After all, my ring is something I plan to wear every day for the rest of my life!
This spring, before the proposal, Stephen's father honored him with the ring that belonged to his grandmother, Jan, who sadly passed away several years earlier. As we started to envision our engagement, wedding and life together, we hoped to find a way to honor her memory while also celebrating our own history as a couple.
To do so, we decided to have his grandmother's diamond placed in a ring setting of my choosing. Today, I have a lovely ring that is both an heirloom and uniquely my own. When I look at my ring, I see not only a symbol of a truly special person, but also a reflection of my own individuality.
As our wedding approaches, we may use the gold from Grandma Jan's ring as part of Stephen's wedding band, or may instead have it molded into a pendant for one of our future children. Either way, we'll continue to keep her always with us.
What about you? Did you choose your ring, or at least give your fiancé a hint about what style you wanted? How do you plan to honor special family members or traditions during your engagement and at your wedding?
(Photo Credit: Stephen Walrath)
What a gorgeous ring!! I love vintage!
ReplyDeleteDuring our dating relationship I would make comments to Jacob about the ring that I hoped to someday have (sapphire/diamond, white gold). When he proposed he used his grandmother's ring that had been passed down through the family (yellow gold/rubies). I think his intention was to use this ring as some sort of place holder as he didn't want to shop for a ring for me. lol Plus, the ring was WAY too small, too (I have kinda fat fingers!). So, shortly after the proposal we went ring shopping and I picked out my ring, but we didn't completely ditch the heirloom/family thing. When Jacob got his grandmother's ring from his aunt, he also got his grandfather's ring which HE is currently wearing as an engagement ring and may choose to slightly alter for his own wedding ring. =)
ReplyDeleteHere's my ring story and pictures =): http://sanddollarsandsunflowers.blogspot.com/2009/07/ring.html
I had picked out my engagement ring and at some point even emailed it to Mr. Milk saying something like "when/if you are ready, this is what I want!" :) I figured if I was going to wear it for ever then I must love it! It's not customary for relatives to pass on their rings in Greek culture so that wasn't even really an option for us.
ReplyDeleteMy diamond is an heirloom as well! It belonged to my great-grandmother on my mom's side and dates back to the 1800s. I love wearing a piece of family history on my finger!
ReplyDeleteaww how special! You will be able to remember and honor her forever. I love it! I picked out my engagement ring because his Aunt gave us her diamond and wanted to start an heirloom in the family. My situation happened similar to yours...so exciting even if it's not a surprise!
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