Last November, Thomas proposed to me with the most gorgeous Engagement Ring I could ever receive or dream of – and that’s saying a lot considering I *somewhat* knew what to expect when it came to the design… And now, I’m FOUR DAYS AWAY from marrying him & I’m beyond giddy over the thought of the new addition soon to be on my finger (& his, too.)

When it came to deciding on wedding bands, I didn’t know what I wanted to pair with my ring right away – in fact, I had the hardest time finding one that I adored that I ended up going an entirely different direction. I’ll get to that explanation shortly but despite my personal indecisiveness about wedding band style for several months, I was certain about the local Jeweler I wanted to take the reins and work with once again – Johnsen Diamond.

From the beginning, I knew wanted to design my own Engagement ring but I wanted to ensure it would be something that Thomas could have his input on. After all, he was the one buying it and absolutely entitled to how it appears. That being said, I didn’t want him to just enter any jewelry store with a handful of Pinterest inspo pictures and hope for the best with overall quality and of course, budget concerns. That’s why we chose to work with Johnsen Diamond then & now – and once again, they did not disappoint with the outcome of our chosen wedding bands. They’re simply STUNNING!

Thomas’s Band: Classic Comfort 5mm Dome in Platinum metal. The inside is engraved with the word “Absolutely” in my hand writing, which is what I said when he asked me to marry him. I couldn’t get a great photo of it because it’s so fine in size, but part of me likes that this very meaningful detail is something only he & I will know the appearance about by default. Something incredibly special we can share just between us, which are moments few & far between with this platform haha.

So like I mentioned before, I had the hardest time deciding on a wedding band that would compliment my Engagement Ring just so. I didn’t want it to outshine the original, but I also didn’t love anything that most Brides end up choosing — eternity diamond or solid metal band. I also didn’t want anything that felt too “blingy” nor couldn’t stand alone if I chose to wear them separately — you can see how this became a challenging situation here.

One night/morning at 2am, I needed a break from an overwhelming workload and decided to sketch out a hypothetical ring design incorporating a gemstone or two. My Grandmother gave me the idea when she showed me her Ruby & Diamond band that fits within her Engagement ring design, like quite literally fits inside to appear as an entirely new ring when together. I didn’t feel a connection to the bands working as puzzle pieces, but I loved the idea of a gemstone with diamonds. Something entirely different, sort of fresh and more unlike anyone else’s — all very much up my preference alley.

While sketching this ring, I first thought I’d want Emeralds as the gemstone but changed my mind to choose Sapphire instead, after playing around with this fake diamond/sapphire Amazon band and liking how it looked on my finger. *Side Note: A great way to figure out what kind of band(s) you like/dislike is buying & trying on a bunch of fakes to filter out exactly what direction you want to go.* I also knew I wanted the diamonds to be alternating sizes, and spaced out in a way that would cover the sides of my finger more – when I tried a solid metal band with my Engagement Ring, it made it look like a jumbo piece of metal around my finger, not cute on my small chubby paws.

I presented my sketch to Elena at Johnsen Diamond and worked with her to make some gorgeous changes that had me feeling insanely good about the potential of my wedding ring, after months of feeling discouragement. Once again, I had Thomas stop by on his own and select the stones/approve the molds to be sent out in order to keep some of it a surprise until reveal day. Originally I wanted to wait until the wedding to see it, but realized that I should make sure it fits before hoping for the best the day of — imagine if it didn’t fit! But regardless, I was BLOWN AWAY when I saw it and ended up wearing it for the better half of the day once we took the rings home. And now, I’m getting butterflies thinking about how it’ll soon be on my finger full-time in a matter of days!

What I love about both my rings is that I can wear them together without one of them upstaging the other, as well as separately because they proudly stand alone with their individual designs. I’m also most proud of the fact that these two incredibly special pieces of jewelry I’ll forever be wearing are symbols of Thomas’s love and affection – his attention to detail, the effort and care he put into both of these rings just to see the look on my face as a result – is what makes them so incredibly valuable to me. There’s nothing I can get myself that would give me the same feeling like the one I have when I look down at my hand and see Thomas in every detail on my ring finger.

Special thanks to Elena & Robert at Johnsen Diamond for once again making our vision(s) come true in every way + more. I’m so honored to be wearing these pieces and to have had the opportunity to work closely with a local, small business jeweler that truly understands their customer. We’re so grateful for all that went into our rings & look forward to wearing these as a symbol of our fidelity for a lifetime to come.

On another note — now it’s time for me to figure out the rest of my wedding jewelry choices… I’ve been eying several earrings from Shopbop and ended up buying these three pairs – diamond studs, pearl trio drop studs & emerald gold huggies. I don’t think I’ll do anything major outside the ear lobes and keep it simple with a dainty bracelet or another similar piece of fine jewelry around the wrist. Or maybe I should stop by Johnsen Diamond in the next two days and see what I can possibly treat myself to last minute…We shall see!