When my husband and I were planning our wedding, our friends wanted to give us engraved rings from their home country of Bolivia. We loved the idea! It felt personal and meaningful, and it eased our planning in the sweetest way. We shared our ring sizes–and our gratitude–and that was that. Or so we thought! 

The night before our wedding, we tried on the rings. They were beautiful. My husband’s ring fit perfectly, but I quickly realized something was wrong when I slipped mine onto my finger. It wasn’t just snug. It was so small that it barely fit onto my pinky! There was no way we could use it in our ceremony.

With hardly any discussion and a whole lot of laughter, my husband-to-be and I hopped into the car. It was late and we had so much to do before the wedding, but it felt like an adventure. We drove to Walmart, one of the only stores still open, in hopes of finding a stopgap ring for our ceremony.[PHOTOS]
In classic Matt-and-Amy fashion, we made it work. He knew that I hate spending money and the rings were really just a formality to me anyway. We found a pack of plain metal bands with one that I could wear for the moment. So, yes, I was married with a $2 ring that turned my finger green, but it’s a fun part of our story.

Once we recovered from the wedding festivities, we found a simple white gold band that felt more like me. I didn’t want anything elaborate, just simple and timeless. It may not be the ring our friends chose for me, or the one that we bought on our last-minute shopping trip, but it’s the perfect ring for me. [QUOTE]

Still, I’ll always keep the little $2 ring tucked safely away for sentimental reasons. The ring may not be unique, but it’s the symbol my husband placed on my finger while repeating his wedding vows and it will always be special to me. It’s also a reminder of the night before our wedding, when we turned what could have been a stressful hiccup into a spontaneous, practical, and fun expedition.