I spend a lot of time talking about photographers and planners that are totally here for your outside-the-box wedding plans, who won’t judge or secretly think you’re weird for wanting to do things outside the realm of “traditional.” But I spend less time talking about jewelers who do that same thing, but today, I’m going to. Because we are longtime super fans of not just Aide-mémoire Jewelry‘s designs (although ), but also of their commitment to making the kind of wedding jewelry you actually want, and not say, the kind the diamond industry says you should have.

Aide-mémoire has spent the past year expanding their engagement ring styles without the assumption that you are buying a white diamond solitaire with a gold band—can you imagine?! Instead, their thoughtful, organic, hand-hewn designs are filled with sapphires and other fair-trade gemstones, multi-stone bands, and colors, you guys, lots of colors. (And yup, diamond solitaires with particularly lovely settings—that they are also willing to set with your family heirlooms—which just makes my heart so happy.)

Custom Alexandrite and Rose Gold Set 

But designer Aran Galligan’s ethereal, stand-out pieces are just the beginning. Because what truly makes Aide-mémoire Jewelry extra special is how devoted they are to you having a wonderful experience picking out your ring—and how good you can feel about where the ring came from. As Aran told us:

We often hear from customers that they just couldn’t see themselves in other jewelry stores because they are having a non-traditional wedding, or are LGBT and just felt excluded elsewhere. My designs are very minimal with a focus on wearability, which is often hard to find in mainstream jewelry stores.

Our customers always comment on how easy we made the whole process for them, and how we made it less daunting. They appreciate the educational blog posts that we have, which help them in the research process. We are all about honest education so that people make informed decisions; we are not about pressuring people. Similarly, our material sourcing goes beyond the typical green sourcing to make sure that what we work with is truly as ethical and conflict-free as possible. We spend a lot of time researching our materials and suppliers to ensure that they are in-line with our values.

It is very important to us that there is integrity behind everything we do.

Not to mention the fact that Aide-mémoire makes monthly donations to places like Lambda Legal, Direct Relief, The Hunger Project, Human Rights Campaign, and Ethical Metalsmiths. And how their gold bands start as low as $110. But enough talking, let’s get to the eye candy:

2mm Diamond Bump Ring, $280

Pear Solitaire with Peach Padparadscha Sapphire in 14k Yellow Gold, custom

Diamond V Contour Band, $520 with 4mm Oblique Solitaire, $720

 Conflict-Free Diamond Basket Solitaire, $745 with Diamond Eternity Band, $420

Oval Solitaire Engagement Ring with Pink Champagne Sapphire, custom

Edgeless Solitaire, $555

White Gold Hand-hewn Wedding Band, $485

Aqua Blue Montana Sapphire Solitaire Engagement Ring, $750

Bead-Set Five Stone Ring, $515

Pear-Cut Solitaire Engagement Ring, $715