Couples in the United States are waiting to get married. On average, a couple will be together for at least five years before tying the knot. The groom is typically around 30 years of age at the wedding date and the bride, around 28 or so. This makes sense, as American brides tend to be around two and a half years younger than their counterparts. Fortunately, up to 70% of these couples are also living together before getting married (or even engaged, for that matter). This is something that can help them to further develop their relationship – as well as assess their overall long term compatibility.
But marriage is still largely common here in the United States, especially among those who get married for love (a population that makes up around 88% of all marriages). As a matter of fact, up to half of all adults in this country are married, with as many as 90% of them getting married before they reach the age of 50. And while a good number of people will ultimately get divorced, getting remarried at least once has become quite commonplace. This is so much the case that second marriages (and beyond) now make up around 40% of the nearly two and a half million weddings taking place on a yearly basis (that amounts to around 44,000 total weddings each and every weekend, to put things in perspective).
Planning the right engagement is still just as important as ever. For one thing, the actual engagement event is something that will look different for just about everyone. After all, getting engaged is a very personal thing indeed. It makes sense that it would and should be tailored for individual couples and their individual needs. For example, some people might dream of a loud and elaborate proposal, one that takes place in a very public space. For others, however, this might sound like a nightmare, no better than not getting proposed to at all. It all depends on personal preference and the personality of the couple as a whole. Therefore, each proposal should be right for the couple, something that will often look very different indeed from case to case.
In addition to planning out the proposal, picking out the right engagement ring is also very important. Fortunately, there are many jewelry stores that can help you make this hugely critical decision. Though shopping online for engagement rings has become more possible than ever, going into actual brick and mortar jewelry stores have certainly remained a popular option. When you go to actual jewelry stores, after all, you can ensure that you speak to a professional on the subject, someone who can tell you the pros and cons of many types of jewelry and rings.
Jewelry stores will almost always have a large supply of diamond rings, as the diamond ring is a classic when it comes to giving an engagement ring. Diamonds, after all, have been designated as the hardest natural occurring substance in the entirety of the world, even scoring a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. Jewelry stores have many cuts of diamond rings available, meaning that there is likely to be a diamond ring out there for you. The solitaire cut, first popularized in the 1820s, has long been a staple in jewelry stores throughout the world, combing beauty with simplicity in features a single stone on a simple band.
Jewelry stores can provide many varieties of wedding bands as well. Wedding rings are just as important as engagement rings, though the process of selecting your wedding bands typically comes later on in the process of wedding planning. Picking out wedding rings is something that couples often do together, though some couples might choose to each get their own wedding rings from jewelry stores. Matching sets and individual options are both popular and will, again, depend largely on the couple that is in question.
All throughout the United States, people are getting married and planning their weddings. Getting married is, after all, a hugely exciting and important time in just about anyone’s life. Going to jewelry stores to pick out engagement and wedding rings can help to make this process even easier than it might otherwise be.