Your wedding ring workshop
10:00am - 4:00pm
You don’t need any previous experience to be able to make your own wedding rings - I will be here to guide and support you through the stages of making your own wedding rings, and to make sure your rings will look amazing for your special day.
Sample itinerary
10:00 Arrive at 4 Minster Street, Salisbury, SP1 1TF. There's a ground floor foyer with stairs leading up to the workshop on the first floor. The door will be unlocked, so come on up and I'll be waiting for you (there will be a closed sign on the door for other customers but just ignore this).
10:15 After a chat and introductions I will give you a tour of the workshop and the tools and equipment you will use to make your rings.
10:30 You will start making your practise rings in silver. You will cut, bend and solder the silver, and then hammer it into shape. You can practise sanding and polishing the rings until you’re completely comfortable with the process. I will demonstrate all processes first and guide as you go.
11:30 You will start your real wedding rings! You will be helped every step of the way so you can make your perfect rings in your own time.
1:00 Lunch time. There are lots of lovely cafes and restaurants just a few doors away in the city centre you can visit for lunch.
2:00 You’ll continue to shape and polish your rings and apply any desired textures and finishes.
3:00 - 4:00 You’re likely to be finishing off your rings and applying the final polish.
In between demonstrating and guiding you through making your rings, I will take photos of you through the day to record you making your beautiful rings. I will email these photos to you afree the workshop.
The following day I will send your rings off to be assayed and hallmarked at the Birmingham Assay Office (unless I've had them pre-hallmarked for you, in which case you can take them home with you). If you’ve chosen to have any engraving or stone setting added to your rings, I will add these after the ring is hallmarked.
Your rings will then be presented to you in a lovely ring box, ready for your big day.
Tools and equipment you will use:
Jewellers saw to cut the metal, pliers to bend it into a ring shape, files to straighten and smooth the ends, blow torch to heat and solder the ring, hammer and mandrel to shape the ring, emery papers to sand the ring, pendant drill with polishing mops to polish your ring.
Protective equipment provided for you to wear:
Goggles, dust mask and aprons (only needed for use with the drill when sanding polishing).
Clothing
Wear clothes you don’t mind getting a little dirty. I will provide aprons as well.
Don’t wear anything with long floaty sleeves, tassels, scarves etc – anything which will hang forward when you lean oven the blowtorch or drill!
Make sure you tie long hair back – it really doesn’t smell good if you singe it with the blow torch.
Nails
You will be holding the ring by hand while filing, sanding and polishing so be prepared for your nails to take a bit of wear by the end of the day! I would advise making sure your nails aren't too long or you will struggle to hold the ring securely.
Glasses
As you’d expect making your rings will require close up work and an eye for detail. Make sure you bring glasses if you need them for close up work. If you think you might struggle I’d advise getting some reading glasses (available from most supermarkets, pharmacies etc for just a couple of pounds) to bring along on the day.
What you need to bring for your workshop:
- hair bands for long hair
- glasses for close work if needed
There isn't parking at 4 Minster Street but there are lots of car parks nearby. The Old George Mall car park is closest and offers full day parking but all the others are only a couple of minutes' walk away. Some car parks such as Lush House, and certain parts of Central / Maltings and Brown Street car park are only 3 hours stay on Monday - Saturday, so check you're in the long stay area.
I look forward to seeing you on the day of your workshop.
Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions at all.