Who doesn’t love a beautiful fall wedding in the mountains? As fearless millennials, last month my hubby and I went to a family friend’s wedding in Black Mountain, North Carolina, despite the fast-approaching Hurricane Florence. The wedding was held at a charming family farm. The reception was in a rustic barn located near Lake Eden, surrounded by the gorgeous North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains. With the cooperation of the weather, we had a wonderful time with our friends and the other guests. It was a truly authentic North Carolinian-styled wedding with cheerful bluegrass music and delicious, mouthwatering BBQ.
The best part is, I was so honored to custom-design this lovely couple’s engagement ring, matching wedding bands, and even a bridal pendant. It’s not very often that I get to go to my clients’ weddings, you know? But on this night I saw my designs come to life as the bride and groom as they enjoyed their first day as husband and wife.
The Engagement Ring:
Originally, the bride wanted to use the center diamond from her grandmother’s engagement ring for her engagement ring, but the diamond was severely damaged. I did not recommend repurposing it for the ring. Therefore, I helped her select a one-of-a-kind teal blue (her favorite color) Montana sapphire as the center stone. The neat part about this sapphire is that it changes color from blue to teal to green depending on the movement and lighting. Since the bride is a natural lover, the design is inspired by nature with leaves and flower petals motifs.
The Matching Wedding Bands:
The couple loves nature and the outdoors and the groom is a carpenter. So, they wanted wood grain textures on their wedding bands. It was a lot of fun figuring out how to scale down and create a realistic wood grain texture on a ring. I ended up spending so much time staring at my hardwood floor when I was carving the ring just so I can get inspired! Then, I repurposed the bride’s heirloom accent diamonds for her band and heirloom sapphire for his band.
The Bridal Pendant:
Since it’s a no-no to repurpose the damaged center diamond for her engagement ring, I suggested that we use it for a pendant instead. Pendants experience minimum wear and tear for daily wear. Thanks to the groom ‘s background in industrial design, he suggested that we combine the damaged diamond from her grandmother’s ring and the remaining three sapphires from her grandfather’s ring and turn them into a very modern and chic pendant. It’s great for everyday wear and it fits her lifestyle perfectly.
And voila! It’s like solving a puzzle, everything just fell into right place once we started the process. It’s all about deconstruction and reconstruction. Thankfully, everyone is happy with the results!
Many congrats to B & C!!!
P.S. We made it home safely right before the storm hit Black Mountain (almost got hit by a falling tree limb in Black Mountain, but we dodged it right in time), and our home in Raleigh was spared from any storm damage!
Till next time,
Hsiang-Ting
