We had a daunting task ahead of us today: wedding band shopping.
I don't think either of us were looking forward to this - but it had to be done! We're both pretty indecisive, it can take forever for us to make a decision - we have to weigh all the options.
We started at Long's in Natick - friendly service guy (well, they all were everywhere we went, which was good), nice selection. The bands were pricey, but we narrowed down a couple to keep on "the list." Next we went to Barmakian, right down the street. Our sales guy was also getting married in October (next year) so that was fun. I must say, they had a HUGE selection and their rings were much more reasonably priced. We added a couple more rings to the list.
By this time, his finger is throbbing from the countless amount of rings being pushed onto it, and he's not really feeling anything. The sales people told us, "when you find the right one, you'll just know." Hmm, I was dubious - they said the same thing about finding a wedding gown and I never had that feeling...
We grab some lunch and FI isn't sure any ring we've seen so far is for him. Thankfully the Natick Collection is nearby so we go into the mall and putter about. I wanted to avoid mall jewelers, but hey - it's his ring and I'll get him whatever he wants. (I'm not sure if it's traditional for the bride to buy the groom's ring, but it felt right) We start at Kay's - again, nice people - but severely limited selection. He still manages to find 2 rings he likes though. Down the hall to Ross-Simons. We both fall in love with a Scott Kay ring but not the $900 pricetag. Upstairs to Zales - meger selections, neither of us care for anything. Across the hall to Gordon's, who informs us that they are closing their doors in a week. I get a small burst of hope that this would mean a deep discount - but no such luck. They pull a ring out of a drawer that FI really likes (I think he liked the price most, $113...) - but I urge him to go to one more place. Well, we round the corner and Helzberg Diamonds has closed down... alright... we spy a Hannoush across the hall. Inside, we ask to see a couple rings. The third ring FI puts on, he looks at me and says "yep - this is it." Huh?
"Just like that?" I said. "Yep, just like that." Ok, we'll take it!
It must have been at least the 90th ring he tried on, no joke. He ended up with a simple brushed tungsten band (pictured) with a beveled mirror edge. Even better, after hearing all day long that "tungsten can't be engraved" - the wonderful lady at Hannoush tells us that they have the special equipment for engraving tungsten - and even more - it'll be free! Ok, I was sold.
I'm still a bit flabbergasted though. All day long we were looking for something different and unique - we even had an eye on these great bark bands by Beth Cyr - an homage to FI's love of hiking and all things outdoors. He tried on so much that was fun and funky, so when he put on this simple band and smiled, I was floored. But whatever makes him happy - he has to wear it ;)
It should be here in 3 weeks, then it's off to the engraver to have "le gra go deo" inscribed inside (it means, "with love forever" in Gaelic - a nod to my heritage). Now we just have to get on the ball and order my bands from the designer in NYC... good news though, we both found out our ring sizes so at least my wedding bands will fit! Still have to get sizing cleats put in my engagement ring - but I've had enough of jewelers for this week!
I wanted something different to wear on the day of the wedding, something more than a white tee that says "bride" in crystals or something (not knocking them, they are totally cute) - I just wanted something a bit more custom.
