Back in the Day  – circa 1930′s – 1960′s — diamonds weren’t necessarily  the first choice for engagement rings. He might have waited to buy the engagement ring after he proposed – least the ring didn’t suit her hand.

Diamonds were expensive, so most engagement rings used small solitaire stones — which look best on a small hand.

So what was the hot engagement ring thrilling brides mid-century?

Birthstones!

Brides could choose a much larger semi-precious stone, and the ring would also be much more personal to her. We think this is a really lovely and romantic idea to bring back.  And how romantic if he designs a one of a kind engagement ring, using her birthstone? He is honoring her birth, her uniqueness, which honors her parents. Familial and romantic. Sweet.

Idea: If he gives you an engagement right after the wedding date has been settled on, you may choose the color of your wedding month for the engagement ring, or in some of the colors for your wedding.

For wedding color ideas, you might want to look at these vividly colored  Vintage Wedding Invitations here >>

So, here is a list of Engagement Ring Birthstones:

JANUARY:  Garnet. Deep, rich, red and romantic.  The garnet is found in other colors: orange, green, yellow, blue, purple and nearly clear. A mix of these jewel colors will brighten an already brilliant January Winter Wedding.

FEBRUARY: Amethyst. Violet loveliness. Perfect for the most romantic month!

MARCH:  Aquamarine, or bloodstone. A brilliant aquamarine was a popular engagement stone, for women who were not born in March as a substitute for a diamond.

APRIL: Diamond. Oh well.

MAY: Emerald. The deep rich green of Emeralds can be used beautifully in  May weddings. Especially paired with clean bright white.

JUNE: Pearl. This is a trend waiting to happen. Pearls are just a perfect metaphor for love and marriage. Lemonade out of lemons, and pearls from irritation!

JULY: Ruby. Deep rich ruby red. Use with a lovely pale blue and crisp white. Lovely for summer and both blondes and brunette hair color.

AUGUST: Sardonyx, Peridot, or Carnelian.

SEPTEMBER: Sapphire (an oldtime favorite engagement ring)

OCTOBER:  Opal.  Some say that it’s unlucky to wear an Opal if you are not born in October, but very very good luck if your birthday falls in the 10th month. A pearlescent wedding design, with rustic accents would just be dreamy.

NOVEMBER: Topaz. Brilliant in any color:  from clear to blue, reddish brown or pink.

DECEMBER: Turquoise or Lapis Lazuli.

There is some really great information about various gemstones here.

Let’s face it, traditional weddings don’t just deplete bank accounts; they can also leave a considerable carbon footprint.

Fortunately, planning an eco wedding is easier and more affordable than ever before. With an eye toward specific areas of wedding planning, couples can lessen their guilt, carbon footprint and, in some cases, their expenses by planning an eco friendly wedding.

Eco Wedding Rings

Engagement and wedding rings can serve as the first statement in planning your eco friendly wedding.

Since gold and diamond mining can be particularly toxic to the environment, consider using, or resetting, a family wedding ring, an option that is not only eco-friendly, but also rich in sentimentality. Of course, a family heirloom isn’t always available, in which case you can consider combing eBay, or local jewelry suppliers, for vintage bands and/or stones.

If however, you are intent on new rings, you can buy your rings from retailers that participate in the “No Dirty Gold” campaign aimed at implementing, and rewarding, the most eco-friendly gold mining practices available. Or check outApollo Diamond for eco-friendly diamond rings.

Eco Wedding Dresses

As with wedding and engagement rings, choosing to re-use a family dress can be both practical and sentimental. But many brides find that either a fitting dress isn’t available or that the styles of yesteryear aren’t necessarily appealing today.

If you choose to buy a new dress for your eco-friendly wedding, remember that the usual fabrics (think synthetic taffeta) tend to be made using resource-intensive methods and/or exploitive labor practices. Opting for more eco friendly fabrics, such as organic cotton, silk, hemp, or linen can provide an environmentally responsible option while also offering a wide variety of choices in fit, pattern, and style.

The same is true of bridesmaids’ dresses and the attire of the wedding party. When it comes to your eco-friendly wedding planning, you can save resources (including that precious one known as money) by choosing eco-friendly fabrics.

Eco Friendly Stationery

After the engagement, it’s time to let friends and family know about your big day, an announcement with a rich history. For many couples, one of the first orders of wedding planning business is to announce the engagement by way of an engagement announcement and/or an engagement party. Ensuring that your announcements and invitations are made from postconsumer, or tree-free, paper is a great way to kick off your eco-friendly wedding planning.

If you’re putting on a summer wedding, destination wedding, weekend wedding, wedding with many traveling guests, wedding near a major holiday, or a wedding which includes guests with busy lifestyles, then you should consider sending out a Save the Date. This will allow your guests to schedule the wedding on their calendar long before they receive a more formal invitation. In the spirit of your eco-friendly wedding, of course, your Save The Date should be printed on recycled, or tree-less, paper products.

Perhaps your most important stationery decision, however, will involve the wedding invitations. A wedding invitation typically includes the actual invitation, the RSVP card with envelope, a reception card, a map or directions card and, in the case of some invitation styles, an outer envelope, all of which can implement the use of postconsumer (recycled) or tree-less papers.

Wedding stationery, of course, goes far beyond these basics. Bridal shower announcements/invitations, thank-you notes, guest books, rehearsal dinner invitations, reception and ceremony papers, ceremony and wedding programs, escort cards, place cards, seating cards, menu cards, paper favors, and table cards are among the many postconsumer and tree-less paper products than can be used to mitigate the usual waste. These days, eco-friendly stationery and wedding invitations and are nearly as plentiful, and every bit as beautiful, as the more conventional alternatives.

Overwhelmed? Use this timeline as a convenient reference for sending out the appropriate stationery at the appropriate time. And you can always e-mail or phone us (888-349-4684) for help selecting the perfect eco friendly wedding invitations.

Flowers and Favors

No, you don’t have to go without flowers in order to host an eco-friendly wedding. Opting for locally grown organic flowers and favors, though, is the way to avoid importing flowers from regions, or developing countries, that might rely on pesticides and/or exploitive labor practices. Choosing a local florist is among your best ways to ensure that you are getting the eco-friendly wedding for which you are striving.

When it comes to favors, consider something unique, like Invitesite’s plantable wedding program kit, which provides wedding programs that have seeds embedded into handmade cotton rag paper, allowing guests to plant their programs after the big day.

Food

Outside of the venue, perhaps no wedding element is more expensive, or deliberated over, than the food and drink. Locally grown organic foods, and ideally wines, are the perfect way to continue your eco-friendly wedding theme. Offering a vegetarian, or vegan, menu choice, too, can provide proper variety to your guests while also continuing your eco-friendly theme.

The Eco Honeymoon

When your big day is finally over, you’ll likely be heading off for the honeymoon. Don’t forget that there is a plethora of eco-friendly travel destinations and agencies that can help you keep your travel as eco-friendly as your wedding. Seek travel destinations that offer a focus on ecotourism and sustainable travel, an effort that will not only be ecologically responsible, but also provide a unique vacation that can be an alternative to typical tourist locations.

So sit back, relax, and imbibe a cold beverage or two; you’ve earned it by planning an eco friendly wedding and honeymoon.

Below you’ll find the different types of wedding stationery you should consider as a future bride or groom. You certainly don’t need all of these items. Nonetheless, they’re listed here for you and organized chronologically, from your engagement to first year anniversary gifts.

Engagement Announcements & Party

Many couples like to start things off with an engagement party. Their families and friends may all be meeting each other for the first time. Engagement parties range from casual picnics to urban elegant affairs. The engagement party invitations should reflect the type of event, as well as the personalities of the couple. Since the wedding date may not be determined at this early stage, the engagement party doesn’t have to be stylistically or thematically similar to the wedding.

Engagement Party Stationery

• Engagement party invitations
• Printed keepsakes (story of your meeting, a memento that also serves as an icebreaker/conversation starter)
• Place cards for the table settings
• Thank-you notes for any gifts received
• Guest books, memento books or scrapbooks
• Photo album

Save-the-Date Cards

You’ve set the wedding day, now it’s time to let everyone know. Save the date cards have quickly become a modern wedding tradition. This may be the first mailing your guests receive from you, giving you a wonderful opportunity to introduce your prospective guests to the style or theme of your wedding. Save the date cards should be sent out between four months and one year prior to the wedding.

Bridal Showers

Typically, the friend or relative arranging your bridal shower will also be responsible for the bridal shower invitations. Of course, consulting the future bride at this point is always a good idea as it provides the opportunity to lend stylistic or thematic suggestions.

• Shower invitations
• Guestbook or scrapbook
• Thank you notes — for all those wonderful gifts!

Wedding Invitations

Wedding invitations are traditionally mailed out six to eight weeks before the wedding, with those going overseas usually sent ten weeks prior to the wedding day.

• Invitations
• RSVP card and envelope
• Reception card – if the reception and wedding are at separate locations.
• Map and/or directions card
• Outer envelope, depending on the invitation style.

Rehearsal Dinner

Invitations for a rehearsal dinner typically go to everyone in the wedding party. Out of town guests are sometimes included as well. An invitation to the rehearsal dinner may be included with the wedding invitation, or sent separately.

• Invitations
• RSVP card and envelope
• Map and/or directions card

Thank You Notes

As your mother surely taught you, a timely thank you note is the appropriate response to any gift. Given that many of your wedding gifts will begin arriving before the big day, it’s a great idea to order your thank you notes early. The thank you note will represent your first stationery as a couple, providing you the opportunity to match your cards with your taste and style.

Common etiquette generally dictates that friends and family have one year in which to shower the bride and groom with gifts. Be sure to have extra thank you notes on hand, as you’ll likely need them over the course of the year following your wedding day.

Reception and Ceremony Papers

Remember, to some guests, these items might also serve as a keepsake of sorts, so thinking of them as a lasting impression of your wedding day can keep you from overlooking some of the smaller details. The following wedding stationery should be tailored to match your wedding reception party and viewed as being part of the decorations.

Ceremony Programs or Wedding Programs

The wedding program is a description of your ceremony and a listing of the wedding party members. It is also the likeliest keepsake. Wedding programs, also referred to as ceremony programs, are generally handed out to your guests as they arrive for seating or displayed at the entrance for your guests to pick up.

Escort Cards, Place Cards, Seating Cards

The small cards that let your guests know where they are seated at the reception dinner can be created and displayed a number of ways, from traditional to fanciful and creative. Take care to make printing choices that are clearly legible to all. Small print and over-stylized calligraphy can often prove difficult for aging eyes!

Menu Cards

Menu cards provide a description of the courses served at the reception party. These can be individual cards for each guest or one or two cards displayed on the table.

Guests with special dietary needs will appreciate personalized confirmation that their food is as requested. Other guests will be curious to know more about what is being served. Menu cards offer guests, many of whom chose their food a month or more in advance, a succinct summary of the food they’re about to enjoy.

Paper Favors

Some couples print small books, make special stationery or make little boxes for food wedding favors. Increasingly, couples are opting for favors of more permanence by handing out small packets of wildflower or plant seeds, for example.

Table Cards

Each reception table can have a name or a number, displayed to help guests find their place. These table cards are often supplied by your florist and affixed to the table’s centerpiece.

Guest Book

The tradition of the guest book may be changing but, whatever its current form, guests love to leave their mark. From traditional sign-in books to playful scrapbooks, a guest book allows your guests the opportunity to sign their name and offer the bride and groom well wishes. Guests books are more than just a list of names, they are a collection of memories.

Next Day Brunch

If you’re having a weekend or destination wedding, you may find some of your guests invited to next-day festivities. Be it a brunch or evening barbeque, next day events are increasing in popularity. If not organized by friends or family, such events call for additional invitations or, at the least, supplemental cards in the wedding invitations.

First Wedding Anniversary Gift is Paper

The first year is bound to fly by; you’ll be celebrating your first anniversary sooner than you realize. Tradition dictates that the appropriate first year anniversary present be made of paper. What will you give? A book, a special poem you’ve written or maybe a collection of love notes is the perfect gift to cap off your first year of marriage.