As a premier jeweler in Portland, Oregon I keep a close eye on the wedding market. You have to when you have the beautiful variety of wedding rings that I do.

So I was very excited when all the recent reports coming out say that people are going to start getting married again…. Not that people have ever stopped getting married, but the wedding market has definitely slowed down since the recession hit in 2007.

One very interesting report I read was talking about the “millennial” generation. The millennial’s are the mid 20’s to early 30’s generation typically born in the early 1980’s.

A large number of these millennial’s are not married. This is being credited mostly to this generations social attitude toward the institution of marriage in general. The federal government 2012 statistics showed there were 6.8 marriages per 1,000 people. That is a huge drop in the number of people getting married.

But this is predicted to change.

2013 Is A Great Year

By 2014 the number of people getting married is expected to start increasing again. This will be the college educated 25 to 34 year old people. This number is also expected to rise steadily through 2019.

The change in the numbers is expected because the millennial’s, who are children of the big, post-World War II generation known as baby boomers, are feeling better about the overall economy and may be more inclined to move forward with wedding plans they may have been putting off or postponing due to financial woes.

To stay ahead of the curve and get the best deals on your wedding ring and other needs for your big day, I would recommend getting married in 2013 if possible. You won’t have to worry about competing for event space for a wedding or have to pay for the inflation when the market starts to rise back up.

But all this great info makes me think, is the jewelry market ready for you?

How Wedding Ring Tastes Have Changed

The millennial generation is often cited as being very fashion forward and always wanting something “different”. Colored stones are expected to be found more and more in wedding rings. Whether it is used as a side stone or even the center stone.

A lot of younger people gravitate toward more fashion forward and less traditional wedding rings such as the diamond solitaire. Ten years ago the diamond solitaire made up 75% of all wedding rings purchased, but not anymore!

But I have good news for you. I have a lot of “different” pieces in my store. I also have a lot of colored stones and unique bands.

I’m ready for you. Stop by our store today and check out our great selection of fashion forward wedding rings in Portland.

And hey, if you’re already married, I would be willing to bet your wife would not complain at getting a new beautiful piece of jewelry “just because”.

- Slava