Consider the Inlay
One of the benefits of wood rings, especially for commitment jewelry, is near endless possibility for personalized inlay options. We have written posts in the past about custom inlays, commissioned by clients, and about our favorite inlays but we've been hanging out on Pinterest recently and found some inspiration.
Love Letters
Johnny Cash / House of Cash / Via beaglestreet.com
Custom rings with client-provided love notes.
The poet John Keats to his lover Fanny Brawne / Haverford College / Via beaglestreet.com
We have actually inlaid love notes once before--written on colored sticky notes. It's a romantic idea to keep the confidence, secrets, and endearment of your lover close to your body at all times. Plus, if the notes are on colored paper, the visual outcome produces a trippy, marbled effect.
Memorable Ticket Stubs
Train Tickets / Image source : presentandcorrect.com
Memorabilia / Ticket Stub / Source ebay.com
Ticket Stubs / photo credit beeperbee.tumblr.com
In the same vein as above, you could inlay tickets from a fair you went to together, the cinema where you had your first date, or from a memorable sports event.
Sand from Faraway Places
Faraway Sand / Iceland / Photo source, desevre.tumblr.com
Faraway Sand / Tunisia / Photo source : thestylishgypsy.tumblr.com
We do often inlay sand from beaches all around the world. If you and your lover travel into the wild unknown, bottling some of that wanderlust makes for an inspiring ring.
Seeds
Branch of Argyrodendron Seeds / Via australiangeographic.com.au
Vintage Seed Catalog / Smithsonian / http://www.sil.si.edu/
Coral Bean Seeds / John Petranka / Via Pinterest
Naturally, our wooden rings are biodegradable. To capitalize on this, you could encapsulate seeds that might grow from the ring if it happened to find its way back to the earth.
Heirloom Fabric
Pocket Square / Photo via Anna Price Olson / Pinterest
Vintage Lace / Photo source : auctiva.com
Vintage fabric created by designer Barbara Brown / Via blog.ounodesign.com
This could be anything : fabric you own from a beloved family member, leftovers from designing your wedding dress, your partner's pocket square, ribbons that hold special meaning for you, fabric from the blanket you had a picnic on together, the list is inexhaustible.
Verdant Matter
Asrai Garden Bouquet / Instagram
Flowering Cactus / Saguaro National Park / Photo from Roadtrippers.com
Ferns and other Verdant Matter / unknown source / Pinterest.com
You might consider having stand-in rings for your ceremony so that you can use the flowers from your bouquet in your wedding band. Or, if there are any other verdant things that have special meaning to you, consider having them preserved in your ring--to keep close at all times.