Let’s talk jewellery!

I get asked about my wedding rings all the time but I’ve never really shared too much about them – mainly because it’s quite personal, isn’t it? Sharing where they’re from would reveal how much was spent, which puts a price-tag on our relationship and leaves us open to judgement. I’ve also never really seen anyone else reveal where their wedding rings are from, so I feel like it’s perhaps not the norm to divulge something so intimate!

Despite this, I wanted to share the stories on how my rings came to be, because they’re so special to me, and I’d love to help provide a little inspiration for anyone thinking about shopping for rings any time soon (exciting!!).
I never ever wore rings regularly until I got engaged, and now I’m never without them! I remember how enchanted I was by my ring after Jordan proposed with it, and even now over three years later I’m still in love with it. It’s the perfect setting and I love how beautiful it looks alone and when combined with my wedding ring. I can’t imagine a more perfect stack of rings than what I currently have.

My engagement ring…

I didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted my ring to look like before I got engaged, I wasn’t someone who had it all planned out and I really think Jordan could have proposed with any old ring and I would have been over the moon.
I must have given him a couple of clues though because my ring is everything I wanted, even if I didn’t know it! The halo style feels vintage and timeless, and as I only wear yellow gold the band is perfect.
When I first saw it though, even in all the proposal shock, I remember I was surprised by the size of the setting – I actually thought maybe it was too flashy! I got over that quick.

Jordan bought my ring himself at a jewellers here in Glasgow, which I found out later when I had to get it resized slightly. I didn’t have a clue that he was going to propose, we had been together five years at that point but even so I hadn’t really allowed myself to think about the idea of a wedding. I still felt young and uncertain of the future in some ways, although as soon as we got engaged I felt something shift in me. I felt more of a change when we got engaged than when we got married – from then on, we both knew this was it for us.

One thing I will say about engagement rings is that you should absolutely do things your way, there are no rules when it comes to proposing – if he has chosen you a ring, perfect! If you want to choose a ring together, also fine! This is your future, that ring is going to be on your finger for (hopefully!) forever, you had better love it.
Personally, I don’t think price should really come in to it either. My engagement ring is the only ring of mine I got insured, the other two are more reasonably priced and that doesn’t bother me at all. If anything, it makes me a little more relaxed about wearing them!

I do believe that if Jordan hadn’t chosen me something I loved, I would have told him and suggested we shopped for something together. Luckily it didn’t come to that, he picked perfectly, but I think that communication is key. I had hinted to Jordan that I only wore gold, and I’d (apparently!) pinned a couple of halo-style rings so he had something to go on. Admittedly, I didn’t even really know what I wanted, so he wasn’t up against any big ideas from me, which I think really helped.

My wedding ring…

My wedding ring was the one I picked myself, although I didn’t really do much searching! Since we planned to elope only a few short months after we got engaged, I didn’t have a lot of time to really think about or search for what I wanted.
I always knew I wanted something quite unique when it came to my wedding ring. I didn’t want to spend a great deal, but I wanted something I could wear everyday and feel happy with.
I wasn’t looking for a plain band, but I thought my engagement ring was sparkly enough so I didn’t consider a jewelled wedding ring either. I needed something a bit different but still in keeping with the vintage style of my engagement ring.

I originally found this Catbird Nora ring and I loved that there was a mens version too. Since we were getting married in New York, it seemed right that we would get our wedding rings from a Brooklyn-based jeweller. In the end we didn’t love that, due to the delicate nature of the rings, they couldn’t be resized – it was a bit of a risk to have them sent to the UK without trying them on.
We scrapped this idea, although after we got married I did pick up a little Catbird ring to celebrate! I don’t wear it often (it’s a very delicate hammered style) but I love it so much.

In the end I went for a vine style from the designer Melanie Casey, it was everything I wanted! A unique, delicate and classic style – and in my price range too.
I couldn’t imagine how the ring would look against my engagement ring, so I ended up emailing the brand to see if they could help me out, and they sent back a picture of the band next to one of their rings which was similar to my engagement ring. It was perfect!

I honestly couldn’t wait to get married so I could wear my wedding band, it was like getting engaged all over again! After we got married I kept looking at it on my hand, it’s just so beautiful.

& my anniversary ring…

I’m not sure what to call this one, Jordan bought me this for our eight year anniversary but since it’s not a day we really celebrate now we’re married he gave it to me a few days later on my birthday instead. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to open a gift, I couldn’t wait to see how it looked against my other rings and I was absolutely in love with it as soon as I saw it in the ring box! I think I may have even gasped…

The story of how this ring came about is a bit of an odd one. When I was in New Zealand after my mum passed away, I was going through her things and I came across her rings that my dad had put aside for me, her only daughter. A few of them I hadn’t seen in years and years because my mum didn’t often wear them, but I was instantly flooded with memories of looking through her jewellery as a little girl.

There was one ring in particular that I loved so much, a green vintage halo ring that coincidentally looks a lot like my engagement ring! I brought it home with me, along with my mother’s engagement ring and another vintage ruby ring that was an anniversary present from my dad at some point.
While I love these three rings so much, they didn’t look right alongside my own wedding rings so I decided I wanted to have the stones made in to a ring that I could wear myself. I wanted something that I could stack with my engagement and wedding rings that would remind me of my mama.

I’d planned it out in my head and I was looking in to where I could have something designed, when I decided I couldn’t actually part with the rings in the end! Ahh grief, you are a rollercoaster.
They were really the only items of my mother’s that I took home with me, because of the baggage limit coming from New Zealand, so I decided I would just keep them safe among my jewellery as something to remember her by.

When I told Jordan about this, I was sort of sad because I had an idea in my head of how I wanted the ring to look. I was almost mourning the loss of the ring I had imagined!
That’s when we decided to have a look online for indie designers that made pretty but affordable rings – I didn’t want anything expensive incase I decided down the line that I do want to use the stones from my mum’s ring, and I wasn’t sure if I would wear it all the time because I already have two rings that I love and wear daily.

I found this beautiful crown-style marquise ring that looked like it would pair perfectly with the round style of my engagement ring. It was exactly what I had in mind, and it was affordable so I didn’t have to worry too much if I only wore it occasionally.
Since I couldn’t try it on before purchasing, I wasn’t sure if I would actually like it next to my engagement ring – it was a bit of a gamble, but at least it wasn’t too much of a commitment with the price being so reasonable.

When it arrived, I was completely mesmerised by it. It’s even more magical than I imagined in my head and it works with both my engagement and wedding rings perfectly. I’ve worn it every single day since Jordan gave it to me and I can’t imagine ever taking it off! It’s such a unique stack of jewellery that feels so personal to me.

I like to switch my rings up and wear them on opposite hands or stacked together. I used to wear my wedding ring on my right hand a lot, mainly because it used to get in the way a lot at the gym but I didn’t want to take it off completely (I never take my rings off ever – that’s how you lose them!)
I also just love how it looks on its own, it’s such a special piece.

At first when I wore my wedding ring on my right hand, I thought my engagement ring looked a little lonely, so it feels like my anniversary ring is the missing piece of the puzzle! I’ll either wear these two rings alone or with my wedding ring stacked on the bottom too. Since I don’t wear any other rings, I think it works that my three rings look a bit blingy!

So that’s the story of how my wedding rings came to be! Each has it’s own little bit of background and I love that although they were all purchased separately, they’ve come together to create a very unique set of rings that I adore.

Have you got an idea of what you want your engagement ring will look like, or will you leave it to fate like me?