Wedding Blog

Well, hello, there, darling. What a pretty color you are! Wanna come live with me?

Yes, I’m a dork. I’m a dork with that thing (pointing upwards) as my engagement ring. I got quite a few questions when I first showed y’all this picture, so I’m going to take you through my ring saga, as promised.

First, we went ring shopping together. He liked much more delicate styles than I thought I did, and then so did I. I knew I wanted something classic, not too “blingy,” not too expensive, and I wanted something meaningful. I have to say, it was great fun showing him things and watching to see his reaction. Anyway, in the end, I pulled together a bunch of links, emailed them to him, and figured I’d stay out of it.

Not so much.

Something kept bothering me, and I finally put my finger on it: I wasn’t being genuine. I’m not much of a jewelry person. I wear earrings (from my grandmother), a ring (from my mom) and a necklace (from my dad). They’re beautiful, but I could care less about that. I wear them because they’re meaningful to me. You know that E.E. Cummings poem? I carry them with me.

This isn’t the last piece of jewelry I’ll ever have but it is important that it will always mean something to me. So, instead of a cool-looking piece of sparkle, I needed to decide what mattered most. For me, that was continuity, the physical symbol of “forever and ever,” the personal message that meant that we would stick it out.

Also, I like vintage. I like the idea that the things I have lived a life before me, and that they have come to live with me now (yes, I’m a weirdo). I love that my furniture isn’t new (I collect mid-century furniture), that it has a soul (weird, yes), and that it hasn’t affected the world by being manufactured. If that’s what guides what I wear and what I sit on and live with (even my animals are rescues!), then shouldn’t it at least be a consideration now?

I did a search for vintage rings and found Fay Cullen—great selection, great prices, so-so reviews on the ‘net.

I emailed the poor mister a bazillion links, then admitted that the one I really loved best, the one that really caught my heart, the one that happened to match my cat’s eyes… was the least expensive. Uh, huh. As expected, this made him uncomfortable (”You want me to buy you an engagement ring ON SALE?”), but because it’s one of a kind, he indulged me.

So, here she is: approximately one carat of a “vivid light lilac” sapphire surrounded by teeeeeeny tiny diamonds in yellow gold. As far as Fay Cullen goes, they ship very quickly and have a great selection and prices, but they don’t take returns.

(And yes, in retrospect, I could have just gone with whatever he picked out, and I would have been thrilled… but alas, my meddling soul prevented that.)

Did you choose a vintage engagement ring?  Where did you find it?