Making Our Own Wedding Bands at The Devil's Workshop
From the very beginning of the wedding planning process, we knew we were going to take a very hands on and customized approach to plan our “dream day", but I’m not sure we realized in how many details that would actually show up.
I’ve always been the curious type, jumping at opportunities to take a peek behind the scenes at how things are made and the creative process, and if there’s a chance to try my own hand at something? Sign me up! Couple that with my love of storytelling, and you’ve got a recipe for one happy girl, so when Jason and I came across the wedding band workshop at The Devil’s Workshop and were presented with the opportunity to make our own bands, we jumped at the chance, loving the idea that not only would we gain firsthand access into how a ring is made, but we’d have a part in crafting each other’s, weaving that into our story and attaching even more significance to these pieces of jewellery that already stand for so much.
We signed up for a two-parter workshop — two evenings over two consecutive weeks, with three hours each night spent crafting each other’s rings with guidance by the wonderful staff and alongside two other couples. We had sat down with Sarah, the owner of The Devil’s Workshop prior to talk through what we wanted and size our fingers, so we started the workshop with raw pieces of metals that looked like nothing special and started measuring and sanding in order to starting moulding our very early stage rings into something that resembled a piece jewellery you’d actually want to wear on your finger for the rest of your life. By the end of the first evening, our rings were in an almost circular shape and had started to resemble something that could almost pass as a ring. Almost.
The second week was all about fusing the two side of the ring together into an endless circle (and yes, there was fire involved!), starting the process of hammering the ring into it’s proper shape and size, and then a long sequence of polishing and buffering to the desired finish. At this point, we had our finished rings, and as you can see from those first photos of what we started with, the transformation is pretty unreal, and the feeling of knowing that we made the rings with our own two hands? Absolutely priceless.
I ended up leaving my ring with Sarah after Jason was done with it, as I wanted to have a piece of the ring cut out and inlaid with tiny marquis diamonds and pearls so that it would nestle into my engagement in an asymmetrical design, and the finished result was absolute perfection.
Since our wedding bands are something that we’ll wear for the rest of our lives, having this added piece of the story has added such a special layer to them, and the process of crafting them was an experience we’ll always cherish — not to mention that the workshop was a great way to spend some time together preparing for the wedding in a way that didn’t involve pouring over budgets and trying to organize details. A definite win-win, I’d say.
