Mark's Wedding Band SAGA

The wonderful world of wedding planning is fraught with difficult decisions. Linen or lace? Band or DJ? Chocolate cake or vanilla? As with every other choice, finding the perfect "manly" wedding band for my soon-to-be-husband was an exhausting quest filled with drama and negotiation.

It all started about a month ago when my sweetie decided he wanted to go to....The Mall. As Mark is petrified of any establishment that houses perfume, clothing, cookware or books, (he knows I get sucked into those places and never leave!) I jumped at the chance to take him to my sanctuary!

Turns out he was interested in one thing - finding a nice (a.k.a. CHEAP) wedding band for himself. Though I was disappointed to bi-pass The Gap and Bath and Body Works, I was also eager to check off another item on our extensive Wedding To-Do List. So, I allowed Mark to drag me to every jewelry counter in the mall where we looked at the exact same rings over and over again trying to find the best price.

Let me take this opportunity to explain the way he works. Mark likes nice things. He likes them even better if they come with "his" price tag...in essence, Mark likes to do things the economical way. Don't get me wrong, Mark's frugal ways have saved us hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars over the years as he's used his fine negotiating skills to wear down even the toughest salesmen. His methods are all fine and dandy, but most jewelers aren't used to negotiating their prices. As many of them refused to budge more than a few dollars, my fiancee had to change his tactics.

At one jewelry establishment my strong, confident fiancee walked up to the counter and said, "I want to see that ring and I want it for $230. If you can't do that I'm walking out." Astonishing, right! He eventually got his ring at Rogers and Hollands where it was orginally marked $399 + an additional cost for sizing. Mark worked a deal that included a lifetime warranty and the sizing for about half the original cost!

Here it is:

He picked up the ring yesterday and wore it home to "get the feel of it, Dani!" and has dubbed himself a genius and recently started patting himself on the back, commending his fine negotiating skills.

I'm proud of him too, but mostly for handling a tough case of what he calls "hypothermia" (err...claustrophobia is the word he's looking for!) and for allowing me to drag him into "that smelly place" (aka Bath & Body Works) and that "place for the hot chicks" (aka Victoria's Secret).

Of course I'm also thrilled to have one less to-do item on my list. Next up...Tuxedo Drama.