Fire! Hot Metal! We made our own wedding rings!
DIY, Fashion Porn
Guestpost by
on February 08, 2010
32
We've talked about how much we love the idea of making your own wedding ring before. So how could we not take this opportunity to show you exactly how Merry and her husband created their own wedding bands.
Last Saturday my FH and I did the most extraordinary thing and made our own wedding rings. Not designed, but actually took metal and, after eight hours, ended up with wedding rings.
My husband found a ring making studio in New York while surfing the Web. It was all his idea, and I went along with it. This was the one thing that he wanted to spend money on for the wedding. How could I say no?
New York Wedding Ring is right in Lower Manhattan, a few blocks from the WTC subway. The goldsmith, Sam, was so nice, and so helpful. He takes just one couple at a time, so all his attention was on us. The nicest thing was that he didn't touch our rings at all — they were ours to make, and he demonstrated what he wanted us to do on a ring that he made at the same time. (Well, at one point he did help me when I got frustrated and threw it down on the table.) At one point I helped my FH and then he helped me, and that's nice to know that my ring has a bit of him in it, and his has a bit of me.
It wasn't all fun — the sanding and polishing almost put me to sleep and for the life of me I could not file the edge in a straight line. And my FH got a "corkscrew" instead of a circle when he bent it in a machine. And it was not cheap — it was about $1,400 and the actual cost of the metal was just a fraction of that, (the main cost was the time we spent there) but we had a lot of fun, and I learned that I can use those sort of tools and I'm not afraid. It's the ultimate DIY project.
And here is how we did it…
Step 1:
This is the piece of palladium that became my wedding ring.
Step 2:
FH heats his ring with a blowtorch so it can be bent into a circle.
Step 3:
It's not exactly a circle…
Step 4:
Melting the edge together with chips of palladium.
Step 5:
I'm banging the ring into a circle.
Step 6:
Here we are polishing the finished rings.
And here are the end results in my palm…
Both of our rings are made of palladium. It matches my engagement ring. My FH did some hammering on his, but mine is a plain band, which is required under Jewish religious law.
About merryf
Merry is a first-time bride at 45 who's more interested in traveling, hiking, kayaking, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and basically anything other than planning a wedding. She and her FH are throwing a Jewish offbeat wedding in Long Island in June.
Shelby said
This is so cool! Thanks for sharing!
marissa said
Those look amazing! And what a fantastic idea!
renny said
that's awesome! and they're very beautiful! my husband and i did the same thing here in portland, only we used much cheaper metals. but we had a blast designing and making them.
A D said
This actually sounds like a blast! I'm probably too cheap to do something like this, but good on ya for all the effor, and for the gorgeous results!
Janelle said
My fiancee and I did the workshop with Sam too! We have a friend who lived in Brooklyn so we stayed with her and took one of our vacation days to make our rings. It was so much fun, I recommend it to everybody! The experience was absolutely a blast! If you are interested, don't hesitate. Sam is amazing!
OregonEve said
how much did it cost? or at any Wedding Workshop location??
Karen Paone said
I love it! I've been kicking around getting custom rings done because, as beautiful as many mass-produced rings are, it would be more personal. This is even better
RaeGun said
I made my FH's ring as well! I made it for under $40, but Im an art teacher so I have access to all the tools and just had to buy the metal. It actually inspired to use the bit from Ariel's book in our ceremony about "we all know that these rings do have a beginning… its actually hot, dirty work." But if this is something anyone is interested in doing for a better price, I recommend looking at your local colleges. A school up here in N.E. ohio offers a summer "immersion" course that is 2 weekends long and you get a better price if you are not taking the class for actual college credit.
Rachel said
Um, I LOVE this and I live in Cleveland. I am definitely going to look around!
RaeGun said
the more i think about this I'm actually not sure if it would be any cheaper… but still fun.
Tiffani said
My fiancé and I have been planning to make our rings at a workshop as well. This is the website I found while wedding planning and they have a few locations across the country: http://www.weddingringworkshop.com/
Some of the locations (at the least one in Seattle where we will eventually make our rings) hold open houses so that you can check things out before committing to making your rings there.
Sam said
Hey, is there any chance you can give me references on why it's halachically necessary to have a plain band? I've heard that it's a myth and/or debatable, and I'd really like to see some support one way or the other.
Looks like a sweet bonding experience, by the way. Best wishes.
Cortney said
The plain ring is the 'equalizer'; it guarantees that any man has the means to give it, the giving of it involves no attempt at coercion, and the accepting of it has no ulterior motive of acquiring a posession of great value. Everything is out in the open, taking place with no other motive than the desire on the parts of both parties to create a marriage.
Source: WikiAnswers
Aria said
That's really sweet.
Larry Green said
This is great! The best wedding rings in the world!
@greaser5564 said
This is awesome!!!
al oof said
i took a class at 3rd ward in brooklyn to make the engagement pin i gave my partner (he doesn't wear jewelry). it was pretty cool. 200 bucks and i learned a new skill. and i got exactly what i wanted to give him.
Pat said
great blog, love the pictures!
Sam Abbay said
Hey Merry – Thanks so much for the wonderful write up! Great photo on step #3!
Janelle… where did you come from?? Hey!
Cheers,
Sam
Janelle said
Hi Sam:
Good to see you getting some good publicity! I brag and recommend to everyone and so does Mat!
Hope you are well,
Janelle
Giovanna said
for those of you who don't know merry, she is an awesome DIY goddess who is taking the time and effort to craft a beautiful, meaningful wedding. i'm constantly in awe of her great ideas and craft skills. yay, merry!
xoxo, giovanna
ps. i posted this on my blog today!
www.swoon-online.com
giovanna said
for those of you who don't know merry, she is a DIY goddess who is taking the time and effort to craft a beautiful, meaningful wedding. i'm constantly in awe of her great ideas and craft skills. yay, merry!
Danielle said
Oh my word! Those are gorgeous! Great job. Thanks for sharing. =)
Danielle said
Oh my word! Those are gorgeous! Great job. Thanks for sharing. =)
Erika said
AWESOME!!! My FH and I are thinking of doing this in Boston, where we met. It's so nice to see that someone has actually gone through the process! May have to harass you when we are closer to our wedding!!!
Thanks!
Molly said
My wife and I did this 2 years ago in Seattle….The emotion that surges through me every time I look at my wedding ring is immeasurable….Laurie made my ring, her love is infused in it (not to mention that our wedding guests also infused their love and support in them). Here are some photos from Seattle: http://picasaweb.google.com/mollymetz/MakingOurRi…
Brenda said
We looked into one of the studios and then decided to make coin rings instead. Coins from before a certain year were made with mostly silver, so my husband made both his ring (a half dollar) and mine (a quarter). We love them and it's amazing how many people are intrigued by them.
jane said
Hi,
We did the same just outside manchester, Uk. It only cost £310 for the day for the two of us, and about £50 for the metal as we recycled some old family gold.
http://www.yc-jewellery.co.uk/jewellery-making-co…
KIWI MATES said
KIA ORA FROM AOTEAROA
What a great blog, fantastic photographs, something so special that you both have shared in and will have for life. Love from New Zealand