Tag Archives: engagement

Designing the Perfect Wedding Band

LILOVEVE is a merging of the words live + love, channeling passion beyond design to a way of life.

Owner and Designer Caroline Glemann shares how she came up with her perfect wedding band.

How long have you been designing rings?

I have been making handmade wedding and engagement bands for 12 years now, and jewelry for some time before that.

It has always been both inspiring and humbling that my work comes into people’s lives at such an important and uniquely special juncture – namely when they fall in love, and propose, and get married. Such a special time!

What is the most memorable wedding you’ve been a part of and what made it so special?

My own! The exchange of rings commemorates the exchange of vows, symbolizes a promise, and is part of creating a lasting memory. Being a jewelry designer, I felt some pressure on deciding how my own ring should be. My husband’s band was made and he knew just what he wanted – a heavy, wide, slightly domed platinum band with a rough natural finish. (And yes, I made him come into the studio and hammer!)

Mine, I was not so clear – did I want gems? a pattern? something antique? I put it aside to think. And got busy – busy with life, busy with work, then busy preparing for the wedding. At last, the night before our wedding day arrived and we had planned to celebrate by slipping away from arriving guests and family with a quiet hotel room and a glass of champagne. Where is your ring? my husband asked. Oh no! I forgot! How could I?   So it was a rush to the studio, and I had no time to think – to plan. I had to just let it all go and trust in my hands and my intuition. I turned the volume up on the music and lit the torch and began – two hours to turn a lump of yellow gold into my lifetime band. I can always change it later I thought as a consolation. But I never did. It came out beautiful, just the way it was meant to be.

Your best advice to a couple in the midst of wedding planning is:

Enjoy! Remember that it should be delicious…that it is not just about promising to love another person, it is also about being open and allowing someone to love you.

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Join Liloveve this Sunday, April 13th from 12-5pm for Toasted Brooklyn – the place for couples seeking inspiration for one-of-a-kind nuptials. You’ll find independent artisans, alternative and offbeat wedding ideas, and handcrafted and eco-friendly goods. Hosted at the beautiful BK Night Bazaar Space at 165 Banker Street in Greenpoint, Liloveve is one of over 80 featured vendors, including some of the area’s best planners, stylists, DJ’s and more. Browse our exclusive selection of wedding, engagement and bespoke jewelry as well as great gift ideas for bridal parties, groomsmen, and your one true love. Complimentary cocktails, wine, ales and food from over a dozen caterers are included in the ticket price,as well as amazing giveaways. We hope to see you there – purchase your tickets today!

Love Every Day <3

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With Valentines day in the not so distant past, we are feeling sentimental over here at Liloveve. Sophie and Drew came by the gallery this afternoon to pick up their custom wedding bands and we couldn’t help but crush over the happy couple and their custom rings. *Sigh* love never gets old..

Caroline also hand crafted Sophie’s engagement ring last year. Ever wondered what the process for creating a custom engagement ring from design to final product looks like? Here’s your chance. Check out the pictures below for a behind the scenes look!

Something Old, Something New

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A few weeks ago we had a client come to us with their stunning platinum & diamond engagement ring from the 1930’s seeking a custom wedding band to match. We created this custom platinum & 1 pt. diamond wedding band to compliment the antique ring. Take a look….

In the Studio: Handmade Custom Ring Design

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Liloveve designer, Caroline Glemann, recently created this gorgeous handmade custom engagement ring in the studio for a client. The ring is white gold with a center set labradorite and pavé set surrounding diamonds.

Here’s a quick peek into her process.

The finished piece. Gorgeous!

Building an engagement ring – student work

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I just caught up with one of our students, Lauren Neumann who was commissioned by a friend to make his engagement ring (don’t worry everyone, I’m posting this post-proposal). Lauren’s taken a few classes with us over the last year. She made this piece during open bench hours and it was so fun helping her & watching it come together. Take a look at how she created this beautiful and special piece….

After her model was finished – she brought it to a caster to get a mold made and and to be cast to 18k yellow gold.

Her settings were soldered on after the casting came back. She brought the ring to a professional stone setter, and he set all of the diamonds.

P.S. She said yes!

Liloveve: What was your inspiration behind this piece?

Lauren: I knew she liked a mix of modern and antique looking type pieces so I researched those type of designs and visited on of her favorite websites and drew inspiration from that and then came up with 12 -15 designs for (my friend) to choose from.

LV: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

LN: My next place of travel outside the USA would be Greece! I adore Italy so I would love to visit there again. Also Turkey, Tulum in Mexico, Monaco, Paris, all of France … So many places! I love to travel. I always thought Anthony Bourdain had the most amazing job!

LV: What’s the most fun aspect of jewelry design?

LN: Knowing that everything you design and create is your own. I was a handbag designer for 3 years in the corporate world. And honestly I was so disheartened learning how the majority of the design world works these days. Its all knock-offs … or a version of someone else’s design. Granted I would design something but I would use a silhouette from another bag and then email my specs of to our factory in China and they made it. There was always a void in that whole process for me. I never felt like it was truly my design.

LV: What classes have you taken at Liloveve?

LN: Silversmithing & Wax Carving I

LV: What was the most challenging part of this process?

LN: The engineering aspect of it all. Figuring out how to go about building the ring and piecing it together. Luckily I had help from 3 very kind women (Caroline, Carolyn, and Emilie) who are seasoned veterans to help guide me throughout the process.

LV: What was the most fun part of this process?

LN: After I got over the hump of making the 3 rings from scratch and getting them all perfect it became fun because I could see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. I knew if I had accomplished that feat that the rest of the ring was going to come together and everything from the point on was stress free and fun!!

A Glimpse behind the Bench.

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Liloveve Designer, Caroline Glemann, recently created this gorgeous custom engagement ring. The piece is a vintage-inspired platinum ring with a beautiful center-set saphire stone and mill grain detailing.

Here is a quick portrait of her design process, from start to finish.