with this ring

I’m such a girl…I just love rings, and especially those of the “engagement” genre.  After Rich proposed to me, and slipped the engagement ring on my finger, I couldn’t stop looking at it! Of course, this is typical of any newly engaged gal. But even after more than two years of wearing my ring (and the wedding band that has since been added), I still find myself gazing at it ALL THE TIME. This is not only because I think its gorgeous (good job, Baby!), but also because of what it means. It means forever. It means unconditional love, even when we annoy the be-jeebers out of each other. It means we’ll weather the bad together, and celebrate the good. It means that at the end of the day, Rich will always be the one I love.

Whenever I meet a client or potential client for the first time, I always have to check out the ring, and I’ll usually ask for the story about how it was picked out. I love, love, LOVE it when guys pick the ring out on their own! It tells me that he knows his girl, and also that he isn’t afraid of a little shopping. Of course, I’m not against giving a guy hints. Before Rich bought my ring I told him that I’m not a fan of yellow gold (doesn’t look good with my skin tone), and that I REALLY like square stones. He did the rest! I was really proud of him.

I think a ring can say a lot about a person. Are they traditional, or more modern? Do they like to stand out, or blend in? Do they tend to go against the crowd, or with it? It’s fun to note how with some brides the engagement ring just “fits.” I also love photographing the rings at weddings! It’s like a creative little game. I try to find a fun prop, or a way to communicate something about the couple in the ring shot. And I try not to do the exact same thing twice; after all, no two of my couples are alike!

I loved the ring shot from our own wedding! A friend made a card box for us, and she decorated the top with a toy camera for me, and a toy helicopter for Rich. It was fabulous! Well, our wedding photographers, HinkleyPhoto, used the helicopter as a prop for the ring shot, and we loved it!!

Rich has since lost that ring (5 moths into our marriage!). He CONSTANTLY took if off to play with it! Every time I caught him playing with it I told him he was going to lose it. I don’t think he believed me….. Do any of the rest of you married ladies have this problem???

And speaking of losing rings, I came oh-so-close to never seeing mine again this past fall. My hands were cold (rings that normally fit well seem to gain a couple extra sizes when you’re cold) and I was outside playing with my nephew. I threw a ball at him, and my rings flew off of my hand!!! I locked my eyes on one of them and dove for it, but it took a couple of days to find the other. I thought it was lost in the mounds of leaves on the groud for forever. I was kicking myself becasue I hadn’t gotten my engagement ring and wedding band welded together. I kept thinking, “What if I want to wear only one or the other one day…?” That day never has come, and in the meantime, had they been welded together, I could have saved myself a couple of very sad days. I still haven’t done it, but I do think about it from time to time. What do you guys think?? Will you/did you weld your rings together???

Oh, and as a side note, please, please, please insure your rings!!! Mine are insured, and that was the only thing that kept me from being frantic when I “lost” them. The peace of mind is worth it, for sure!

Here’s a shot I grabbed of them this afternoon. I just used window light and put them on top of the black sweatshirt I always take to the gym.

Okay, I’ve been rambling on long enough. I’ll finish this post off with a couple of images that don’t include my own ring, but the rings of my wonderful clients!