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Ring a ding ding. When I came across Tina H. Dee, who handcrafts bad-ass alternative, affordable unique wedding rings and custom gifts that your wedding party will be thrilled to rock. I took one peek at her etsy site and started writing this post. Its, like, broke-ass to the max.
Perfect for your unfussy fiance(e), or your own unfussy finger, these rings and things start at around $30, don’t go much higher than $150, and many are customizable. Personalizing rings and gift jewelry with people’s names, special dates or quotes is a bonus that even broke-asses can get behind!
This ring set below is $68. Yup, that’s right. And its gawgeous.
People. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Etsy is where its AT!
This video makes me itch with wonder. In the years I was ready for Hunter to propose, my advances were rarely subtle. But oh, would that I was as creative in my expression of that desire, or as curiously compelling in my statement, as this lovely, charming and fresh “hey, over here… let’s do this already” video.
A friend alerted me to this and I knew it was made for sharing. I adore it – the girl, the style, the music, the honesty.
Shelby, (the miss in question) who happens to write a pretty rad blog, has this to say about her video: I don’t think it’s completely fair that men get to do the whole proposal thing…so I decided I would make a fairly grand and cheesy gesture to show Joe that I am ready.
Filmed by my friend Audre, who is a great photographer
flickr.com/photos/audreraephotography/
Music is ‘Wonder-Dummied’ by Brooke Waggoner”
And I have this to say:
“BAD-ASSSSSSSSSS, SHELBS!” Affordably adorable. Memorably emotional. Perfectly Perfect.
*I asked Hunter to write a post about his ring, since its such a personal selection for him, so please give my main man a warm welcome for his first ever guest post! (cue applause)*
Hello wedding blog world! This is my first time writing so I think I should let you know a little about myself: I am a man’s man, the manliest of many and manlier than most men. I drink beer, can bench twice my weight, and like things that make lots of noise while breaking other things.
Hmmm… well maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. I do like beer as long as it’s lite enough to still be refreshing if I splash it on my face while jogging, I could bench twice my weight if I weighed 25lbs, and while I don’t have a need to break things, stemware of any sort only has a 50-50 chance of survival when washed by my hands.
So, maybe I’m not the most testosteron-y of men, but when it came to the idea of wearing a ring, I have to admit, I got a little freaked out. Sure, I’m down with the concept of the wedding ring 110%. “Check the ring Ladies, This conversation has been a delight, but this fella is taken, sold, off the market… I am married… to my wife.” But I have always had a weird thing about jewelry. I think Dana is her most beautiful with out any jewelry (except her engagement ring, that’s crazy sexy!) and I feel weird about wearing jewelry, since I’ve never worn any – not even a watch! My dad, while he loves my mother dearly, never wore a ring either, so there is no childhood precedent for me.
I had two options: Either not wear a ring or somehow find one I liked. I’m pretty sure the former option would have resulted in Dana pulling out a Bosu Exercise Ball and performing a deathly attack while simultaneously working her core muscles. With this thought I decided I better find a ring I liked.
But what to do? I looked at countless rings one more boring than the next. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying all men’s rings are lame. I’m just the kind of guy who walks in to the DSW and curses the 30 aisles of women’s shoes, while huddled in his men’s corner to choose between brown or black, laces or loafers. I don’t need to make a statement, I just have particular tastes and like my style to be a touch outside of the box.
I wanted something that feels symbolic. Something forged from a love that has been tested by many trials, but has remained and will continue to remain strong, inspiring and proud. I wanted a ring that can stand the test of time. The idea of the old west kept popping into my head.
More specifically two images:
1) An old railroad track, created from the pounding of hammers, stampeded upon by train cars and worn by time, but still standing strong leading to wherever your destination may be.
2) A notched gun. The tale goes that many outlaws etc. used to notch their gun for every kill they made. Now don’t get it twisted, in general I’m not a fan of guns. I’ve shot them, but anything that could kill another person with just a subtle twitch makes me nervous (remember my issue with stemware), and there ain’t nothing romantic about murder. But in the old west a gun was often a man’s most prized possession, his only form of protection in a lawless world. The image of notches representing trials in which this object of protection served its purpose, is an aesthetic that spoke to me. For anyone who is concerned by the whole gun analogy, I make this vow to you: I promise not to shoot anyone with my ring.
I didn’t know if it existed but I finally knew what I wanted. I looked and looked but found nothing like it. I then tried to find someone who might be able to design it with me, but still no success. No one shared my aesthetic, or my price range. As I was trolling Etsy like a ringless wanderer, I came across Contraptions Studio. A shot of light beamed down from the sky upon the computer and Paco our dog started making angelic choir noises (which is totally weird ‘cause normally he just writes his thoughts down in a journal), “This IS EXACTLY WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR!” I declared. Paco cocked his head, and seemed to pant in approval. Together, we marvelled over the discovery of what is without a doubt the coolest guy’s ring I have ever seen. Get this: it’s called “Battle Scar.” Totally Manly, totally cool and its totally a ring that I could bench press my own weight with (well, a guy can dream). Check it: Pretty badass, huh?
Not only do I think that Contraptions has a ton of cool jewelry but it is incredibly affordable (which makes a Broke-Ass Groom very happy). Shane, the designer, makes all of his jewelry custom order, so each piece is unique. He sent me photos of the initial ring, and after a few groomzilla notes, he took them and came back with a ring that was modified exactly as I had hoped. Wow a great price, incredible customer service and EXACTLY what I wanted. Can it get any better? Yeah it can. It will become the symbol of my love and bond to Dana. Yeah this ring has super powers for sure.
Yeah…… so that’s on my must-have list now. Well, maybe I had to create a must-have list just for this shot, but so what? I’m sure I’ll find many others to keep it company.
Growing up, and well into my relationship with Mr. Meatball, I always dreamed of a ring like this: (image source)
My mother inherited a ring very similar to the above several years ago. I love it a lot – and thought it would be a meaningful solution to our “can’t spring for bling” on a starving artist budget issue. So I politely (read: whiningly) suggested it. She refused. Wouldn’t budge an inch. You see, when my parents got engaged it went something like this:
Dad: So… you wanna get married? Mom: yes! Dad: You want a ring? Or should we use the money for new furniture for the apartment? Mom: well, furniture, I guess. That seems more practical.
Yeah….. so she regrets that choice now. Later, she inherited the ring from her mother. It seemed that if I were to be married, my husband would buy me the ring she never got from hers. Her diamond was the only one she had, and she was hanging onto it!
I totally get that now. Sorry for the nagging, mom.
So, I’d drag Mr. Meaty into jewelry stores and he’d patiently play an innocent game of “Let’s look at rings” together… but it quickly became not so innocent. I’d get attached to rings on the spot and take pictures and then get excited. Then, a few days later, I’d sadly realize I had completely jumped the gun, and what had started out as a game was becoming less innocent and more real for once of us. But not the other.
Or so I thought.
Turns out that while I thought I wanted an antique, he was creating me a brand new ring unlike any other. He worked with a local jeweler called Liza Shtrombergwho had a funky, organic design style, to create a style that would reflect our love – unique, organic, and priceless. When he proposed, I was floored. It was absolutely perfect. (click to enlarge – sorry for the fuzzy photo)
He says the 2 circles represent each of us, and the diamond is our love (and/or the child we will one day have). Le sigh. How sweet is that?! I also love that it resembles the sun eclipsing the moon, or a precious gem enclosed in the protection of sturdy constant. It may be hard to see in the picture, but the white gold around it is unpolished. The (ultra sparkly) diamond is ideal cut, and I love how having it bezel-set allows it to lay flush on my finger and not be a protrusion which I’d surely catch on all my clothes. I love it for being a one-of-a-kind reflection of his love for me, and for being a sweep-me-off-my-feet surprise.
He really enjoyed working with Liza and would highly recommend her services. Best of all: it didn’t cost an arm and a leg either! Many of the rings we looked at beforehand were much more expensive and much less personal. Broke-ass commandment no. 1: Don’t ever rule something out because it sounds too pricey. You might just be pleasantly surprised!
I’ve finally dabbled over at Polyvore. If you haven’t checked it out and made yourself a collage yet, you’re missing out! So fun and easy, its dangerous. Prepare yourselves for more collage fun to come. But for now, I present to you my first collage – some of Liza’s beautiful pieces. You may wish to grab a tissue to absorb your drool.
Full disclosure: I was that girl. You know, that girl whom, after a number of years of dating/cohabitating, becomes a dreadful nag about engagement. To be clear: I wasn’t the girl who cared about what “people” would think if we didn’t, or about Holy Ceremony, or even about the diamond. I was the girl who wanted to throw a terrific party to celebrate her overflowing love for the boy. But, I was a terrible nag… I admit.
A month or two before our 5 year anniversary, Hunter gently informed me that he would not be proposing on our anniversary, because he wanted me to enjoy it without expectation or disappointment. It was fair of him, and I was glad to have the pressure taken off. We decided to each take a weekend and plan something special for the other, as our gifts. He had the first weekend, which was that of our actual anniversary.
The Friday morning of that weekend, he laid out clothes for me to wear and woke me at 6am. I had to be at work at 10:30 but he assured me I wouldn’t be late. I figured, based on the outfit and time, that we were going on an early hike. Then, as we got onto the highway, he had me pull out the directions from the glovebox, where I found a AAA travel guide for Baja, Mexico!
Clearly in early morning shock.
He completely surprised me with a trip to San Felipe, on the eastern coast of Baja, along the sea of Cortez. He thought of everything, from packing everything I might need (and more) to making sure I got a manicure and pedicure that week before we left, from lining up a fur-babysitter to getting Friday and Monday off from my bosses. I swear, he’s never been so organized.
San Felipe was such a beautiful, remote and peaceful place. Our hotel only had 3 rooms, and our room overlooked the pool which overlooked the sea and mountains. It was a block from the beach, and a lazy 2 mile stroll into town. Barely anyone spoke English, so we got to learn a lot of Spanish – everything from ordering more margaritas to bartering for mexican wares in the shopping bazaar district. The food was amazing, as were the friendly folks that live there. We drank, dined and danced the nights away under a sky full of stars on the gorgeous sea.
Bliss.
Saturday night, the 6th, Hunter took me to a secluded beach just before midnight, with the bottle of wine he had arranged to have in our room upon arrival. They almost didn’t let us on the beach, as it was closed, but in that moment, I magically knew enough spanish to say “Today is our 5 year anniversary. We would like to go to the beach and look at the stars. Its romantic” – Amazingly, it worked! No one was around for miles and miles…. it was pitch black. Just us, the sky, the sand, and the sound of the waves. We sat and watched the stars, listened to the crashing surf, and reflected back on the last 4 years. Then Hunter said, “At midnight, let’s stand up so we can give each other a biiiig hug!” So, at 12:00am it became Sunday, our official anniversary, and at that moment, in between kisses, with the sweetest words ever, he got down on his knee and proposed! It was utterly magical, but all I could say between tears was, “I can’t see the ring!” because it was so dark out, which is too funny because he could have easily given me a lifesaver and I would have said yes! He produced the flashlight, made the bling sing, and I sang too.
Mere moments after it happened…
He designed the ring himself, with a local Los Angeles jeweler (more on that later), and its so beautiful! The whole thing was just a fairy tale. Coming home on Monday was bittersweet – as hard as it was to bid Adios to our romantic vacation, we were thrilled to get to come home and share the news with all of our loved ones! Pretty dreamy, eh?
As it happens, he had been planning the trip since February! Poor guy, having to put up with my engagement harassment, all the while having this in his back pocket!
So, there you have it! The proposal that won us a free e-photo session, and my heart of course! I can’t wait to get into details, so stay tuned…..
until then….I leave you with a photo Hunter took of our doggie, Paco, as he helped pack my suitcase the day before we left.
