Guest Post: A Ring With Balls

*I asked Hunter to write a post about his ring, since its such a personal selection for him, so please give my main man a warm welcome for his first ever guest post! (cue applause)*

Hello wedding blog world! This is my first time writing so I think I should let you know a little about myself: I am a man’s man, the manliest of many and manlier than most men. I drink beer, can bench twice my weight, and like things that make lots of noise while breaking other things.

Hmmm… well maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. I do like beer as long as it’s lite enough to still be refreshing if I splash it on my face while jogging, I could bench twice my weight if I weighed 25lbs, and while I don’t have a need to break things, stemware of any sort only has a 50-50 chance of survival when washed by my hands.

So, maybe I'm not the most testosteron-y of men, but when it came to the idea of wearing a ring, I have to admit, I got a little freaked out. Sure, I'm down with the concept of the wedding ring 110%. “Check the ring Ladies, This conversation has been a delight, but this fella is taken, sold, off the market... I am married… to my wife.” But I have always had a weird thing about jewelry. I think Dana is her most beautiful with out any jewelry (except her engagement ring, that’s crazy sexy!) and I feel weird about wearing jewelry, since I've never worn any - not even a watch! My dad, while he loves my mother dearly, never wore a ring either, so there is no childhood precedent for me.

I had two options: Either not wear a ring or somehow find one I liked. I’m pretty sure the former option would have resulted in Dana pulling out a Bosu Exercise Ball and performing a deathly attack while simultaneously working her core muscles. With this thought I decided I better find a ring I liked.

But what to do? I looked at countless rings one more boring than the next. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying all men’s rings are lame. I’m just the kind of guy who walks in to the DSW and curses the 30 aisles of women’s shoes, while huddled in his men’s corner to choose between brown or black, laces or loafers. I don’t need to make a statement, I just have particular tastes and like my style to be a touch outside of the box.

I wanted something that feels symbolic. Something forged from a love that has been tested by many trials, but has remained and will continue to remain strong, inspiring and proud. I wanted a ring that can stand the test of time. The idea of the old west kept popping into my head.

More specifically two images:

1) An old railroad track, created from the pounding of hammers, stampeded upon by train cars and worn by time, but still standing strong leading to wherever your destination may be.

2) A notched gun. The tale goes that many outlaws etc. used to notch their gun for every kill they made. Now don’t get it twisted, in general I'm not a fan of guns. I’ve shot them, but anything that could kill another person with just a subtle twitch makes me nervous (remember my issue with stemware), and there ain’t nothing romantic about murder. But in the old west a gun was often a man’s most prized possession, his only form of protection in a lawless world. The image of notches representing trials in which this object of protection served its purpose, is an aesthetic that spoke to me. For anyone who is concerned by the whole gun analogy, I make this vow to you: I promise not to shoot anyone with my ring.

I didn’t know if it existed but I finally knew what I wanted. I looked and looked but found nothing like it. I then tried to find someone who might be able to design it with me, but still no success. No one shared my aesthetic, or my price range. As I was trolling Etsy like a ringless wanderer, I came across Contraptions Studio. A shot of light beamed down from the sky upon the computer and Paco our dog started making angelic choir noises (which is totally weird ‘cause normally he just writes his thoughts down in a journal), “This IS EXACTLY WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR!” I declared. Paco cocked his head, and seemed to pant in approval. Together, we marvelled over the discovery of what is without a doubt the coolest guy’s ring I have ever seen. Get this: it’s called “Battle Scar.” Totally Manly, totally cool and its totally a ring that I could bench press my own weight with (well, a guy can dream). Check it:


Pretty badass, huh?

Not only do I think that Contraptions has a ton of cool jewelry but it is incredibly affordable (which makes a Broke-Ass Groom very happy). Shane, the designer, makes all of his jewelry custom order, so each piece is unique. He sent me photos of the initial ring, and after a few groomzilla notes, he took them and came back with a ring that was modified exactly as I had hoped. Wow a great price, incredible customer service and EXACTLY what I wanted. Can it get any better? Yeah it can. It will become the symbol of my love and bond to Dana. Yeah this ring has super powers for sure.

What super powers does/will your ring have?