The timing of purchasing engagement rings is a personal choice

Buying an engagement ring for the one you love is always going to be an exciting experience for anyone, but unless you know exactly what ring your fiancée wants, then you are better off waiting for her acceptance of marriage before splashing cash on a ring that she doesn’t really like. The most important thing to bear in mind if you feel that you must buy a ring before proposing is that, all being well, she will be wearing the ring for the rest of her life, and in most cases will have a firm idea of what she wants. She also may have been dreaming of engagement rings from a young age. In terms of how much you should spend, people often cite the three months salary rule as being a good indication. However, you should know that this was invented by De Beers, the world’s largest diamond company, to make people spend more money on their diamonds. In reality most women are happy with understated and elegant rings, and few really like to wear a huge stone on their finger.

So just be sensible and spend within your means as there are plenty of other things you will have to spend your money on in the run up to a wedding day, such as caterers and photographers that cost just as much as engagement rings. If you are looking for a reputable photographer to cover your wedding then there are some top companies that can be found online. Ideally you want to find someone who has diverse photography experience, as they will be better placed to add an extra dimension of skill and artistic flair to your pictures. For example as well as taking wedding photos, some professional outfits offer a portrait photography session, whereby people are taken out of their homes and to a location of their choosing to be photographed. Action portraits is another service provided by the more professional photographers on the market, which are designed to capture you doing an activity that you love, such as playing golf or riding your motorbike.

These types of photos are guaranteed to be of you at your most relaxed and can show the real you with no forced poses or smiles. This type of photography can be brought to shooting wedding snaps too, so it is certainly worthwhile tracking down a photographer that can offer you something different. If finding a photographer is still a few steps away for you, and you are worried about whether your girlfriend will accept your offer of marriage, then you should certainly think long and hard before making the decision to propose. It is every man’s worst nightmare to be turned down, but a similarly gut wrenching scenario would be for your girlfriend to say yes but then to say no to the ring you have bought her. That is why most jewellers will tell men to wait before choosing something from their collection of engagement rings, and let the lady make the decision.