Jewelry Love Stories: Melissa and Danny
Melissa and Danny stumbled into my studio last year, and I had so much fun working on wedding bands for this hilarious and own-to-earth couple. It’s easy see how much these two dig each other. Melissa is an East Coast transplant to the Bay Area and Danny is a local. The both work for UCSF and they’ve settled into a happy life together in San Francisco’s Mission District. Their wedding took place last summer on an island in the middle of a lake in New Hampshire, and I love the rustic feel and intimate atmosphere they created. I was lucky enough to receive the above photo on their Christmas card! Here’s a little from them about their love story.
1. Share a little bit about your love story with us. What gives you butterflies?
We met as teammates on a co-ed san francisco softball team and had a solid foundation of friendship before Danny (finally) asked Melissa out on the night of the last game of the last season their team was in existence 🙂 The rest is history. We started talking about retirement and our future during our first date. Melissa knew that Danny was the one when she introduced him to her home and family. Melissa loves that Danny is nurturing, thoughtful, and grounded. Danny loves that Melissa is adventurous, lives in the moment, and cares deeply about others.
2. You just got married. What is your next big adventure?
We’re excited to share our day-to-day life together and to build a family.
3. I believe love is best seen in the everyday things. What are your favorite daily or weekly rituals together?
Our favorite weekly ritual is that we love to cook and have gotten really into making homemade pasta. Sunday has become pasta night and we experiment with different recipes and techniques. Danny’s the pasta guy and Melissa’s in charge of sauce. We like to include our family and friends whenever possible.
4. Tell us your drink of choice.
Tequila in various forms! Melissa also loves champagne and we both fell hard for rum on our honeymoon in the dominican republic.
5. What advice would you give to couples just starting to plan their wedding? What part was the most fun?
First: Enjoy the journey but if it wears on you, remember that your wedding will be amazing no matter what. When all is said and done, the tiniest details will be irrelevant and it will be about marrying the person that you love and being surrounded by your community.
Next: Let others help you. Though it can be hard to accept help and give up control, other people feel honored to help and it makes your day even more special and memorable to have their input and support.
These two fish have tied the knot!
Finally: We chose a location that was meaningful to us (Melissa’s family island in New Hampshire) and it was amazing to introduce our guests to a place so special to us and to have memories from our wedding to revisit every time we return. It also was incredibly meaningful to have Melissa’s 95 year old grandmother there.
5. I hope you love your wedding rings. Can you tell us why they are special?
We love our wedding rings for so many reasons. Kendra ensured that our rings are unique and exactly what we both envisioned. We were able to be there and participate when our rings were cast, which was even more meaningful and truly awesome. We both feel happy and proud to wear them. Kendra also had our nicknames inscribed on our rings to make them even more special.
Melissa and Danny’s rings on an oar that belonged to Melissa’s grandparents at their lake wedding.
