jerseymaids. an end and new beginning!

so i am officially jealous.  my beautiful and talented friend lauren from jerseymaids (incidentally the inspiration behind my wedding ring collection) is bravely taking the plunge and making her art her full time job.  i can't imagine the joy she felt handing in her resignation and knowing that come july 1st, she is going to be FREE to create and inspire others!  and she is going to succeed like no tomorrow - because she is talented, sweet and so deserves all the best in the world.  she is having a celebratory giveaway on her blog - which i better win, natch - and you should enter too.  you can check it out here - but remember, i'm going to win it anyways.

lauren - i am wishing you all the best in your artistic endeavor.  you are one of the sweetest people i know that you worked hard to get here, baby!  cheers!!!!!!!!

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wedding. ring.

we didn't have a wedding. the husband and i hoofed it down to city hall, me in a purple a-line mini dress, clutching a fresh bunch of wildflowers from the corner store, and he in a jean jacket and his doc martens. we tied the knot at 9am in front of the most quebecois justice of the peace on the planet. we took our wedding party (our friends cindy and steve) to breakfast and then we drove out to the husband's mom's house for some polaroid wedding pictures next to the st. lawrence river.

i don't regret for one minute not having a huge blowout wedding. i kind of regret not getting married by an elvis presley look-alive in vegas, but that's another story for another day.

however, my friend jerseymaids is thinking about getting married and slowly has been formulating ideas about what she wants. of course, she would love everything to be handmade (we are card-carrying etsy members, after all) and had included me in some jewelry conversations.

being on a budget, she talked about how she wanted things to not only be affordable, but also beautiful and timeless. (like she is!) which inspired my new wedding ring collection. in staying away from the conventional diamonds and white sapphires, i am hoping to make a handmade wedding and engagement ring set that is affordable to the new bride. i'm loving the results. and these rings also encapsulate the informal quality that i loved so much about my wedding day.

ah, romance! thank you, jersey, for being my inspiration!!!!

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