Arnie & Shantae Anaya

One of my long time friends Shantae got married last month, ( I know I'm a little late posting.) I've known Shantae since my senior year of high school when we worked at Bally Total Fitness together. When I found out she was engaged in September, I was so happy for her and wanted to help plan her wedding. Thankfully she gave me permission and we immediately started planning. It was such a fun wedding to plan and be apart of, and Shantae was a perfect bride to work with. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances I wasn't able to be apart of the big day, but it turned out (of course) to be a beautiful wedding and I wish I could've been there.

The wedding ceremony and reception was at The Falls Event Center in St. George. It is a beautiful place to have a wedding. They have indoor and outdoor areas and you get access to all of it. They let you choose your own caterer, and all outside vendors which is nice so you have freedom to choose what you want. They set up the ceremony chairs for you as well as give you linens to use. I know Shantae enjoyed working with them and they were extremely helpful through the whole process.

Shantae and Arnie chose perfect spring colors: light pink, dark pink, and grey and wanted to give off a flirty, fun theme and turned out perfectly. They had yard games for their guests that her and Arnie made and they looked awesome. The food, flowers, cake, guest favors, decorations, everything all turned out great. Shantae made a gorgeous bride and I am so happy for her and Arnie.

Adrian Vanderhoof Photography

Picking Out A Men's Wedding Band

Now that the most important ring is decided on it's time to think about your groom's ring. Traditionally not much money is spent on the groom's ring. Some things to consider when picking out his ring is his everyday style. If he's a laid-back guy you might want a classic band or if he's more of a flashy guy maybe he would like some bling of his own.

Most men these days are all about tungsten rings. For one, tungsten is a hard metal. This is good if he is active and works with his hands frequently. Though tungsten is not scratch proof it is very scratch resistant. Tungsten is traditionally a dark grey metal but comes in all shades of grey. The styles vary greatly whether you want plain tungsten all the way around or one that is inlayed with another material. My husband's ring has carbon fiber in the center. It can be fairly inexpensive (his was free with the purchase of my ring). Any jewelry store will have tungsten rings and they range in price from $30-350 depending on the quality and style. It is a safe, great pick. It is my style of choice and is popular especially with our generation.

Since yellow gold is hot and trendy right now maybe you want to consider that. It is a bit pricier but it is a cool look and you can fall anywhere from very simple to heavy on the "bling". This was hot when our parents got married maybe your dad has a gold ring like this.

Silver or white gold rings are the classy and traditional ring that can start at $40 for silver and $200 for white gold and go up from there. The styles again range from simple and plain to one or multiple diamond studs. You could even go with some black diamonds or get a band that looks more like yours if you're into that sort of thing.

Other options include platinum, titanium and ceramic. Titanium rings are resistant to bending, and is scratch resistant and has comparable prices to silver. Platinum is known for its ability to almost never break and will remain in better shape than silver or gold over the years, however it is very pricey. Ceramic has a similar look of tungsten. It looks like it's always polished and is the least inexpensive  of all.

As you can see there are a lot of options. If you aren't quite sure what your husband would like ask him-there's no harm there.