"Six necklaces for today. One for twenty years from now."
A seemingly simple order...
"My daughter is four. She'll wear one as my flower girl, but really... it's for her wedding day.
I know you think I'm crazy - planning for a day so far away, but every time I look at her tiny face, I see the woman she'll become."
We’ve never had an order quite like Sophie's. It’s always stuck in my mind.
It seems that not every wedding gift is meant for the same wedding.
"Everyone tells you they grow up too fast," Sophie whispered, showing us a photo of little Lily on her phone.
"Some days I just want to freeze time. But then I think about all the beautiful moments ahead – her first day of school, her graduation, and yes, maybe her wedding day. This necklace... it's my way of being there, even as time moves forward."
What would have been a simple bridesmaid's order became a moment I hadn't fully considered before... That same necklace being worn twenty-something years from now.
I fell silent.
She pulled out a handwritten note, her hands trembling slightly, etched with words that felt like a lifetime of love:
"My darling daughter, Today, as I prepare to walk down the aisle, you're still small enough to scoop up in my arms. By the time you read this note on your own wedding day, you'll be all grown up, and I'll be scattering petals for you. But know that the heart you're wearing carried all my love for you from the very beginning.This heart has been waiting to dance at your wedding since you danced at mine.Love, Mum."
Each letter inscribed with the reverence reserved for treasures meant to outlive us all.
"I want her to have a piece of my heart" she explained. "Her 'something old', I hope, would be filled with the love I feel for her right now."
How do you craft a piece of jewellery knowing it will bridge two weddings, decades apart?
As I packaged the order, I couldn't help but picture little Lily, first twirling in her flower girl dress, then years later, opening a special box to find her mother's gift waiting patiently for its second dance.
Six necklaces for her bridesmaids, destined to sparkle for a day. But the seventh – that one would be eternal.
Yesterday, Sophie sent me a photo -
Six bridesmaids in blush pink, their heart necklaces catching the light. And there in the middle stood little Lily, tiny fingers wrapped around her own special necklace – completely unaware of the decades of love she held in her small hands.
Somewhere in the future, another photo will echo this one. A grown Lily, holding the same necklace, reading her mother's words on her own wedding morning.
I think that the most precious jewellery isn't about what it looks like, but about the moments it witnesses alongside you.
With love and happy tears…
