Attire & Accessories Forum

Feeling like a toad.........

I have the most perfect fiancé in the entire world. He is the sweetest most darling golden hearted man in the world, but he's just a poor broke sole. I’m the breadwinner and it’s fine with me. He works very hard and is planning to go back to college to finish his degree, but he makes a pathetic living. LOL. We fell in love very quickly and hard so that after a few months of dating, he decided he wanted to marry me and wanted to know what kind of ring I wanted. So I was very sensitive to his money situation and I picked out a blue stone Claddagh ring for a $150 at amazon that I knew could be used as both a wedding ring and engagement ring; depending how you wore it. In Europe that would be fine and I grew up in Europe most of my life. But ever since he’s given me that ring, I am finding myself having to explain myself ALL the time. When we got it, the stone looked very pretty but very cheap and some people even think it might be plastic; definitely looks plastic. LOL. Everyone looks surprised when I say I’m going to get married and then they look at my ring and they can’t even say it looks nice. LOL. I get hit on, because it look like a child’s ring, not something like a wedding ring for a 40 something. It’s now even embarrassing my fiancé but I know he will never be able to afford anything else for a long time. Anyhow, 18 years ago, I worked for a hotel in Europe and they absolutely had some weird craziness for me. The owner and general manager were so wonderful and always spoiled me; they even paid for my first wedding, even though they told me the guy was worthless, they paid for everything. When I left, they opened their vault for me for the first time for anyone and they said, I could pick whatever I wanted. It was like a treasure filled chest with the most beautiful and precious things that you only see in the movies. The hotel itself was over 300 years old and it was all the jewelry that was never claimed throughout the years. There in the front, as if it was beckoning me was this gorgeous 42 diamond broad banded wedding ring. The diamonds were so incredibly cut that it was brilliant sparkling and the gold was 18K. I picked it up, tried it on and it was as if it was meant for me. I fell in love at first sight. I was married, so I had my own wedding band and I loved my wedding band but after I got divorced I had thrown it away and started wearing the band that my two old sweet men let me have. I absolutely loved my ring and every so often I will still wear it (every time I do, people just stop and stare because it blinds them), but since a year and a half, I haven’t because I now wear the Claddagh ring that Chris got me. After getting harassed for a year about my ring, I asked if Chris would mind if I used my old ring again for our wedding. He knows the story, he thinks it’s a great one and I told him I would like him to personalize the ring to make it ours. He wants it engraved to read: The love of my life.

So what’s the problem? I feel guilty. Now that I’m 4 weeks away from the wedding, I look at my plastic looking blue stone and I see the color of his eyes. Same beautiful turquoise color and suddenly I don’t care anymore about any other ring but the one he gave me. But I’m torn, because it looks nothing like a wedding ring and I’m tired of explaining myself and I’m tired of the pathetic looks I get. LOL. But I can’t see myself without this ring anymore either. He feels awful because the one I got him, is a ton more expensive; I told him I don’t care about it, but I’m torn. Now I feel like if I personalize the ring, it’s like cheating, because it’s not from him. Should I care? I love that ring, but now I am starting to love this one more and more every day, because it’s what he gave me. What should I do? I not only feel torn, but I feel awful and guilty for being embarrassed and tired of explaining myself. Even my family make fun of me. I feel like a toad because I shouldn’t care what others think and I feel guilty because I feel so selfish and nasty

Re: Feeling like a toad.........

  • I seriously think I was going to get so many weird reactions off of it. Sure I knew the one or two rude people, but for even my family to ask if that was it, is kind of a weird awkward moment. And it happens so often. That weird awkward moment. LOL. Maybe it's because the way I dress, etc, people just assume I'm going to have some clunker on me, not something that looks like it came out of a bubble gum machine. LOL. But I love how that stone matches his eyes and when I look at it, it's all I see. I'll talk to my sweetie about it.
  • Why not wear the original ring on your other hand, so you can still wear it, and wear the diamond, newly engraved ring as your wedding band?
  • Put the blue stone one on a chain and wear it as a necklace. Tell FI it's so you can keep it close to your heart.
  • @SAHoehle‌ thats what Carrie Bradshaw did with her Aidan engagement ring and some of us may remember how that turned out. A ring is just a thing! Your fiance is what matters. Don't get too attached to either one. Here's an idea...since the diamond ring has meaning for you from a previous time in your life...give it to your fiance to take it to a jeweler. Perhaps he can custom design an alteration for it. Lots of people do that with other meaningful rings that have been passed down. This way, the ring that you love, is part from him too since he customized it. Just a thought....
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  • I think you are feeling horribly guilty about something that might not be a big deal.
    1.  Your FI doesn't need to BUY your ring.  Did Prince Will buy Kate's ring?
    2.  People who judge your ring are stupid, crass, and rude.
    3.  Only you and your FI can decide this.  TALK to him.  How would he feel about it if you used the other ring as your wedding ring?  If he's OK with it, go for it.
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  • LOL. I think this is something you should talk over with your FI, cause who the fuck cares what other people think about your ring LOL. And to begin with, LOL, this is all your own fault because instead of talking to your FI LOL, you went off without him. Did it occur to you to ask for a budget he was comfortable with? Or to go to an actual jeweler where $150 can get you something small but definitely not cheap looking LOL. 

    Another option would be to get a simple band to go with the big ass LOL ring, so that way something is "directly" from your FI. 

    LOL
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    Anniversary
  • I think I'll just deal with the weirdness and quit worrying about rude people and be proud of what I have because I have such a wonderful man and its originally something I picked out; regardless of what it looks like now. I can't see myself without it now.
  • @lolo883 - you are very right. Thanks for the great advice. Really, because he wanted to take the other ring to get it engraved, since we are three weeks out and I couldn't do it. I realized no matter what, he gave that to me; even if he had given me a bottle cap ring; he gave me that ring from his heart. So when he went to get it, I told him its not what would make me happy, but only be a sham to impress others and we definitely have never been about that. I feel a huge weight of my shoulders and yes, I have come to realize I'm a terrible writer. ;)
  • Good for you. :)
    I've always loved claddagh rings.

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