Weddingbee Blog

This is a story of diamonds; the old, the new, and the newer.

My “Something Old” came to me six years ago in the form of the most spectacular ring I’ve ever laid my eyes on. It’s a piece of jewelry that I’ve always ogled over, and something that brings back very fond memories of two incredibly special women in my life: my great-grandma and my grandma, so affectionately called Big Nana and Little Nana.

My Little Papa, Big Nana’s husband (are you following?), gave her a ring for an anniversary gift a very long time ago. We are thinking it was sometime in the ’40s. Because they were so poor when they got married in the ’20s, he couldn’t provide her with a diamond ring, but more than made up for that 20 years later. I remember the ring on my Big Nana’s finger when I was younger; the light would hit the diamonds and easily catch anyone’s attention. My Big Nana passed away when I was in high school and it was naturally passed down to her daughter, my Little Nana.

Little Nana was a fan of jewelry and her husband, my Papa, spoiled her with rubys and diamonds.

Little Nana wore her mother’s ring on special occasions; Christmas, Thanksgiving, weddings. I knew the holidays and events she would put it on and always made sure to let her know I recognized that she was wearing it. Then we’d mention Big Nana. My Little Nana got very sick in 2005, and while I was visiting her one day she passed me something heavy, and when I un-cupped my hand, my heart skipped a beat, my eyes swelled, and my jaw dropped. This is what I was suddenly in possession of:

My Little Nana just passed down an incredible family heirloom and made sure to mention that my Big Nana wanted me to have it. I tucked the ring away and made it a home in a special jewelry box and planned on sporting it for special occasions, like my Nana. She didn’t like that—she requested I wear it every day and appreciate where it came from. “Think of both of us when you wear it,” she said. I listened, just as a good granddaughter should, and pulled it from the jewelry box and started wearing it. It was big at first, and I felt flashy. Of course, after awhile, I got used to it and my hand began to feel naked when I wouldn’t wear it. My Nana passed away shortly after but I wore the ring every day on my middle finger for five years. Then I got engaged, and Mr. Honey bought me a new diamond ring, one that was just as special, but in a different way. Suddenly I had a massive amount of diamonds on my fingers, and I chose to wear Mr. Honey’s on a regular basis. I never thought I would be saying this, but, it’s just a lot of diamonds!

When Mr. Honey proposed he picked out a perfect ring, and I love that he picked it out all by himself. A couple weeks ago we went to order my wedding band (I’m fully aware of how close it is to our wedding, we procrastinated hugely) and I tried on a gajillion bands and didn’t like a single one. If you remember my ring is set in a square setting and apparently Kay didn’t make a band that was intended for the engagement ring. Crazy? I think so. There we sat, trying on band after band, and suddenly Mr. Honey spotted a ring that he liked and casually said, “Why don’t you just get a whole new ring with a matching band?” The ring consultant then informed us of the “Diamond Trade Up” program where we can trade in my original engagement ring for one of a higher value. There’s some math involved but I won’t bore you with that. Ultimately, Mr. Honey felt that I should have a ring AND a band that I loved. I adore that man and his impulsive purchases. So, I got a whole new engagement ring and a wedding band that matched. Mr. Honey actually says he likes the new set even better than the one he picked, and I have to agree. Here’s my newer “Something New” with its accompanying wedding band:

I fully intended on using my original engagement ring as my “Something New” but now I’ve got something Newer that will take its place. This finally brings me to my wedding day. My Nana’s (plural) ring will be with me on my wedding day, I just don’t know how. My first instinct is on my bouquet, but I’ve got my Honey charm and the bees that will be on my bouquet and I don’t think the ring meshes with those two things. My other thought is to wear the ring on my right hand, that way it will be more visible. But, while my engagement ring mimics an antique setting, the family ring is actually an antique setting and I don’t feel like they go together.



Any other ideas on how to showcase my family ring? What is your “Something Old”?