Diamonds with a different sort of blood history

Well, in an otherwise uneventful day, one thing of definite note happened: I talked to my mom today about the wedding ring my dad gave her. I knew the diamond used in it was the same diamond my Grandpa Mitchell gave to my grandma, and that after they divorced, my grandma gave it to my mom for her engagement ring. My mom and dad divorced and my mom had the diamond put into another ring when I was 9 or 10. She wore it for a while, but these days the only ring she wears is her wedding ring to Tod.

So when I asked her about the diamond this morning, she immediately asked if I wanted it, which is exactly what I was planning on hinting at hah.

I gladly accepted and I think that's probably the diamond I'll use in my ring. It's half a carat, incredibly clear and very sparkly. Plus it's exactly the type of cut I wanted: the table and diameter are a bit wider with the pavilion depth a bit shorter. This makes it look bigger and also means it won't stick out quite so far from my finger.

I told Avery about it and she immediately said, "that diamond sounds cursed," which is something my mom said long ago, but let's put it this way: I'm not marrying Brandon for money (my grandmother's mistake) or because my parents have said I'm probably not ever going to be asked again so I may as well just get married (my mother's mistake), so I don't think a twice divorced diamond is going to do much to help or hinder my marriage.

In any case, I'm excited. I'd been thinking maybe I'd just go without a diamond because they're really expensive and I see them as such a waste of money. But if I'm getting one for free, then bring on the bezels, prongs and side-stones! Woohoo!

As for other wedding plans, I've finally picked colors (something most girls do at about age 12) and Brandon seems to like them. I'm thinking dark blue (almost navy) with a medium green and just a splash of pale pink - mostly in the flowers. And I think I've come up with the perfect wedding favor. But we'll see if it pans out.

Alright, enough wedding talk. I think it's time for bed. Goodnight dahlings!

Plans I never made as a little girl

Firstly, let me make the disclaimer that I am not engaged. Brandon and I have been talking seriously about marriage and things are certainly going in that direction - I think we both just sort of knew the moment we saw each other, and I love him more every day - but we're trying to be rational and give ourselves time to make sure we're comfortable.

With that being said, I think I've narrowed down my dress search dramatically. In the past month, I have probably seen about 2,000 dresses. I've felt mediocre at best about all of them. They've all been either too skimpy, too traditional, too Mormony or just plain ugly. But out of sheer luck I happened across a website last night that has a line of classy but different temple ready wedding gowns. I love them! I've narrowed it down to two I think:




I think they're gorgeous and they aren't your typical Mormon wedding gown since, let's be honest, I'm not your typical Mormon.

I've also been looking into the ring department of course. Brandon and I have discussed our options and I think we're both looking for something untraditional. We've considered wooden rings. He likes that idea a lot. We've also talked about making our own rings. I think that's my favorite so far. I'm going to see if we could possibly make our own rings and have his inlaid with wood. He's not big into rings (neither am I really) so he wants something that isn't gaudy, and that leans more toward the natural side. I love the idea of each of us making the other's ring though. And it's a 5-6 hour experience, with a real jeweler walking us through the process. We could have them engraved or add stones if we'd like.

My mom and I have been discussing today what in the world to do about a reception building when the time comes. I've always abhorred the idea of having a reception on a basketball court, but honestly, with the number of people from just my side who would be coming, anything else would get incredibly expensive. So I think what we'll end up doing is finding one of the less basketball-ish cultural halls in our stake and hanging tulle or some other sheer fabric from the ceiling in tent-like fashion. Because seriously, I have four parents. Each with a huge family. Not to mention two rather large sized wards I've grown up in. There's a good possibility for the guest list becoming ridiculously huge.

I'm starting to realize that 1) weddings are a lot of money. I had no idea. And 2) I have no experience whatsoever with planning or even going to weddings. I've been to maybe 4 or 5, most of which were when I was very young. So this is going to be a new thing. My mom and I are going to see if we can find some Mormon receptions to crash in the next few months just for ideas.

So, here's to engagement hopes and wedding ideas.