budgeting...

[dennislevy]

AB
I htink MOST Colombians would be happy with ANY nice ring and a man can do that for WAY  less then 2 ,0000 to 4,000 dollars

Chameleon et al.
A  Colombian wedding between two catholics in the church  usually involves BEFORE the wedding, SEPARATE AND PRIVATE interviews by a priest(s) of the bride AND the groom, the mother of the bride or the closest possible female relative, the father of the groom, or the closest possible male relative of the groom..and if a male relative  isn t handy (as may be in the case of a gringo catholic groom) a male friend of the groom who is a formal witnesss, and who may be the best man.

And it may involve several hours of marriage classes before the wedding 

I was interviewed  by a Colombian catholic priest because I was the the closest avaialble male friend, best man and formal witness for one gringo friend at his Catholic wedding ceremony.....None of his relatives came to Colombia.   

In a Catholic church marriage ceremony in Colombia  there is a mass for the couple and all assembled,  of course the couple make public commitmments to each other, respond affimatively  to questions of faith and affirm their intention to practice Catholicism and raise ensuing children as Catholics....

And since you and your girlfriend are NOT Catholics... its a non starter As far as I know in Colombia, Catholic priests do NOT perform marriages for those outside of the Catholic faith. 

So for a beach ceremony you re talking about hiring a pastor from another religion......And they MAY want a hefty donation for their..............church!  jejejejejeje. 

Are we talking about two different things?

A visit to a Colombian NOTARY (NOTARIO) or a ceremony at the CIVIL REGISTRY (NOTARIA)? 

Dennis 

   

[piglett]

Yikes!  I hope so ... the two rings I bought her didn't cost that much!

hey i'm with you, i spend $49 on eBay for our 2 rings.
......who says i can't stretch a dollar?? 
 
pig

[beginthebeguin]

If you got some time to scrounge around. Ebay can be a great source.
 

[Gato4Astrid]

I sell long dresses in eBay, and got many customers buying for their bridesmaids and even had a customer buying a long white dress for her "renew" wedding vow.   They are all from England !!!


Don't have to look for expensive things.....

[Alabamaboy!]

I found the website of where I bought my wife's dress. It is www.elegantgowns.com

The dress I bought was a beautiful gown from their "Discontinued Designer Gown" section. It was orginally priced at $800 and we got it for $150. Including free shipping. It was a gorgeous, high quality dress that was better than anything we saw in Colombia.

If your lady is like mine and clothes fit her well off the rack without any additional tailoring, I highly recommend this place. When people found out it was from the States they were asking how she was able to be fitted when she lived in Colombia. But all I did was ask what size she was and we picked out a dress from the website based on that.

I cut and pasted a bunch of pics of different gowns to be considered and she finally chose this one.

The gown also came in a very nice garment bag, with accessories. I just put that bag in my big suitcase and even though I had to smash it down a little because I had my tuxedo in there as well, it was no problem. The tremendous BAQ humidity smoothed out the wrinkles in about 5 min after taking out and hanging it up.

I also bought a really nice pearl bridal set which completed the look.

I just rented the tux in the States because it was to be a short trip with a longer honeymoon trip to come in a couple months.

The only thing my girl had to buy for her outfit was a new pair of shoes.

[beginthebeguin]

And as any man worth his salt, you stayed from choosing a woman her shoes. Bravissimo!!!!!!
Women and their dammed shoes. 

[Alabamaboy!]

I actually did not choose anything. I just sent her a mountain of pics so she could choose the things herself.

[vikingo]

Just wondering, Traveler, how long have you known this woman and have you traveled much with her? Most colombianas are terrified to leave their family for any length of time. I took my bride to a finca I own in Panamá, a beautiful place actually, with a small lake and many large tropical fruit trees in a park like setting, because she proclaimed that she loves nature. After a couple of months she was crying her eyes out because she missed her mom and begged me to change the tickets so we could return to Barranquilla. Then I bought a place in Playa Mendoza out Cartagena way. She was very exited at first, but the exitement didn't last but a few months and the problem she had, it was to far for her mom to come visit. She is still not happy for where we live now, it's still to far away from mom, one half hour, no more. Now we aren't talking about a sixteen year old, but a grown woman of 34 years, soon to be 35. Are you sure you know what you are getting into because you are willing to, forgive me,  spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a venture which involves a lot of uncertainty. Just my humble opinion.

[Bob_S]

Are you sure you know what you are getting into because you are willing to, forgive me,  spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a venture which involves a lot of uncertainty. Just my humble opinion.

Not just an opinion, but a fact.  A fact we all must face who take this venture.  But if you do your homework up front and take your time, you can make it a calculated risk.  Even then, when you go into this, it is with the understanding that it could still all blow up in your face over who knows what reason you never anticipated.

[Micky]

Bob-S -
 
Very well said!  A guy can do everything right,  read all the signs correctly,  not be the "chump" for the young hot babes,  play every hand perfect AND still lose the war (not comparing a relationship to war,  just idiomatic expression).
 
Micky

[chameleon]

Just wondering, Traveler, how long have you known this woman and have you traveled much with her? Most colombianas are terrified to leave their family for any length of time. I took my bride to a finca I own in Panamá, a beautiful place actually, with a small lake and many large tropical fruit trees in a park like setting, because she proclaimed that she loves nature. After a couple of months she was crying her eyes out because she missed her mom and begged me to change the tickets so we could return to Barranquilla. Then I bought a place in Playa Mendoza out Cartagena way. She was very exited at first, but the exitement didn't last but a few months and the problem she had, it was to far for her mom to come visit. She is still not happy for where we live now, it's still to far away from mom, one half hour, no more. Now we aren't talking about a sixteen year old, but a grown woman of 34 years, soon to be 35. Are you sure you know what you are getting into because you are willing to, forgive me,  spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a venture which involves a lot of uncertainty. Just my humble opinion.

Sounds like quite the ordeal... Why can't she just skype video call? Thankfully, although mine is living with her family now, she has already lived apart from her family for years so being away from her won't be a new thing and it's one less area of uncertainty. ^_^

[vikingo]

Her sister in law had a baby a year ago, now recently her only sister had a baby as well.
Now I am looking at even more family ties and to tell the truth, I can't stand her parents because they are constantly giving her advise on how to manage me and are full of suggestions as to what we need to buy. Her brother in law has the same problem.

[euforia51]

Hi all ... good to see you again. Interesting thread as I am contemplating similar questions for my return trip to Medellin for Christmas. In my mind, my take on the ring is to get a good deal and be happy with it. We're talking about an engagement/marriage here not a fashion show. I got a kick out of Whitey's comment about the clucking hens and the cheap gringo.
 
Like many of you, I also detest what the jewelry industry is doing to the mind of the consumer who expects nothing but the very best. **cough** Engagements, weddings, banquets, Christmas, etc. This reminds me of that Jared TV commercial stolen from the movie 2001 where the GPS locks the doors of the car until the man hands over the diamond pendant. But I digress. A great man once said he is amazed with how people put so much planning and forethought into the wedding and very little into the actual marriage.
 
Nonetheless, I'm fairly sure Glory and I will have a similar discussion during this trip. And luckily, I feel certain she accepts and understands that while a nice ring is important, living in a paid for house and being free from the slavery of debt caused by big rings and fancy things will far more enhance the quality of any marriage going foreward.
 
But hey, if you've got the surplus, who wouldn't be opposed to getting the best you can honestly afford for you and yours? Best of luck...