hammering out the ring situation

You've seen my engagement ring.  What good is an engagement ring post with out an accompanying wedding band story?

As I grew up I saw bands like these on Mama and Papa Pencils' hands and to me, it is quintessential wedding ring-ness.  So, initially, I assumed we'd end up with rings like these:

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Then Mr. Pencil went and blinged out my engagement ring and I found myself being drawn to beautiful pave rings that match my e-ring, like these:

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My halo set pave ring is not raised, meaning it has no space to allow a normal band to fit correctly. While we did find one pave ring that was thin enough to look ok, ideally I imagined a ring that would sit flush against my current ring:

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What bothered me about this option was that I wouldn't be able to just wear my wedding ring by itself, because of the odd shape.  I also would have to have it custom made, as my radiant cut ring didn't seem to fit any of the standard settings.  Custom made usually = massive amounts of money. Sad face.

To alleviate the worry of this oddly shaped band, I considered buying a "stand in" sterling silver wedding band for fifty bucks.  I could wear just this ring on the days I don't feel like going all out with e-ring and matching band.  A "stand in" would be simple, durable, and it's not the end of the world if it got lost or scratched.

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With no real progress being made (simply more options for an indecisive bride is not conducive to making a choice) Mr. Pencils and I gave up on the search for my ring for a while and took some time to find what he wanted.  He was really drawn to rings like these:

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In the end, we both decided we want an overall simply-designed ring with some sort of 'twist.  We both wanted them to be comfortable, unique, and meaningful.  At first, the meaningful seemed to come with the idea of engraving something.  I imagined something like this on our rings:

I choose you (simple, sweet, to the point)

You're my favorite (something I say to Mr. Pencils daily)

Something good (to reference the song we finally chose for our first dance)

You're the reason (a reference to one of my favorite quotes by Nietzsche)

Then Mr. Pencils took an afternoon to search for better options and found the solution.  The Wedding Ring Workshop.  There are many across the globe, in the US and the UK, and they are artists' studios where professional jewelry makers help couples lacking melting and welding skills (i.e. the Pencils) form, hammer, and forge wedding bands for one another.  It's not cheap, but also not as expensive as some of the wedding bands we were finding.  They use recycled metal (gold, silver, platinum- couples' choice) and we get to take the rings home the same day we make them!

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The biggest caveat with this decision is that now I will become a switch hand bride, meaning I'll have to move my engagement ring to my right hand so that I can wear my wedding band on my left.  I'm happy with this choice because I'll be able to just wear my wedding band on days I don't feel like blingin' out.

Mr. Pencils and I will be making our own wedding bands in February and I'm saying a silent prayer that these artists can help even an talent-starved bride-to-be like me create something worth wearing.  We've sent them the images of the ones Mr. P likes and they say it's completely doable.  Now I have to decide what I want my ring to look like...suggestions?

How many wedding bands did you look at before choosing one?  Anyone else going to be switching their engagement ring to their right hand after marriage?