Remember the chalkboard we used for our engagement photos?

Well, I’d lost the chalk afterwards and (besides online) couldn’t find a store (nope, not even Target where I’d bought the board) where I could buy it. When I found gold Sharpie markers on sale, I did not know what I wanted to use them for but I wanted them anyway. 

The markers package said “best used on dark surfaces.” On the way home from the store, I remembered the chalkboard!

So I got to work when I got home. I planned out what I’d write on a piece of paper.

And then I moved my vision to the chalkboard. I kind of went with it as I was writing and I love how it turned out! 

This could also double as wedding decor!! Since, however, black isn’t in our color scheme I don’t think it’ll be used at our wedding. I do love the phrasing and idea so I think I’ll put a similar design on cream paper in a gold frame instead. 

I marry my best friend in just seven months!! That leaves us with less than seven months to find our wedding bands…

When Timmy bought my engagement ring in Hawaii at The Wedding Ring Shop, he was pleased to know there is a lifetime warranty for it. The WRS is also a member of a national jewelers’ association, members of which are approved for cleanings so as not to void the warranty — and who offer their cleaning services for free! The only real catch to where I had to go for a cleaning was that it be a licensed Michael M. (the designer of my ring) dealer. Luckily, there is a jewelery shop 1/2 mile away that fit the criteria! Once the ring was cleaned, it looked brand spanking new. While at the shop, it was also determined that my ring needs to be sized down 3/4 to 1 whole size (womp, womp) but I’m holding off until it gets a little warmer, which causes fingers to swell.

 

(Side note: For those of you whose rings are big in the winter, I suggest you get a ring snuggie. While not the most fashionable, it keeps the ring in place and in turn, keeps it from turning around and hitting surfaces, i.e. turning upside down and hitting my keypad when I’m typing.)

While at the jeweler, I decided to try on a couple bands. Both are Michael M. And very pricey. I did not like the normal band (left) because there is too much space between my ring and it. I did, however, love the contoured band (right). It is slightly curved so the band and ring fit flush together (no space in between). Though I don’t think I want the band that goes with my ring due to its hefty price tag, I do now know it is the style I want.

 I popped into another jeweler on Saturday after work and found a couple bands I liked enough. Upon sending T the photo, however, he noted that the style was pretty different from my ring, which isn’t what I really want. There was one more similar to my ring band but it didn’t have diamonds all around so it wasn’t a keeper.

And so my search continues… I’ve got to admit it’s been kind of fun so I’m looking forward to finding the perfect match!

When I got home last week while my family was visiting, some surprises were awaiting me. One of them was our save the date having been framed by my mama. My heart melted. The frame is gorgeous and once again I got a pang of “This is really real.” Three years ago when Tim received orders to Hawaii we didn’t know what our relationship would be like. And here we are — we’re gettin’ MARRIED!

This also made me realize that I have not yet shared our save the dates with you, the reason being I didn’t want to ruin the surprise if I have any readers who hadn’t yet received them. We’ve sent them 8 months in advance to give out of town guests time to save up for travel and the hotel block rooms.

Now that mostly everyone’s gotten theirs I can share away!

Choosing a design was more difficult than it probably should’ve been, which is a bit ironic because we took about 10 minutes to decide on our invites. I probably drafted 50 save the dates and finally, Tim and I both agreed on this design. My mom and some of my bridesmaids also helped us choose.