How to plan a proposal from first idea to the question
The order that actually works: the ring timeline first, the setting second, the guest list third, and the exact words last of all, with a step-by-step plan and a week-before checklist.
The Journal
Proposals, rings and weddings, considered properly.
Advice, explanation and planning guidance from a private jeweller, from the first thought of proposing to the anniversary piece twenty years on.
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The Journal
Start here
What are you planning?
01I am planning a proposalWhere, when and how to ask, what to do about the ring, and who to involve without turning it into a performance.Begin 02I am choosing a ringSettings, metals, natural diamonds and coloured stones, budgets, sizing and what a made-to-order ring actually involves.Begin 03We are planning our weddingThe first thirty days, the budget, the order to book things in, the ceremony you are actually having and the jewellery for the day.Begin 04We need a venueVenue types, the questions that expose the real capacity, and verified venues by location when they have been checked.Begin 05We need trusted professionalsHow to choose planners, photographers, caterers and the rest, what to ask them, and how the Wedding Guide verifies a listing.Begin
Featured
Read this first.
Explore the Journal
Six sections, one journey.
ProposalsThe ProposalWhere, when and how to ask, what to do about the ring, and who to involve, written for people planning a proposal in South Africa rather than in a film.Open the section RingsRings & JewelleryEngagement rings, natural diamonds and coloured stones, made-to-order commissions, remodelling and the care a piece needs for fifty years.Open the section WeddingsThe WeddingThe first thirty days, the budget, the order to book things in, the ceremony you are actually having, the catering it needs and the jewellery for the day and after it.Open the section PlacesVenues & DestinationsVenue types explained honestly, the questions that expose a venue's real capacity, weather, power and curfews, and a considered guide to Johannesburg.Open the section ProfessionalsTrusted ProfessionalsHow to choose the people who make a proposal or a wedding work, what to ask them, and how the Wedding Guide verifies a listing before you see it.Open the section StoriesReal StoriesReal proposals, commissions and weddings, told with the consent of the people in them and in their own words, or not told at all.Open the section
Explore by location
Where it happens.
Each place changes the decisions: the season, the wind, the drive, where guests sleep and how the ring travels.
The Ruschin Wedding Guide
Venues and professionals, verified before they are listed.
Thirty categories, from venues and planners to Kosher and Halaal caterers, transport and accommodation. Every listing carries a source, a verification date and the basis on which it appears.
Real stories
Told with permission, or not at all.
None published yet
Real proposals, commissions and weddings appear here only with the consent of the people in them, their own words and their own photographs. The ten formats and what each asks of its participants are set out in the Real Stories section.
Ask Gavin
Ask Gavin.
If the question is about a ring, a stone or the timing of a proposal, Gavin answers it himself. In person at the Illovo studio, or by video call from anywhere.