With This Ring...

Rings are always a Big Deal in weddings, whether you're talking about the engagement ring or the wedding ring. A standard has developed, as well. There is the awesome and gorgeous engagement ring, and then you buy a wedding band that, while beautiful, is really a supplement to the engagement ring itself. After the wedding, you'll have a beautiful pair of rings, right?

Well, for me... wrong.

My parents divorced when I was very young; to the point where I don't even remember them together. My dad remarried before I turned 6, so I've always had my stepmother in my life. I remember when I was living with her and my dad that I just loved her wedding ring. She only had one ring she wore; she did not have a ring and a band. I remember looking at it and loving the simplicity of it.

Now, don't get me wrong, Mr. JeffM proposed with a gorgeous ring, but I've always had this nagging voice in the back of my head vying for a singular wedding ring. The wedding ring should be special. While I love engagement rings (C'mon, what girl doesn't?), it's the wedding and a marriage you're working toward, and the ring that symbolizes that should be the centerpiece. It really bugged me that for some people the wedding ring is a mere afterthought.

(That said, if you disagree, that's fine! It's a personal decision, and I'll still be oogling your rings. Plus, I don't like ketchup or tomato sauces on pasta, so really my viewpoints are untrustworthy.)

After making the decision to go ahead with one wedding ring instead of a traditional wedding band, I started researching. I wanted something classic, but a little bit different. I wanted a sapphire because Mr. JeffM loves sapphires (well, anything blue really), and I wanted it to be a ring that represented us. And then I found it.

I placed the order. Lo and behold, on Christmas Eve (via Fedex) it arrived...

Merry Christmas, right? It is a sapphire and diamonds set in white gold. And can I just say how hard it is to have this beauty sitting in our apartment, and I can't wear it yet? I have to keep resisting the urge to "try it on to make sure it fits right" on an almost daily basis.

Needless to say, I'm very happy, and I cannot wait to start wearing it.

Wedding Bands

Wow-- I have not blogged in a while. Work and wedding planning can wipe a woman out- let me tell ya!

So. I was talking to my friend/bridesmaid/soon to be fellow bride, Amazonia last week via email (no- that is not her real name- but I covered this in my other blog posts, she wants to remain anonymous and so she shall...). So anyway- Amazonia emailed me and asked me where I was getting my wedding bands and what they were going to look like. I told her that we had already bought our wedding bands back in February at iGorman when they had a nice Valentine's day sale. My ring is a modified cushion cut diamond in white gold. Amazonia was proposed to with her fiance's mother's wedding ring. That is the ring she currently wears and it is yellow gold. She then asked how much I had paid for my ring because she had found a stunning ring but it was $5,000. I paid $2,500 for mine and I agonized over the purchase. One the one hand, I wanted a fabulous band to go with my ring (which I love). On the other hand- we are paying for 1/3 of the wedding ourselves and are on a very strict monthly budget so we can make our savings numbers. When the day came to make the decision in the store I thought- should I take the money away from some other area to get a fabulous wedding band? The band I will have forever- the flowers will be dead in a week. What to do? What to do? Then Mr. NationalHarbor, who is very Aries and metrosexual, decided that he also wanted a diamond in his band since he was going to have it forever as well and he did not want a speck of dust, either. No, he needed half a carat.

Now, I am not a big fan of diamonds in a man's wedding band- but who am I to argue with him? He wants a fabulous ring as well. He deserves one. We are in this together etc etc.. and so... the price for both bands jumped significantly. sigh.

To add to all of this- when Amazonia and I both looked for bands, the ones we fell in love with were made of Platinum. She asked me- does one dare to buy a wedding band that is of a different metal than what their engagement ring is made out of? Does one dare to have a mis-matched wedding ring set?

I told her I didn't think she should do it. I didn't. I got a channel set band in white gold. I just thought that in the end it is better to have a clean look. Yes white gold and platinum are similar- but with platinum the silver is just..."deeper" - if that makes any sense. It's like if you are feeling very sleek and want to wear a black top and black pants on the town for dinner on Saturday night and then you look in the mirror and the outfit just doesn't work for some reason. All blacks are not the same and you can see the slight variances in color sometimes. I did not want that unpolished look with my engagement ring and wedding band. Amazonia is still trying to decide what to get.....

The question I pose to you all is: what do you think? Do the metals have to match? How much have you spent on your bands or how much are you planning on spending?

Miss GWU: Maybe a Muse for Wedding Bands?

I've received many comments on my engagement ring from its antique appeal to the clarity of the rock. One of my favorites coming from my best friend "It is delicate but significant." Sometimes I catch myself staring at it because when I do, I get one of those exciting butterfly moments of reassurance that my man, Mr. GWU, knows me...like really knows me. From the time we discussed taking the next step to become engaged and to the actual engagement, I gave him no guidance as to thee ring; abstract at best. We visited one jeweler where I decided I did not want more than a carat and some sort of unique design. Literally that was all. The rest was left to Mr. GWU's imagination (and wallet :). Mr. GWU did good. real good. Following the engagement and learning more about the months leading up to the finish of the ring, I was happy to find out that Mr. GWU went to a local, family-owned jeweler called IGorman. Located on 20th st, NW, they were founded in 1981 and remain a family business set on high quality design and warm customer service. Mr. GWU loved working with them, particularly with his specific designer, Alishan. And here is thee engagement ring:

I love the ring. Since this was such a good experience for Mr. GWU and they have been with us on this part of the journey so far, I was thinking I would probably go to them for Mr. GWU's wedding band. I want something substantial, probably white gold, with a unique design or etching, and a short quote engraved on the inside. Looking at the work of the designing staff, I'm pretty confident they can capture my thoughts and produce a great wedding band for Mr. GWU. Here are some thumbnails from their site: http://www.igorman.com/

Has anyone worked with IGorman before on wedding bands and have suggestions on designers or anything else related to this process? Is it better to buy a band that is on the snug versus loose side?