We Made Our Own Wedding Rings: The Story Behind Them

Photo Credit: Thomas Shull

As a jewelry artist, I've made hundreds of rings for other people. But making the rings that my husband and I would wear for the rest of our lives? That was something entirely different.

When Dustin and I started planning our wedding, there was one thing I knew for sure: we were going to make our own wedding rings.

Not just because I'm a metalsmith, but because I loved the idea of creating something together that would carry pieces of our families, our creativity, and our story.

And what made these rings especially meaningful was that we didn't just use new gold. We incorporated gold from both of our families, giving jewelry that had already been part of our families' histories a new life.

Photo Credit: Thomas Shull

It Started With Our Engagement Ring

Our wedding ring story actually began before the wedding, when I decided to make my own engagement ring.

I wanted to create something that felt personal and meaningful, and I had the opportunity to use gold from my mom's and grandmother's rings.

I melted down the gold and used sand casting to create a new ring with an east-west set diamond and a low-profile design.

It was my first time casting gold, which made the process both exciting and a little intimidating!

There's something pretty incredible about taking jewelry that has been worn and loved by previous generations, melting it down, and turning it into something completely new.

The gold is still the same gold. It's just beginning a new chapter.

And knowing that our engagement ring already carried so much family history made me even more excited to create our wedding bands.

Making Our Wedding Rings Together

One of my favorite parts of this entire process was that Dustin wasn't just watching me make our rings. He was part of creating them.

Even though I'm the metalsmith in our relationship, we both love making things with our hands. So it felt really natural that we would work on these rings together.

We wanted each ring to reflect our own style while still feeling connected to the other.

And we wanted to incorporate gold from both of our families, so that each ring would carry a little piece of where we came from.

Dustin's Mountain Ring

For Dustin's wedding band, we wanted to create something inspired by the mountains.

The outdoors has always been an important part of our lives together, and the mountains felt like a perfect way to represent that.

We started with gold wedding rings from Dustin's parents, melting them down and rolling the gold into sheet.

Then we used gold from my family to create the mountain design that would become part of his ring.

I love that the mountains aren't just a design choice. They're actually made from gold that came from me, my mom, and grandmother.

The finished ring brings together gold from both of our families in one piece.

It's such a simple concept, but the meaning behind it is pretty incredible.

My Wedding Band

For my ring, I wanted something that would complement my engagement ring while still having its own personality.

Dustin carved a wax model to fit the shape of my engagement ring, creating a curved band that would sit alongside it.

I then used sand casting to turn that design into a gold ring.

Sand casting is one of my favorite jewelry-making techniques because it creates a beautiful organic texture. The results are never completely identical, and I love the character that comes from the process.

Having Dustin carve the wax made this ring even more meaningful to me.

I spend so much of my time creating jewelry for other people, so getting to wear something that he helped design and make feels really special.

Every time I look down at my hand, I'm reminded that we made these rings together.

Why We Used Family Gold

Of all the details that went into making our wedding rings, using family gold might be my favorite.

Gold is an incredible material because it can be melted down, reshaped, and transformed into something new.

Jewelry that might otherwise sit unworn in a drawer can become something that's part of your everyday life again.

And in our case, that meant taking rings that had belonged to our parents and grandparents and turning them into rings that would symbolize our marriage.

I love the idea that these pieces of gold have already lived entire lives before becoming part of ours.

They've been worn, loved, and carried through years of memories.

And now we get to add our own memories to them.

It feels like such a beautiful way to connect our families and honor the people who helped shape us.

Handmade Doesn't Have to Mean Perfect

As a metalsmith, I know how much time, patience, and problem-solving goes into making a ring.

And making our wedding rings was no exception.

There were plenty of steps that required careful planning, experimentation, and adjustments along the way.

Working with sentimental materials also adds another layer of pressure. When you're melting down family gold, you really want everything to go according to plan!

But one of the things I love most about handmade jewelry is that the process becomes part of the story.

These rings weren't pulled from a display case or ordered from a catalog.

They were designed, carved, melted, formed, and finished by us.

And I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.

More Than Just Wedding Rings

I've always believed that jewelry becomes part of our stories.

A ring might start as a beautiful object, but over time it becomes something so much more.

It travels with you. It collects memories. It becomes part of your identity.

Our wedding rings already held years of family history before we ever put them on our fingers.

And now they'll be with us for all the ordinary Tuesdays, big adventures, milestones, and everything in between.

I think that's what makes them so special.

They're not just symbols of our marriage.

They're little pieces of our families, our creativity, and the life we're building together.

And the fact that we got to make them with our own hands makes me love them even more.

Here's to a lifetime of adventures, with a little piece of our families along for the ride.

Made with love in Flagstaff, Arizona.

SkyJune Designs — Wear your jewelry on adventures.