There are so many choices when it comes to shopping for engagement rings and you and he will hear a lot of advice from a lot of "helpful" people. His "Uncle Charlie" will know a guy who knows a guy. Your sister will tell you that you have to get your ring where she got hers. Your co-worker will tell you about this really cool website. And on and on, there will be advice around every corner.

Let's go through some of available options and identify pros and cons of each. This should help you both figure out what best option is for you.

Your Local Jewelry Store: Definintely a great place to start. A jewelry store will have a small selection of pre-set engagement rings for you to see in person, and try on. If you run into a helpful sales associate that is willing to spend some time with you and explain all of nuances of buying diamonds, it will be well worth your time.

PROS Seeing diamond in person. Nothing beats feeling of seeing diamonds sparkle on your finger!

Talking to a knowlegable human being and getting answers to questions face to face.

CONS Limited selection. Most local jewelry stores do not have financial resources to carry a large inventory of diamonds. However, many stores do work with suppliers who are able to send them goods on memorandum (like consignment) if they have a customer who is looking for a particular diamond.

Price. You will pay more at a jeweler, period. Sure you can try and negotiate and feel like you got a better price, but a jeweler will not sell you that diamond for less than a substantial profit. Most jewelers need to make a "keystone" markup on every item, which is double what they paid for that diamond. This markup covers high overhead costs of running a store including insurance, rent and sales commissions.

Antique Shops: If you are looking for a ring that is truly unique, this is place for you. You'll need to do some leg work and visit many different stores to see what's available, but it could be worth it in long run.

PROS Most likely to find a one of a kind ring. If you have need to be an original, stick to your search and you will find that proverbial "diamond in rough."

CONS Unless you get lucky, expect a long search. You may only find a handful, if any rings in shops you visit.

Most rings will not have any type of certification or appraisal. Unless you know a great deal about diamond grading, it is possible to get taken advatage of very easily.

There are various reasons for this but here we single out 6 of those. Every young person who is planning marriage should be aware of these most common pitfalls.

1. Marrying for sake of love without first checking depth of love.

No denying that all relationships start with a sense of love and mutual liking. Committing to a long term relationship like marriage solely on basis of that feeling of love is a mistake. Because most of time this kind of feeling is superficial and can not pass test of time. Romantic feeling dies as time passes and far more important issues like 'family background', 'values', 'religious faith', 'financial stability' raise their head, and these issues are of real importance which almost every body with feeling of mutual love ignore.

2. Marrying someone who does not share an interest or hobby.

While marriage with a person who does not share an interest or hobby does not itself make marriage unstable, presence of such an interest or hobby can make life more enjoyable for both partners. And this can make a real difference so while selecting life partner this aspect must be taken into account. But for some reason or other this aspect is often overlooked before marriage. And efforts start after marriage to adapt partner to one's own interest or develop a new common interest. While that is not an impossible task, process of adapting may become un- palatable and may lead to unstable marriage.

3. Not knowing what questions to ask for checking compatibility.