Having just gone through this process, and a lot of research, I learned quite a bit about cuts and colours and stuff.
J is k@k yellow. You'd want to stay with G/H if possible. H is still considered pretty white apparently so depending on the H, you could get away with a bigger stone for the same price as a smaller G, without loosing any appeal. If you go for an I, then consider a diamond with a bit of fluorescence. If it's a G you don't want any fluorescence.
As for the SI1 / VS2... VS2 is overkill. SI1 is more than fine depending on where the inclusions are. I got an SI1, but there where no black inclusions, only some small white specs that you can't see without a loop... and then even you struggle. SI2 is where the inclusions get more noticeable. I would possibly consider an SI2 depending on if the inclusions aren't bad / are white specs and not black spots / don't weaken the diamond / are hard to spot.
As for the cut... consider the different cuts: cushion / princess / round etc. A round stone will generally give you a bigger looking diamond for the same carat weight. A lot will depend on what style you'd want, but consider what the shapes bring to the table, as a 1 carat cushion will be cheaper than a 1 carat round (if I remember correctly), but it will appear quite a bit smaller. Also... sometimes the price break point between a 0.69ct vs a 0.7ct will be huge in price but the difference in size could be less than 0.1mm. When you compare your diamonds side by side... look at the millimeter measurements, not just the carat weight. I know this is the case between the 0.9x ct and 1ct diamonds and I think the same might be true for other levels.
The point is... don't forget to compare the stones, not just the specs.
Best of luck... hope some of this made sense.
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