There's no two ways about it... I have two wedding bands. It wasn't always like that, you know. I used to have just one. One beautiful white gold band with seven little diamonds across the top part. Much like an eternity band that only goes half way around. Very similar to this beauty from BlueNile:
And it was perfect. It set off my solitaire engagement ring wonderfully... here's another picture from BlueNile of something similar to my e-ring, just for comparison:
Now picture the wedding band next to the solitaire... complementing each other perfectly, with neither really taking away from the other. It was important to me that my wedding band be substantial. I know the general thinking behind the wedding band is that it should really just "set off" the e-ring, but I surely wanted mine to be able to stand alone in all its wedded glory.
Except then I got scared. My sparkley wedding band was sitting in a little box in a fire-proof box under my bed, and I was scared just the same: what if I'm at the beach (which I frequently am) and a little diamond pops out and I don't notice it until I'm back at my house? Or what if I'm traveling (which I would like to be frequently doing) and I don't want all the sparkle? Or, ::gasp:: what if I'm camping with Ryan, the kids (that we don't have yet), and the dog and I don't want to bring all my sparkle into the woods? Then what??!! I suppose the obvious answer would be to leave all said diamonds at home, but here's the God honest truth: I waited long enough to marry this wonderful man, and while I know a ring isn't the end all be all of our marriage, I really never want to be without an outward symbol of our love. Sick and twisted, I know. And I know we'd still be married even without the rings. Seriously, I know this. But there's just something about that left hand ring that I can't get over. And so ring-less I will not be, as I convinced Ryan that a second wedding band was indeed necessary. Enter wedding band #2:
Thin, white gold, and unassuming. Ryan likes to call it my "adventure band". It's thick enough to stand alone, but thin enough to fit comfortably on my finger with my e-ring and first wedding band. Weird, but it works!
Why the rush to have my two wedding bands so far in advance, you ask? Why not get one now and then one later when I actually need it? Very good questions. Questions that I thought about really, really hard before I approached Ryan with the whole second band nonsense. Here's why - because the wedding band I get married with is the wedding band I'm going to wear for the rest of my life. Same goes for my e-ring. I'd never in a million years trade up, even if we fell into an insanely huge sum of money and Ryan insisted (what I'd actually do is ask for an anniversary band or tennis bracelet. I always wanted one of those). Why? Because the meaning behind it is too precious to me to ever "trade up". Same goes for the wedding band. I want both bands blessed and I want them both on our wedding day. Ryan, however into the idea he is of me always having a wedding band on my finger, was not so into the idea of having to give me two rings at the wedding ceremony. His compromise? The diamond one at the ceremony, and the plain band when we got back up to our room after the reception was over. He says he's got something planned for that ring and that it'll be special; I'm pretty excited to see what he came up with.
And so thats the story of my two wedding bands. Wondering what his looks like? He's just got one, and it's very similar to this:
And it was perfect. It set off my solitaire engagement ring wonderfully... here's another picture from BlueNile of something similar to my e-ring, just for comparison:
Now picture the wedding band next to the solitaire... complementing each other perfectly, with neither really taking away from the other. It was important to me that my wedding band be substantial. I know the general thinking behind the wedding band is that it should really just "set off" the e-ring, but I surely wanted mine to be able to stand alone in all its wedded glory.
Except then I got scared. My sparkley wedding band was sitting in a little box in a fire-proof box under my bed, and I was scared just the same: what if I'm at the beach (which I frequently am) and a little diamond pops out and I don't notice it until I'm back at my house? Or what if I'm traveling (which I would like to be frequently doing) and I don't want all the sparkle? Or, ::gasp:: what if I'm camping with Ryan, the kids (that we don't have yet), and the dog and I don't want to bring all my sparkle into the woods? Then what??!! I suppose the obvious answer would be to leave all said diamonds at home, but here's the God honest truth: I waited long enough to marry this wonderful man, and while I know a ring isn't the end all be all of our marriage, I really never want to be without an outward symbol of our love. Sick and twisted, I know. And I know we'd still be married even without the rings. Seriously, I know this. But there's just something about that left hand ring that I can't get over. And so ring-less I will not be, as I convinced Ryan that a second wedding band was indeed necessary. Enter wedding band #2:
Thin, white gold, and unassuming. Ryan likes to call it my "adventure band". It's thick enough to stand alone, but thin enough to fit comfortably on my finger with my e-ring and first wedding band. Weird, but it works!
Why the rush to have my two wedding bands so far in advance, you ask? Why not get one now and then one later when I actually need it? Very good questions. Questions that I thought about really, really hard before I approached Ryan with the whole second band nonsense. Here's why - because the wedding band I get married with is the wedding band I'm going to wear for the rest of my life. Same goes for my e-ring. I'd never in a million years trade up, even if we fell into an insanely huge sum of money and Ryan insisted (what I'd actually do is ask for an anniversary band or tennis bracelet. I always wanted one of those). Why? Because the meaning behind it is too precious to me to ever "trade up". Same goes for the wedding band. I want both bands blessed and I want them both on our wedding day. Ryan, however into the idea he is of me always having a wedding band on my finger, was not so into the idea of having to give me two rings at the wedding ceremony. His compromise? The diamond one at the ceremony, and the plain band when we got back up to our room after the reception was over. He says he's got something planned for that ring and that it'll be special; I'm pretty excited to see what he came up with.
And so thats the story of my two wedding bands. Wondering what his looks like? He's just got one, and it's very similar to this:
Anyone else going for the "adventure band" in addition to a diamond band?
1 comment:
I am sad about what's going on over at weddingbee but happy about finding new blogs...like yours! I too have an adventure band but my husband calls it my weekend ring. I like to think its called that since the weekend is when we do all our fun/outdoors stuff and not because the weekend is when I should be cleaning. :) Go two band brides!!
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