Category Archives: Adrianne

On which hand should I wear my wedding and engagement rings?

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People often ask us how they should wear their engagement ring after they’ve gotten married. Here are some options:

1. Wear your wedding band and engagement ring together on the left hand. This is very common in the U.S., and is probably based on the fact that the heart is on the left side of the body. The wedding band is typically worn inside the engagement ring (closer to the heart). Wearing the rings on the left hand is particularly advantageous for right-handed folks, because the left hand generally stays more protected.

2. Wear your wedding band and engagement ring together on the right hand. This is popular with guitarists, violinists and other musicians, and those who need maximum dexterity in their left hands. It can also be a good choice for left-handed people whose right hands will be less active than their left hands.

3. Wear one ring on each hand. (This is what I do.) Depending on the style of the engagement ring and wedding band, they may look better each standing alone. Wearing one ring on each hand helps protect from wear caused by rings rubbing against each other, and it reduces the bulk on any particular finger. Because I’m right-handed, I wear the more delicate ring on my left hand, because it doesn’t get as much wear there.

But of course, you can do WHATEVER you want! Plenty of people choose not to wear their engagement rings after they’re married, or only for special occasions.

If you’re in the market, be sure to check out our wedding rings and engagement rings!

 

What’s your plan for the weekend?

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What are you doing this weekend?

Last weekend, our dear mascot Turtle took a break from his hard work in the jewelry studio. Here are some pictures of his trip to Damariscotta Lake for some time in the Maine wilderness.

Here's Turtle in a Canoe in Maine

Turtle took his first canoe ride! (He was excited, so it was a tad harrowing for his human companions.)

Turtle in the Maine Woods

He loved playing in the woods!

Turtle (of TurtleLove.com) in the Maine Woods Here's Turtle, our Labradoodle mascot, in the waterHe had lots of fun playing in the water, fetching sticks and generally romping around.

Turtle (of TurtleLove.com) fetching a stick Here's Turtle, our Labradoodle mascot, in a canoe Here he is, on his second canoe ride, a little calmer this time. (I still spent more time hanging on to the edges of the canoe than paddling, though.)

Turtle the Labradoodle on an old wooden bridge On the way home, we walked over an old bridge that spans the Androscoggin River in Brunswick.

This weekend, we’ll probably take Turtle to the ocean for a romp. How ’bout you?

 

 

Giving people engagement rings is hard.

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TurtleLove.com celebrating marriage equality the day after the electionThe day after election day this year, we were ECSTATIC about the advances in legal recognition of same-sex marriage in our home state of Maine, and in Washington and Maryland.

 

We wanted to do SOMETHING to celebrate, and we wanted it to be clear that we weren’t just trying to “make a buck” off a new wedding market. (I’ve written here about why marriage equality isn’t about the money for us.) We decided to do a giveaway of TWO engagement rings to one couple, leaving a month for people to tell us their stories and send us their pictures explaining why they should win.

 

Judging the entries submitted turned out to be A LOT more difficult than we’d anticipated. There were so many super-convincing candidates that it was heart-wrenching to choose among them. And there were so many sympathetic stories of loss and heartache that it hurt to know that we couldn’t add a “win” to those stories. It was a relief to remind ourselves that the vintage engagement rings that we are giving away aren’t something that any of the entrants actually NEEDS.

 

The TurtleLove.com staff carefully combed each story and discussed. We ended up talking about what marriage equality means, about freedom of religion, about the goals of TurtleLove.com as an organization, and about the incredible breadth and diversity of human experience. It was a growing experience for each of us, and it was A LOT harder than we expected. We are grateful to each of the entrants for sharing their stories with us and allowing us to view the world through their eyes for a period.


Reflections on Cyber Monday

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The TLC crew bundled up with tea and coffee on Cyber Monday (aka Warm and Cozy Monday)

Cyber Monday *is* a thing. People *do* do a lot of shopping on that day.

Likewise, the Diamond Olympics *is* a thing, and couples contemplating marriage really *do* feel a lot of pressure to perform when it comes to an engagement ring.

Cyber Monday and the Diamond Olympics both put us in a funny spot. Being a counterpoint to the retail jewelry industry makes us (unwittingly) a part of that very industry.

Because our central mission at TurtleLove.com is to support individual, authentic choices for people buying jewelry to celebrate their relationships, there’s tension between promoting our (awesome) engagement and wedding rings and fueling the Diamond Olympics.

Because we aim to sell personally-meaningful jewelry without promoting a consumerist agenda, Cyber Monday is problematic, too. Should we give in to the expectation that our products will suddenly become available at rock-bottom prices the Monday after Thanksgiving? Should we have tacky promotions and sell our products at unsustainably-low prices? Should we say something about Cyber Monday? Should we say nothing?

In the end, we decided to celebrate Warm and Cozy Monday. We didn’t have any crazy sales. On Facebook and Twitter, we celebrated Warm and Cozy Monday and the beginning of a season that is about warmth and light.

And you know what? We did great!

“Top Marketing Tips to Win Gay Wedding Business.” Really?

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“Top Marketing Tips to Win Gay Wedding Business.” When this popped up on my blog reader, I assumed it was a headline from The Onion.

It’s not.

This is a real post, published on The Knot’s B2B blog following the election results this week.

The author of this post reports that “Gay weddings are good for business, and with voters in Maryland, Maine and Washington voting to legalize same-sex marriage this week, businesses all over are seeing dollar signs.”

Really? Dollar signs?

At TurtleLove.com, we’re incredibly proud of our home state of Maine, and we’re thrilled about the progress of civil rights across the country.

But we’re not seeing dollar signs.

Even before the elections this week, TurtleLove.com customers were an independent-minded bunch. Gay or straight, legally recognized or not, our customers already commemorate their commitments with engagement and wedding rings that are personally meaningful.

So we sell engagement rings for men and women – gay and straight.

We sell wedding bands to straight couples and to gay couples – people celebrating their relationships whether or not they’re legally recognized.

We’re ecstatic about the advance of legally-recognized same-sex marriage in Maine, Maryland, and Washington, but it’s not because we think it’s going to pad our wallets. It’s because we’re excited to be witnessing and participating in civil rights history.