I am so beyond grateful to my wonderful fellow photographers for their kindness and support while I’ve been on my maternity leave because they have graciously shared some of their own educational content on my blog so I can continue serving my clients and showing up for you, all while loving on my new baby at home!  So, next up in my series of guest posts by fellow photographers is a military wedding photographer, Kathrynne Willhoite!! Kathrynne is writing a post for those who are getting ready to pop the question : how to find the perfect engagement ring!!  Thank you so much for sharing! You can find Kathrynne at: Website, Blog, Email, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.

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So first off, congratulations to Jill! I’m here as a guest writer because she is a mama to now three!  Although I believe I’m trying to fill some very big shoes writing here. No worries, she’ll be back to take care of you all soon enough! In the meantime, hi! I’m Kathrynne Willhoite, a military wedding photographer based in Maine (although I’ll go wherever the military takes you 😉 ).

Right before Jill was looking for people to write while she couldn’t, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea for a blog post. You see, we wedding photographers often write with the bride in mind. It’s not that we’re snubbing you guys, it’s just that we’re often more involved with the bride and we understand your inclination to tell her that shade of peach is perfect just so that you can leave David’s Bridal (don’t worry, mine’s exactly the same so you are completely normal 😉 ). 

YOU HAVE THE MOST STRESSFUL JOB

I realized that you grooms are really the ones that get this whole ball rolling and probably have one of the most stressful, yet most overlooked jobs in the process. Picking out the engagement ring. I mean, we girls are very particular about what we wear aren’t we? And then when we don’t like things, we say thank you anyway and give it away at some gift swap! You know! You’ve seen us do it! But it’s not like a girl can just give her engagement ring away at your aunt’s ugly Christmas sweater party, am I right?

CONSULT THE GIRLS

That’s a lot of pressure! And there is A LOT of advice on how to figure this dilemma out all while keeping it under wraps from your lovely (although very cunning) fiancé-to-be. Some will say to talk to her mom, sister, or best friend since they’ll have a pretty good idea of what her taste in jewelry is. However, knowing how girls talk, there’s a decent chance that she’ll figure out your surprise. 😉

FIGURE IT OUT!

Then there’s the advice to look through her current jewelry pieces and figure out her taste based on those. Now, I’m a girl and I have a hard time coordinating my Instagram feed let alone trying to figure out someone’s style preference based on a few miscellaneous pieces of jewelry (some of which she may not even wear anymore and are just hanging out in the jewelry case until the next gift swap 😉 ). That’s not to say that some of you guys aren’t more style savvy than me, only that this method definitely has its pitfalls.

THE PINTEREST SOLUTION

So my idea may not be original and someone is sure to outdo me someday, but I thought I could help you guys out. Ever heard of Pinterest? It’s AMAZING (and also apparently the bane of a married man’s existence). But if you see that little red circle with a white “P” in the center on the home screen on your girl’s phone, there’s a pretty good chance that she’s a consistent user. And an even better chance that she has (wait for it)… A WEDDING PLANNING BOARD.

A wedding planning board?! You mean a magical place where she stores every idea for the wedding day of her dreams?! Yup. Where she pins pictures of bridesmaid’s dresses and articles on the pros and cons of choosing bow ties for your groomsmen?! Uh-huh. And maybe even where she has saved the direct link to the perfect engagement ring at Tiffany’s where you can just add it to your cart and have it shipped straight to your door?!!! As my dad would say, “Yessah!!” And the best part? You don’t have to get anyone else involved with this method so the only one that has to keep their lips zipped is you.  Isn’t that amazing?! You’re welcome.

THE PROOF?

Don’t believe me? The proof is in the pudding my friend. This post is littered with Pinterest screen shots where I searched “wedding ideas” and hundreds upon hundreds of boards came up. Go try it. Once you get past the boards created by Brides magazine and The Knot, you’ll find that it’s pretty likely that every girl that has a Pinterest account (whether she’s getting married or not!) has that magical board that gives life to her Cinderella dreams (myself included, although I didn’t want any regrets about my wedding so I deleted it after I got married). Some girls even have boards completely committed to just engagement rings! Maybe yours is one of them!?

 

GOOD LUCK!

So there you go. Look her up on Pinterest. Go to her profile and click on that board. And even if she has more than one engagement ring pinned, at least it will give you a better idea about her style than those rose-gold-blue-pearl-inlaid-three-inch-long-the-80s-want-them-back earrings from Aunt Sally that were never going to see the light of day. And the sparkles that a gorgeous ring create in brilliant sunlight are just too beautiful for that fate!  Good luck!

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Kathrynne, thank you so much for sharing this wonderful content!!

Kathrynne is a Maine wedding photographer who fell in love with her kindergarten sweetheart, thus becoming an Army wife. And after thinking through the distinct challenges of planning a military wedding, she decided to solely photograph military weddings. Her favorite coffee hails from Norway in the Netherlands (especially since it’s from her sister) and it’s always paired with International Delight creamer (although there’s often more cream than coffee in the cup 😉 ). She believes in a best friend kind of love that lasts far beyond “I do,” that good manners never go out of style, and that service is the highest calling one can fulfill. Above all, she has a friend whose name is Jesus to whom she gives all credit for this wonderful life she gets to live.

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