Waaaaay back in February you may have a vague memory of me announcing my engagement to my amazing boyfriend (now fiancé!) – during our trip to Portugal. (I promise to finally share some images and the story from that trip soon!) Since then, while I’ve certainly been dreaming and pinning away, life has been busy and we’ve sort of been ignoring the fact that we’re supposed to be, uh, planning a WEDDING.
This month, we’ve kicked our asses into gear. Our venue hunt is on, and we hope to nail down our date by the end of this month so that the fun part (designing!!) can begin! So, I thought it only appropriate that maybe we start sharing a bit of our story with you all. Starting with how it all begins (and ends): The handmade diamond engagement ring from Hirsh London.
When Jason proposed, he knew I’d be way too picky about the engagement ring setting for him to design it himself or to try and find the best place to buy engagement rings with a set layout. He picked out a beautiful emerald cut (I had told him I wanted emerald or marquis!) and after living with it for a few weeks and playing around with a few different ideas, I decided on my design. We took it to Sholt Design where they executed my vision flawlessly, turning the emerald into an east-west setting, and adding the pave diamonds on each side.
If you decide to design your own ring, I highly suggest trying on a lot of different styles to help you hone in on the details that you love best. My design came down to the following: I wanted a ring that felt unique, a setting that wasn’t too high (because I work with my hands a lot) and I wanted to be able to stack up a whoooooole lotta bands!
You might think the engagement ring is the fun part, but really, I think it’s the bands. The ring itself was – of course – hugely meaningful and therefore a little more stressful on the decision making scale. But bands? They’re like a little extra way to add personality, keep it simple, or switch up the look.
So, with the help of the Simon G. collection for Robbins Brothers, I’ve started doing a little shopping…
First – a quick lesson on diamonds and settings. Traditionally, most brides will choose a band that compliments the setting on her engagement ring. So, if we were going that route, I’d likely go with a pave setting in the same size as those on my engagement ring. But, do you have to do that? Heck no.
I decided that I wanted to test out a few different types of basic wedding rings to start with. A knife edge pave (left), a traditional pave (middle) and a channel set (right). What do you think of them? (And can we talk about how gorgeous they look in these Mrs Boxes?)
One thing you should decide is how often you think you’ll wear your band without your engagement ring. If they’re always going to be a pair, then getting a wrap or guard band might be for you! Those are the kind that go slightly out around the center stone so the bands will always line up. Knowing that I’ll want to wear this band on its own without my ring, I’ll be going for a regular band, at bespoke diamond engagement ring Brisbane you will find a wide range of rings for you to choose the one that will match your personality.
I have to say that out of these three, the traditional pave stole my heart. I actually thought I’d want to go with the more simple channel set ring, but when I saw that thicker pave together with my engagement ring, the sparkles were just too good! Of course, I’m not too much of a traditionalist so I’m seriously considering getting this band in rose gold to do a mixed metals kind of thing. I’ve also been contemplating getting a band with some shape to it (like this one!). What do you think? Any creative brides out there who prefer to stack up lots of bands? I’d love to hear about more unique settings and what you think about these three!
Also on the list of major decisions – which Mrs. Box to get to hold my sweet ring!? Of course, I’m loving the green, but the red is so bold and beautiful, and the pink so classic… cast your vote!
