"I think we were both waiting for the curtain to be pulled back to reveal that we wouldn't actually be doing most of the ring making ourselves -- but that never happened. By the end of it all, it felt like a hard day's work. We sawed, hammered, soldered, filed, hammered some more, filed a lot more, and scrubbed eachother's rings to perfection. Stephanie was and infinitely patient teacher, and limited her interventions to the few instances when we really needed her.

We definitely came away from this experience with a newfound respect for jewelers and metalworkers alike. Most importantly, though, we came away with a set of beautiful bands that we made for each other. That's something no retail jeweler could ever compete with."

Wedding Photographer: Jenny J

"After looking at a few wedding bands at traditional jewelry stores, we knew that we wanted something different. We came across With These Rings and after speaking with Stephanie we knew that we had found the person who would help us make our rings. Her sourcing of materials and design process is in line with our values and environmental ideals. With no jewelry making experience we were both a little nervous going into the ring making session. However, Stephanie was an awesome teacher and we could not be more satisfied with how our rings turned out." 

Photos by: Meg Valliant

"Stephanie has a natural talent for guiding couples through this process. She set the perfect tone, offered guidance at exactly the right moments, and was sincerely honored to participate in our ring making experience. My fiance and I were able to create beautiful wedding rings that are as meaningful and collaborative as our relationship. And, we had so much fun!"

"We could not be happier with the decision to make our wedding rings with Stephanie! Tania was nervous and unsure when I suggested that we make our own rings, but Stephanie was very reassuring beforehand and incredibly helpful and hands-on during the process. She guided us through what we needed to do, but did not take over except in the very few cases where one of us messed something up.

The whole process was so lovely, from discussing our initial designs to lunch with Stephanie on our wax carving day to the celebration champagne upon the final delivery of our rings! I couldn't have asked for a better experience in obtaining our wedding rings. We were able to put ourselves into the rings we gifted each other and that is what is so incredibly special about this process. Both of us LOVE telling people that our spouse made our ring - it is special and unique and just like the style of our individual rings, very us."

Photos by Jonas Seaman

"Before we discovered we could make our own rings, we’d been disappointed that we couldn’t find bands that felt meaningful to us. As soon as making them for each other became an option, we knew we had to do it. We decided on simple gold bands: a classic width for Pantelis, and a very slender one for me, to complement my engagement ring. Stephanie guided us through each step of the process, and amazingly we were able to do the vast majority of the hands-on work ourselves. It was a great experience for both of us seeing the other putting so much care into making the perfect ring. We had a ring warming during our ceremony, where the rings were passed to each of our guests who added their good wishes, love and energy to the rings (to paraphrase our wonderful officiant, Cathy Hume) before they were brought to the altar for our vows. Exchanging rings we’d made just for each other was an incredibly meaningful gesture we’ll always remember."

Photos by: Catalina Jean

"As soon as I heard about Stephanie and With These Rings I knew that there were no other options for John and I to get our rings. The wedding rings are the ultimate symbol of our marriage that we carry with us every day, so the opportunity to actually physically make our rings for each other is very special and not to be passed up on. The experience of making the rings was the best part of the wedding planning process (and I’m one of those bizarre people that enjoyed wedding planning!) The process had many little steps, and Stephanie walked us through each one, checking during and after each to be sure that it was going smoothly. We were done in less than 3 hours and were floating on a cloud for days afterwards. 

During our wedding ceremony we decided to include our guests and instill more meaning by having a ring warming ceremony. Now, not only do we carry the symbol representing each other on our hands every day, with love and good wishes from all of our closest friends and family, but they’re symbols we made for each other. The experience of having made our rings will be something we cherish for the rest of our lives."

Photos by Lucas Mobley

"With no jewelry-making experience, we were able to make two gold bands to our liking that look professionally made.  We couldn't be happier with our results!  

Having wedding rings that my future spouse and I have made for each other is a very special and meaningful symbol, and I cannot thank Stephanie enough for providing that opportunity to us!"

Wedding Photographer: Barbie Hull

"When my fiancée suggested that we make our own rings, I thought she was crazy but Stephanie made it easy, we loved learning the process, and we love the result. During our initial consultation, she described each step, all the options, gave us sound advice, and most importantly to me, she promised she wouldn't let me screw it up. Her years of experience teaching jewelry-making at a local college really came through as she encouraged us to be hands-on, kept us from getting overzealous, and patiently answered all of our questions. We ended up creating two beautiful, unique rings that have an incredible amount of meaning to us because they are imprinted with a stamp that my fiancée designed and they were made with our sweat."

Weddingn Photographer:  Stephanie Kaloi

"We first met Stephanie at a Get Hitched Give Hope charity event and bid on a Ring Making session at one of the silent auctions.  To say I was bound and determined to win this item would be an understatement.  I believe we bid on it three times, and I might have boxed out other bidders as the time counted down.  We weren’t really sure what we were getting ourselves into, but I was 100% sold on the idea within 10 mins of meeting Stephanie and her husband.  We had worked so painstakingly hard on personalizing every aspect of our wedding that this was a must on our list of things to do.  Little did we know that it would become one of the best and most unique things we did when it came to our wedding! 

We spent a full eight hour day working with Stephanie making each other’s bands.  Neither one of us had any jewelry making experience before this, but you would never know it looking at our rings.  I never really appreciated how imperfect and noncircular a handmade ring is as you start the ring making process, or how much I would love those one of a kind attributes that were created in each ring as we molded them.  I love that our rings tell a story, and that I know what tool/process made each little detail and that there will never be another one that looks like it. 

Normally it is the woman that gushes about their ring.  I did that with my engagement ring, I would tell anyone that would listen how Roger had it made just for me.  I LOVE how Roger gushes about his band and that I made it just for him!  It is such a special experience, and the one item that you will wear every day for the rest of your life." 

Photographer Pawel Bebenca