My husband, Nick, and I are huge fans of the "scenic route." We take the back roads as much as possible and love to experience things that are off the beaten path. We pride ourselves on our love of nature, enjoyment of craft food/beer/cocktails/etc., and support of small businesses and artisans. We are not your standard Americans, and we love that about us!
We met at a local hangout in our uber cool college town, Montevallo, Alabama. In college, I was enrolled in an "Ethics and Sustainability of the American Food System" class. On the final night of class, my professor invited a few of us to celebrate at the local hangout, which he and his wife owned. One of my classmates happened to be one of Nick's lifelong friends, and he invited Nick and some other friends to join us at the local hangout. Nick and I met "on the porch" that night, and we have been side by side ever since. After 7-ish years of dating and lots of adventure, we decided to get married. There was no bending of the knee, no surprise ring - there was just a conversation where we decided it was time for us to celebrate our love in a deeper way and take the next step by getting married.
During the wedding planning process, we realized that a traditional wedding - the church, the burlap and hay bales (very popular during our wedding season), the tens of thousands of dollars price tag - were just not "us." We wanted to honor our true selves during our wedding, so we planned a wedding hike to North Dome in Yosemite National Park. This was the most beautiful hiking spot we had visited in our long history together, and we knew that's where we wanted to celebrate our love for one another and deepen our commitment to one another. True to form, we took the metaphorical "scenic route" in life through our non-traditional engagement and wedding.
Since there was no surprise ring, I had the pleasure of picking out my own ring. I knew right away that a standard diamond ring from a chain store was not for me, so I turned to my favorite online shopping site: Etsy. I searched and searched for days trying to find the ring that called to me. I finally happened upon the Metalicious shop and was instantly drawn to Stephanie's work. Ethical metal and gemstones? Sign me up! After browsing her delightful collection, I had a few rings in mind and called Nick in to join the search. As soon as he saw my selections, he said - "Oh, Shan, these rings are totally YOU!" I finally chose a gorgeous recycled sterling ring with an aquamarine stone. Aquamarine is my husband's birthstone, so it was definitely a meaningful choice. Recycled sterling spoke to the "crunchy" side of me, and the simple yet elegant beauty of the ring won my heart. My husband-to-be took over the ordering process from there, and he was overjoyed with the ease of the purchase and the wonderful customer service.
I constantly get compliments on my ring. When people hear about Stephanie's commitment to using ethical gemstone and metals, they are enamored. When they see the incredibly reasonable price tags, they are shocked! I have referred several people to Stephanie's shop, and I will continue to do so. I am so thankful that Stephanie is out there creating beautiful, meaningful jewelry for the world to enjoy. Metalicious is the way to go!
