I realize that this one area that I have never talked about before. So here is the story of my ring.
I am going to preface all of this with the fact that I am NOT a jewelry girl. I don't wear it hardly at all and if I do I am very very picky. I don't go to jewelry stores they make me feel awkward and I just don't shop for that kind of stuff.
The Promise Ring:
When Greg and I first started dating he took me to Tiffany's which was such a pain for me because as I stated earlier I am not a Jewelry gal. He wanted me to pick something out that would be a symbol of our love. He said that no matter where he was (since we did not live in the same place at the time) he wanted me to know that there was someone out there that loved me and the best way he knew how to do this was to give me a ring to wear. This ring also was to serve as a promise to me that as we got things settled he was going to ask me to marry him. So it was with that ring that we began our relationship. Here is a picture of it.
So when he proposed he did not have a ring because we had found a jeweler that I wanted to use for my engagement ring and there was not enough time to have a ring made. So the plan was to have it made afterwards and then I would have it for the wedding too. Well as things have transpired we decided to move the wedding to July from December and there was still no ring. Also in December when we did our engagement pictures there still was no ring other than my tiffany ring that I had had for 6 months. As we were taking pictures I told Randy that the ring I was wearing was not my engagement ring...and he said to us "it is now!" So here are some of those pictures.
I was not planning on having pictures of my hands taken or I would have gotten my nails done. You can bet they will be done for the wedding.
My pet ladybug
So without intending to my simple promise ring transformed into my engagement ring. So unlike many brides I don't have this shiny thing to show off to the world...oh well.
As time has passed we have been checking up on my ring which is being designed by the amazing
Zoltan David. He is an amazing designer that designs jewelry that holds weight with designers like
Van Cleef and Arpels. Well about 2 weeks ago I asked Greg what shape the center stone of my ring was and he said round
.
I immediately got sad, I am not a round stone girl I like squares and rectangles and octagons. I just like odd shapes! Anyway as far as stone cuts go I like radiants, princess cuts and others of the like. Well we had already paid for the stone and this brought up lots of complications because the band of the ring had been made for THAT stone. I felt horrible because I did not want to screw stuff up but at the same time I wanted a ring that I actually wanted, So much conflict in my head!
Here is a computerized mock up of the ring:
We contacted Zoltan and we went in to see him. He said he had heard about my stone preference problem and assured us we could get a different stone. There might be a price increase but he assured us it could be done and it would not effect the ring. So we also mentioned that while I like the way the yellow gold looks I know I would not be happy with it unless it was platinum. I don't wear yellow gold EVER! I just don't see myself being happy with it unless it is platinum or some white metal. He does not do anything with white gold so platinum was my only option.
Here is a pictures of a ring he has done with platinum (well I think this might be silver but either way a white metal)
So we went back this past friday to take a look because he had gotten the new stone. This is what the new stone looks like.
The stone has gone up in size from a 1.2 karat round to a 1.31 karat radiant cut purple sapphire.
So the ring is not done and it has actually had some changes. The setting for the stone is now tapered down and he also added an accent to the setting area which I can not show you because I do not have an image to show you. I actually LOVE the ring now it is so amazing. The jewelry that he makes has a very lord of the rings elvish feel, well not all of it but some of it which is how I found him. He loves that I love lord of the rings because so does he so he added an element to the ring that gives it that elvish feel even more than it already does. I think the vines make it feel very elvish.
So the ring is Black Cobalt Chromium Steel, Purple Sapphire and Platinum. The ring is slated to be done by June 20th or earlier which is good since we leave on the 28th. I can't believe I have never mentioned this to any of you. Now you know the story of the ring and why my promise ring turned into my engagement ring.
Greg's Ring:
So Greg and I decided that we wanted him to have an engagement ring too. Once we decide this we tried several places but we settled on a ring from James Avery.
The ring is sterling silver and titanium
Well after wearing it for the past 6 months Greg decided he wanted to keep this as his wedding ring and not buy another ring.
More wedding updates coming soon.
Teresa