Updates!

Andrew's wedding band arrived today, looking stellar in its pretty black velvet box that was shipped in a white jewelry box inside a Fed-Ex box. For free 3-day shipping for all wedding bands, it arrived a full day early. Great customer service so far and I can't wait until Andrew tries it on. The engraving on the inside of the band is clear and perfect. Couldn't really be happier with it.

Contrariwise, (since I couldn't resist using this term Andrew's housemates brought up a few days ago) the United States Postal Service is really getting on my nerves. Not only have they pretty much announced that they'll be raising rates every May from now on (hello, right in time to royally mess up wedding invitation stuff), but they've also had a broken postal store website for most of this week. Which is not good since I was finally planning on ordering my postage for my wedding invitations and getting them into the mail ASAP.

Of course, they were quick to inform me that I could always call and order stamps. But I'm not comfortable giving out my credit card information over my unsecured cell phone number. At least with my computer I can scour it for spyware and viruses before and after the transaction. Not to mention the fact that what would I be ordering?

It seems to me that the only place on the entire USPS website where you can actually see the stamp designs and denominations being offered is through the postal store. Not very helpful when you just know that you're trying to avoid the ugly-as-hell $1 that is the closest denomination offered to what you've been quoted each envelope will ship for.

Which is also just peachy. What is the point of saying that something will cost 97 cents to mail if you don't actually offer any reasonable postage way to create this magical number? I had it all figured out using the all-too-cliche 58 cent pink wedding stamp and the outdated 39 cent Hersheys kiss stamp, but the last time the website actually let me on the latter had already disappeared.

Not cool, USPS. Not cool at all.

Andrew's Wedding Band

Is finally ordered, as of yesterday afternoon. I ordered from www.e-weddingbands.com and am so far content with their service.

Here's a picture of the band he decided he liked the best:

A 6mm Domed Step-Down Edge Titanium Wedding Ring, with brushed finish and engraving on the inside that will say "Many Waters Cannot Quench Love."

Pretty, close to exactly what we were looking for, and very affordable. They also sent a set of plastic ring sizers for free to make sure you order the right size (we did this since titanium can't be resized: too hard), making them very easy to work with. Since the sizers even pop out you can wear them around for a while and make sure it'll be comfortable.

It'll get here early next week. If only USPS was this simple to order from, as I try to get stamps for our invitations.

Rings for Everyday Wear

When I told my mom that these were the rings Andrew was ordering for me for everyday wear, she thought I'd lost my mind. After all, we're poor college students, and he's going to seminary after he graduates at the end of this year. We will not have money for a very long time.

But that doesn't take away my sparkly yearnings.

I just had to learn to redirect them to an affordable medium. Because this gorgeous ring set to the left is from Kohls, available only through their website. And they're cubic zirconia set in solid sterling silver.

At least, they claim it's solid sterling silver. I'll find out eventually, because I'm allergic to most of the metals they use as bases for costume jewelry. Only silver, surgical steel, gold, and titanium seem to be okay for not causing my skin to break out in a rash. Apparently my body has expensive tastes in jewelry that I didn't have an input in.

We won't be using this set for the actual wedding ceremony, though I may still have the day-of photographer take some shots of them. That place is reserved for my great-grandmother's engagement ring that my aunt had reset, but it's so delicate and special that I wouldn't want to wear it every day and risk harming it.

The engagement ring I wear is on loan from Andrew's mom. It's her original engagement ring, and I've tried to take excellent care of it. But I needed rings that would look really great, but I wouldn't feel incredibly guilty if they had to have something fixed on them, and these fit my desires.

I love princess cut stones and the channel settings are so sleek and modern. To me, the impact is more important than the cost estimate. This way I get the best of both worlds: engagement and wedding rings steeped in family history and love, and a new set to show off who I am as a person, who is much more modern than traditional.