DIYs and Pinterest boards, makeup, hair, and positive body image along the way (who doesn't need an extra dose of self love before their big day?) and I hope you will follow along with me!

Look for the "My Wedding" navigation button at the top of the blog so that you can get all of my wedding related posts in one click! 

Black Lace for The Wedding

BLACK LACE FOR THE WEDDING (WIN)

My brother was married this weekend! Congrats to the lovely new couple! I was the photographer for the wedding (see the album so far here at my photography page). I was really excited to see my family and enjoy the celebration BUT..up until one day before the ceremony...I still didn't know what I was going to wear. UGH. Don't you hate that?

That's where Second Impression Consignment comes in! I knew I could find something I loved there. I picked up this black lace overshirt, cami, and neat silver/onyx ring there this week, and paired it with a black faux suede skirt and platforms. Something about all black...

Second Impression is on Facebook now, by the way, and posting sales and special events! You should check it out! This is not a sponsored post. All opinions posted above are my own and the store was a lifesaver for me this last Friday. =)