Entrepreneur.com
Written by Alexa Vaughn of Entrepreneur.com
As more than 2 million U.S. couples sort out their wedding budgets -- which averaged $28,732 in 2007 -- they'll collectively be spending more than $62.8 billion this year to make the experience as memorable and personal as possible.
And sometimes that requires looking for entrepreneurs specializing in something a little more than ordinary.
At the Wedding Ring Workshop USA, for instance, couples not only design, but also make their own rings with the guidance of an experienced jeweler.
"We don't really sell rings, we sell an experience," says owner Lewis Barnes, 84, who carefully selects jewelers across the country as much for their skills as their personalities. "It's great fun, and it's a loving memory for the whole of their lives."
The day-long process includes lunch, a disposable camera to document the experience and a bottle of champagne at the end -- when Barnes says their faces beam at their creations because the jeweler guarantees customers they won't mess it up.
Some customers go solo to create a surprise.
"I had one young lady fly in from Houston to make her fiancé's wedding ring," Barnes says. "Later she emailed me that after it was announced she made the ring herself at the ceremony, he just stood mesmerized by his hand for the rest of the ceremony."
Barnes discovered the business idea through his daughter, who was doing PR for the flagship Wedding Ring Workshop business in the United Kingdom. Barnes met with its creator, Simon Lewis, and got a master license to expand the business to the United States. After testing a San Diego location for two years, Barnes has added four locations in the past 18 months and is in the process of starting another in Boston.
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