Veils and Cakes and Rings, Oh My!
This last weekend was incredibly productive. And a little fun to boot. Ross and I have put off ordering wedding bands until the Spring Green Arts Fair had come and gone...on the off chance that I might have spotted a jewelry there.
Well, a plethora of metal smiths do dot the street. Most of the rings we came across were 14k yellow gold...bright and geometric, with awkward designs and ostentatious gem settings. Brilliant and gaudy all in one...the prefect accent to the colorful, and often clashy patronage to these events. Another bright accent of color to draw attention to oneself...while supporting the local arts scene of course.
Pretty. But really? Pretty? Not really the first word I want to come to mind when others think of wedding bands. So Ross and I pressed on. I thought I saw a promising jeweler. Unfortunately, a tenacious customer who apologized profusely for being in my way and swore she would move never did actually budge from her spot in front of the display. It was crowded and hot and I have little patience for people in crowds who are that unaware of the others crowding behind them. We pressed on.
And pressing on was meant to happen. Near the end of the street...one of the last booths in the line was laden with dangling sterling silver jewelry. The style caught my eye...silver, hammered, rustic and simple all at once. And in the side cabinet was a small display of rings. Two stood out dead center...even simpler than the rest. I pointed them out to Ross and asked the gentleman behind the counter if we could take a closer look at them. Everything about them felt right. And without the gold accent...just as a sterling band...the price was well within our range. The woman who actually made the jewelry was indisposed with another costumer at the time so we chatted up the gentleman for a while. He happened to be her husband. And he was wearing a ring similar to another in the case...ones she had also designed.
We found a husband and wife partnership at the arts fair who had a fondness for crafting wedding bands. We talked over the styles they had a little more with the husband and he proceeded to take our ring sizes down...more for future knowledge than for an immediate purchase. There was no pressure or pushing...just informative, friendly conversation. We let them know we were incredibly interested. The only caveat was that if we did want the wife to make our bands she'd need to know soon, due to a heavy show schedule. We left with the promise of letting them know within a week.
We just made it to the other end of the fair by the time our minds were made up.
It was a fantasy world thought...a dream and and ideal unlikely to happen when we first starting planning the the wedding. Custom wedding bands...
Well...we are getting just that. And supporting a local artist at that. And her husband who more than supports her and her business...he is actively involved in it. That as well made the commission feel all the more satisfying. That exchange is to date the highlight of the wedding planning.
And of course, the cake. Too much cake. If I never see another piece of cake...it will be too soon. But perhaps a little piece of cake in October could suffice...
Ross, my mother and I headed to two bakers on Monday to sample wares and talk of designs. Ross was sold at the first one. Chris' Confections came first recommended by a caterer we chatted with months ago. Everything I found about her, whether online or in print further supported that first recommendation. Her website was by far the most informative...not only in what she offered but in how to approach the process in general.
Driving out to her location we felt a little confused...as we wound through a residential area and up to a house. The address was right. And a tiny plaque with the business' name hung from the mailbox. A small sign on the porch directed us through the garage and in the basement...her base of operations...a cozy carpeted room off of an industrial kitchen. Fake cakes for made for display purposes lined the walls. Binders of her work were stacked on her table. She greeted us warmly and set us about the taste of looking through the binders while she prepped the tasting.
Several moments later she returned with 12 slices of cake. All from scratch...all perfectly moist...and all incredibly unique from the other. It was challenging just to take in all the flavors let alone narrow them down to a few choices.
She was friendly, patient, informative and not in the least pushy. She was a breath of fresh air compared to the tasting I had a week prior where the pastry chef, while supplying superb cake offerings, spent most of our meeting telling me my design ideals were unfeasible...focusing on what she couldn't do for me as opposed to what she could.
Not so here. The good feeling of a perfect fit settled in on us again. And a deposit was made. Maybe half the cake eaten between the three of us.
What a thrill to see everything starting to fall into place!
Well, a plethora of metal smiths do dot the street. Most of the rings we came across were 14k yellow gold...bright and geometric, with awkward designs and ostentatious gem settings. Brilliant and gaudy all in one...the prefect accent to the colorful, and often clashy patronage to these events. Another bright accent of color to draw attention to oneself...while supporting the local arts scene of course.
Pretty. But really? Pretty? Not really the first word I want to come to mind when others think of wedding bands. So Ross and I pressed on. I thought I saw a promising jeweler. Unfortunately, a tenacious customer who apologized profusely for being in my way and swore she would move never did actually budge from her spot in front of the display. It was crowded and hot and I have little patience for people in crowds who are that unaware of the others crowding behind them. We pressed on.
And pressing on was meant to happen. Near the end of the street...one of the last booths in the line was laden with dangling sterling silver jewelry. The style caught my eye...silver, hammered, rustic and simple all at once. And in the side cabinet was a small display of rings. Two stood out dead center...even simpler than the rest. I pointed them out to Ross and asked the gentleman behind the counter if we could take a closer look at them. Everything about them felt right. And without the gold accent...just as a sterling band...the price was well within our range. The woman who actually made the jewelry was indisposed with another costumer at the time so we chatted up the gentleman for a while. He happened to be her husband. And he was wearing a ring similar to another in the case...ones she had also designed.
We found a husband and wife partnership at the arts fair who had a fondness for crafting wedding bands. We talked over the styles they had a little more with the husband and he proceeded to take our ring sizes down...more for future knowledge than for an immediate purchase. There was no pressure or pushing...just informative, friendly conversation. We let them know we were incredibly interested. The only caveat was that if we did want the wife to make our bands she'd need to know soon, due to a heavy show schedule. We left with the promise of letting them know within a week.
We just made it to the other end of the fair by the time our minds were made up.
It was a fantasy world thought...a dream and and ideal unlikely to happen when we first starting planning the the wedding. Custom wedding bands...
Well...we are getting just that. And supporting a local artist at that. And her husband who more than supports her and her business...he is actively involved in it. That as well made the commission feel all the more satisfying. That exchange is to date the highlight of the wedding planning.
And of course, the cake. Too much cake. If I never see another piece of cake...it will be too soon. But perhaps a little piece of cake in October could suffice...
Ross, my mother and I headed to two bakers on Monday to sample wares and talk of designs. Ross was sold at the first one. Chris' Confections came first recommended by a caterer we chatted with months ago. Everything I found about her, whether online or in print further supported that first recommendation. Her website was by far the most informative...not only in what she offered but in how to approach the process in general.
Driving out to her location we felt a little confused...as we wound through a residential area and up to a house. The address was right. And a tiny plaque with the business' name hung from the mailbox. A small sign on the porch directed us through the garage and in the basement...her base of operations...a cozy carpeted room off of an industrial kitchen. Fake cakes for made for display purposes lined the walls. Binders of her work were stacked on her table. She greeted us warmly and set us about the taste of looking through the binders while she prepped the tasting.
Several moments later she returned with 12 slices of cake. All from scratch...all perfectly moist...and all incredibly unique from the other. It was challenging just to take in all the flavors let alone narrow them down to a few choices.
She was friendly, patient, informative and not in the least pushy. She was a breath of fresh air compared to the tasting I had a week prior where the pastry chef, while supplying superb cake offerings, spent most of our meeting telling me my design ideals were unfeasible...focusing on what she couldn't do for me as opposed to what she could.
Not so here. The good feeling of a perfect fit settled in on us again. And a deposit was made. Maybe half the cake eaten between the three of us.
What a thrill to see everything starting to fall into place!
posted by Unknown at
8:31 AM
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