Welcome to The Bride Files - covering all things related to weddings as Laura prepares for her big day.

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Before I got engaged, I had no clue about the cost or variations of engagement rings. I knew nothing about the 4 Cs or where you would even begin to choose. Luckily, after some research, it become a lot clearer and now I'd say I'm well versed in the area. Having said that, I still haven't got a clue how much on average people spend on engagement rings. It depends very much on people's budgets and styles. I spoke with Brereton Jewellers to get an insight into the spending trends in Ireland. With three shops in Dublin and 100 years in the business, Brereton's have established themselves as one of the leaders in diamond sales in Ireland so who better to guide us on price. According to them, the average price of an engagement ring in Ireland is €4,500. While that figure does look quite daunting, it takes into account the top spenders as well as the lower bracket. They say that most diamond engagement rings start at €2,000 and from there the price starts increasing depending on your preferences. Take for instance the band on your ring. The cheapest starting price is €500, but then if you want a platinum band or some diamonds on the band it will increase to €1,200 and beyond. That's all before you've even selected your center diamond and they differ greatly when you get down to the 4 Cs. The advice from Brereton's is to spend what you can afford and to keep an open mind to get the best style that suits you.

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If you spot anything or have a product or company you want to feature on The Bride Files you can get in touch with me laura.holland@her.ie or on Twitter @LaurHolland.