The story of a wedding ring

Tim and I have been blessed beyond belief in many different ways this past year. Today I just finished our update letter to send to our families (you know, the one you’re supposed to send out at Christmastime…) I was so encouraged thinking back to everything that happened in 2010 – all the ways that God blessed us, all the occasions we had to celebrate – from getting engaged, to graduating, to attending friends’ weddings, to our own wedding, to moving across the country and starting afresh in a new place, the list could go on. When I travelled to Wheaton back in November to gather all our belongings so we could fully move out here to Seattle, our good friend Adam Pratt had just finished editing our wedding photos. He did an incredible job capturing the joy and emotion of our wedding day, and in the midst of our day, I felt so at peace knowing he was behind the camera. I honestly had to stop myself from carrying my camera around with me on my wedding day, because I so love to capture things from my own perspective. Adam has a way of being in the right place at the right time though, and he captured our wedding day more beautifully than I could have known to ask for. The next few blog posts will be dedicated to showcasing Adam’s photography talent, through our wedding photos :)

Last spring when Tim and I were planning for our wedding, and considering what wedding band we’d purchase for him, my Aunt Irene contacted me with a proposal. She and my Uncle Paul used to own a jewelry store in Green Bay, WI, before they retired several years ago. When they closed their store they kept several pieces of jewelry that they’d be able to gift to others in the future. She offered a men’s wedding band to us as a wedding gift! Tim and I were stunned and easily accepted her offer, knowing it’d be a beautiful ring and much more meaningful than if we just bought our own wedding band. As we moved forward with that plan, she asked me if I wanted to have the ring inscribed with our wedding date on the inside. Now, originally when Tim and I were looking at bands for him, we considered purchasing a pretty plain band and having my name in Hebrew engraved on the outside. I knew this band would be too detailed to do any engraving on the outside, so we put that idea out of our minds. Unbeknownst to Tim, I asked my Aunt Irene if it would be possible to have my Hebrew name, instead of our wedding date, inscribed on the inside of his wedding band. She went to the only person she knew who still does this sort of work, and he was able to do just what I’d asked for!

My name means “blessed” in Hebrew, and it’s the name that my Dad picked out for me even before he’d met my Mom. This word has labeled me and has been spoken over me my entire life. It defines who I am. It also defines what Tim and I have together. I don’t think there could’ve been a more perfect word I would have chosen for his wedding band. Paul and Irene weren’t able to attend our wedding, so they sent the ring down with family. We didn’t see it until the night before our wedding, just after our rehearsal. I let Adam in on the secret and had him photograph the moments that Tim and I first saw his wedding band. You can see the recognition in his face once he saw the engraving. I love that we have these moments captured in photographs. It reminds me how much I love being a photographer – so much depth and meaning can be captured in just one frame.