We do! This ring from the Claypot made the cut.

When you’ve found the dame of your dreams, you want to give her the engagement ring of hers: one her friends will gush over, her family will discuss at the dinner table, and her cousin studying abroad will demand to see pics of on Facebook. While not everyone’s into mega-rocks (thankfully for you) even the most non-trad alterna girl wants a ring that she considers beautiful—whatever her taste may be. And you don’t have to eviscerate your savings accounts to find it. With a maximum budget of $1,000, we visited local jewelry stores in search of some baubles for every kind of Brooklyn bride. (more…)

This could be you. Photo by theothermrgomez.

Basking in the joy of recent engagement? Know a bride-to-be in search of the perfect non-trad gown? Shoot us an e-mail and we’ll get you into Brooklyn Based‘s inaugural wedding fair this weekend—for free!

Dubbed Wedding Crashers, the event is a one-stop spot to meet Brooklyn-centric caterers, bands, florists, dress designers and the like, this Saturday (Jan. 9) at the Bell House. Pick up tips on everything from DIY cermonies to food-and-wine pairings. More than 30 Brooklyn vendors will share their wedding wisdom during a handful of informational sessions. (“Catering on a Budget” is at 12:45—we’re so there!)

Full-day tickets are $40 a person, and we’ve got a pair to give away. Email us by Friday (Jan. 8th) noon at weddings@brokelyn.com with your favorite budget wedding tip (for possible use in an upcoming feature), and we’ll pick a winner. You must be on our mailing list to win (i.e. the occasional recipient of an awesome newsletter). Sign up here.

Wedding Crashers, Saturday January 9, 10:30am – 5pm, The Bell House 149 7th St. 718-643-6510

Ugh. You post an item with the headline “Does this impossibly perfect Brooklyn couple actually exist?” and the next thing you know, the bride-to-be emails you. And not only is she statuesque, lithe and obscenely camera-friendly, she’s… nice (a lot more so than some of our commenters, tsk tsk!). Alerted to our story by her friends, Alex—see, I’d have guessed she was Alexis—writes the following: (more…)

Alex and Alexis (or vice versa), photo by Di Bezi Photography.

We’re big fans of the Brooklyn Bride blog, which isn’t so much about nuptials (eeuww!) in our home borough as it is about froufrou-free weddings anywhere. This week, the blog features a magazine-worthy engagement shoot of Alexis and Alex (which one’s which?) of Brooklyn, who look like they were dreamed up by a stock-photo agency to pop up when the words “hip” and “romance” are typed in: There she is, all bony and pale, in her terry-cloth romper with vintage cowboy boots. There they are, two-stepping in front of his LP collection in wooden crates. And how about an insouciant, limby smooch on the hammock? Perfect! A question: has anyone ever seen Alex and Alexis on the streets of Brooklyn? (more…)