Wedding Wednesday: How The Boy Got a DIY Wedding Ring (No. Really.)

Aaaand… we’re back with another Wedding Wednesday for y’all! This is another one dedicated to The Boy and my Alaskan civil ceremony. And, I’m not gonna lie, it’s only THE COOLEST DIY EVER! Fo' reals.

 
Image Courtesy of: Amber Westerlund

To truly understand how awesome this DIY is, you’re going to need the backstory. First, remember how we bought my wedding band when we bought my engagement ring using old gold? Okay, so when all this shit with my dad went down, we tossed some clean clothes and that wedding band in a carry-on, hopped a flight to Alaska, and filed for a marriage license. And that? Is when we ran into trouble.

See, between the day that we applied for our marriage license and the day of the civil ceremony – we had three days. THREE DAYS! And really, this so was not a big deal. We made some calls, other people made calls, a Facebook announcement was made, and our casual little ceremony was basically done… except The Boy’s wedding band. Oy. The Boy’s wedding band was a HUMDINGER to try and track down. See, The Boy has a ring size of… 15 1/4. Nothing about that is a typo. And y’all, have any of you EVER tried to find a ring that big? In Alaska? In three days? Oh, and also? We refused to spend more than $100 on it because he wasn’t going to wear it post-ceremony.

 
Image Courtesy of: Amber Westerlund

Here’s how it all went down. First, we tried looking at a fine jeweler. We thought that maybe they would have a ring on consignment or something. Aaaaand, we were basically laughed out of the store. So next, we hit some local pawn shops. Y’all, they have got some nice stuff at pawn shops. Like, NICE nice stuff. But alas, no big ass men’s wedding bands were there (and that’s a bummer because the sweet old lady who owned the shop even offered to rent us a ring for the weekend [instead of shelling out the big bucks for one that we might not like]).

So then, we hit the jewelry departments of the local Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer’s (where we also looked for one in the costume jewelry department – to no avail). They tried so hard to help us but the largest size that they carried in stock was a 14 and there was just no way to get a special order to Alaska in three days. We trudged back to the car in defeat and stared at each other – willing a ring to appear.

 
Hee. An ode to my secret Twitter boyfriend, The Grooms Says.

As we were driving home, I joked that we should give my super cute and really handy 11 year-old brother a piece of wire and let him make a wedding band. The Boy looked at me for a bit, then smiled, and picked up his cell phone. Whaaat?!?!

Here’s what happened next. The Boy has a very old friend who is a machinist – and who was thrilled with the idea of making a wedding ring (his exact words, “Huh. I’ve never made one of those – let’s do it!”). So, the next day we visited him and in like, 25 minutes (no joke) HE MADE A WEDDING BAND FROM A TUBE OF METAL! A-freaking-mazing!

 

{Sadly, since this was all done at the friend’s work (sssh!) we couldn’t take any photos of the actual process – I know that y’all understand} Basically, he grabbed one of the aluminum tubes that they use to make nuts and bolts and stuff and tossed it on a machine that cut it at the length we needed (and shaved out the inside a bit more – size 15 ¼ y’all. 1.5. ¼.) Then, he even cut a V-shaped groove down the center of the whole thing to make it look cool and industrial. Then he polished it and we were off (well, not until after I had tried The Boy’s new wedding band on over my big toe and over my engagement ring – that was still on my hand.). Also, full disclosure, he actually made one first that was a wee bit too small so we ended up with a real wedding band and a faux “use this one on the ring bearer pillow” wedding band. Too cool.

 

And the best part of this whole thing? It. Was. Free. FREE!!! And now, I love his ring so much that I’m actually bummed that he can’t wear it all the time. I just love that his ring looks so great and has SUCH a cool story behind it. Plus, one more thing checked off our May wedding checklist! Score!

So, Tulle Nation – whatcha think about that? Have any of you DIYed a piece of jewelry? Are you thinking about it? Share, share!