I'm the kind of girl who discussed getting married the first time and this time. No surprise proposals. That does mean I got to pick my first e-ring and this e-ring. It sounds fabulously fun but it's actually kinda overwhelming. Last time we had the money to indulge in a pretty incredible dream ring. I don't want to pick something too similar and I don't want to spend as much money this time around. Me and Future Mr. are prepping to start trying to concieve and I'm a founder in a start-up so money is quite different right now.
So I have two totally different schools of thought and am torn. 1 is sticking with my ornate tastes but mixing in lab-created stones instead of natural stones to cut cost by 2x. Both Future Mr. and I are scientists so we think lab-created stones are super cool not a sad substitute. Loose lab diamonds weren't really on the market yet before or I would have done it last time too.
Option 2 is super functional. Something indestructible like titanium with engraving or a tiny stone that I won't have to worry about hurting when I'm doing my awesome science.
I may vote for both worlds and wear the band when I'm working/building/sciencing and the e-ring when I'm not. So many options. Having no constraints is amazing and hard.