wedding wednesday: rings

oh my goodness, so much to post. i haven't posted any wedding updates in FOREVER. hey, life has been busy. so since we're just over 4 months away, i think this is a good time to try to discipline myself to do a weekly wedding wednesday post. (maybe it will be bi-weekly, we'll see how it goes.)


so, since this is a topic fresh on my mind, i think its a good place to start. if you're already engaged, hopefully your other half bought you something that you like and that fits with your style. this was so important to me (and i'm glad Andy did a good job!)--because i was not looking for multiple stones, something vintage-looking or antique. i just wanted simple beauty--a princess cut solitaire set in white gold.

my ring!

if you're not already engaged, i am a total supporter of making sure of what you want (if you're the one to receive the ring), so that your significant other has the knowledge  (and confidence) to get a ring that you're going to love.  i'm not as much into going to pick out the SPECIFIC ring (that takes away from the surprise of the proposal!), but Andy and i went to jewelry stores (a few years ago), and looked at rings. i told him what i liked. i even gave him a carat amount that i was looking for (which he far exceeded). 

antique ring

he shopped and picked the ring out on his own, and held on to it for nearly two months before he proposed and completely surprised me. and i LOVE that. he told me that the sales people in the stores tried to make him stray and purchase a ring with side stones, and all sorts of other styles, but he knew what i wanted and stuck with it.


but so now, we're on the hunt for our wedding bands. and there are so many questions! 

• do you want them to match? 
• what metal do you want them in? his differently than hers? 
• diamonds or not? how do you want them set? 
• what width band? 
• for the ladies, will you do an anniversary band on the other side of your engagement ring, or a ring enhancer?
• do you want something traditional or non-traditional (like something funky & modern)?

anniversary bands

really!? a camo ring?

  
(when i went to the site for the anniversary bands, i noticed they also have camouflage rings....)







 while i won't give away all of my wedding secrets yet, we've decided on getting two sets of rings. we both work outside, and spend a lot of time outside during our free time, so we wanted to get rings that are sturdy, and less expensive. [we call these 'our work rings']. let's face it, i am not wearing my engagement ring when i'm traipsing through streams. so these are our work rings:

titanium with a stripe of sterling silver

 (we purchased these rings from Titanium Knights on Etsy)

then we will have our nice rings. for the days we're in the office, and go out to nice events. and for me, i really wanted these to match. which i knew for me meant no diamonds (Andy objected). your wedding band should match styles with your engagement ring. if you have an antique ring,  a modern wedding band might look a little odd. luckily, a diamond solitaire has ENDLESS possibilities. as i was looking for a simpler band, one of the things i had to figure out was the width of the ring. and how that would look on my small hands, and next to my engagement ring. (i went with a 3mm band).

Irish Claddagh

i wasn't looking for anything super fancy, i just wanted them to be special, personal. the rings symbolize the promise that you will make to each other, and they will be an outward symbol of your commitment. my mom told me that she still loves the idea (more than 30 years later) that the ring my dad wears is the ring that she put on his finger on their wedding day [my mom lost hers in the ocean, and they had a replacement made, but she has worn a ring enhancer set for years].

plain domed bands

after the wedding day, you're not going to wear your dress, shoes, do your hair up the same, have a professional do your make-up, and have all of this food catered to you. you'll have photos to remind you of the day, but the one thing that will be the same every day are the rings that you wear.


rings may not seem like a big deal, but for me, they are one of the most important parts of the day. you'll just have to stay tuned for what we chose! :)


what are your thoughts on wedding rings?