Ringing in the New Year

...with wedding rings!!

We've just returned from a quick upstate NY trip to pick out our wedding rings. Mr. Turkey wasn't the most excited about this part of the process based on our travel schedule and the overall prospect of wearing a ring (more a watch than a jewelry kind of guy). However, when I reminded him the trip would include chicken wings (from either Ralph's or Scubber's), a dinner at the Barnsider including their unlimited salad bar and, most importantly, saved money, he quickly got on board.

As I shared early on, Mr. Turkey had my ring custom designed with a jeweler my family has used for years. Due to this relationship (now including Mr. Turkey), it made the most sense to make the trek north to choose our rings.

Beforehand, we sent some "inspiration" for our rings so that we could optimize our visit. It would also give Eli (the owner) time to think about some options that he might have on hand and pull them out. Here is what we sent:

Mr. Turkey was looking for a darker, matted metal with some detail on the band (minimal)
Source 

I was looking for channel set diamonds, but only halfway around the band
Source

I even had a "real life" photo
Over Christmas, I stopped in Hannoush and tried out a possible ring

We arrived at the store super bundled (it was 15 degrees - brrr) and were thankful for all the lights and warmth inside. After our greetings were done (and my ring was cleaned - yay!), Eli directed us to the Tungsten rings for Mr. Turkey. Believe it or not, the first one he chose was ultimately the one! That Mr. Turkey, he's decisive.

Warning: close-up finger / knuckle shots coming your way.

Mr. Turkey's ring...a couple sizes too small

We thought the Tungsten was a really different looking metal and fit Mr. Turkey's style. However, he loved it even more when we later wikipedia'd (yes, it's a verb) the details. Apparently Tungsten is also know as "wolfram" (which sounded cool), used as ballast in race cars for NASCAR and is even in high quality darts and fishing lures. Clearly a "man" ring.

My choice was not nearly as interesting and took a few minutes longer, as my wedding band would require a bit of a "notch". So, it was a matter of making a decision about the size of the diamonds in the band and imagining how it would look if lying flat. Once that decision was made, Eli measured my ring and it's "dip", as he will be making me a custom band to fit my engagement ring!

This gives you a basic idea of what I'll have - just imagine they line up
Sorry for the poor quality iPhone photo 

Total time for ring decisions: under 20 minutes. Success!

The rings will be ready in the next month, but Mr. Turkey and I will not pick them up until the end of March, when we are in town for my second bridal shower. Only thing left to decide is whether we do any engraving.

Did you have a hard time choosing your wedding bands or was it a quick decision? Any suggestions on what to engrave?