Bride & Geek: Where My Tolkienphiles At?

 
So, it’s been an exciting, whirlwind week. Dan and I went to a bridal show — which involved being inundated by hundreds of vendors that wanted my information and were trying to promise me the best deals (I even had a free wedding hair style demo done on my hair while I was there) — and then toured a wedding venue and wound up booking our date.

Yep, it’s official, we’re getting married this summer! The place we chose includes the chapel, reception area, a DJ, a full bar, a buffet-style dinner, a wedding cake, no corking or cake-cutting fee, and a photographer. All for a very reasonable price.

While that takes a lot of the pressure off of us to pick out these things (that are legit and highly-recommended by several people I know who have gotten married or been to weddings at the same place), there are still plenty of things to think about, like wedding rings.

As I mentioned in my last installment, my engagement ring (shown here on the right) was designed with inspiration from Nenya, one of the rings forged by the Elves of Eregion. Nenya is described as being made of mithril and adorned with a “white stone” that is presumed to be a diamond. Nenya is worn by Galadriel and is said to possess a radiance that matches that of the stars.

In the movie adaptations, Nenya looks like a flower with a stone inside; of course, having an engagement ring with a stone under the design doesn’t quite work, so instead we went for something that looked like a flower with the stone in the center. The ring (aptly nicknamed “The Precious”) is very dear to me because it was created from my grandmother’s engagement ring and my grandfather’s wedding ring. With a ring like this, I personally only need a simple wedding band, made of white gold to match the metal of the ring.

Dan, however, needs something special. Many people have joked that Dan should have the One Ring. In a way, I kind of like the idea. The Tengwar script is beautiful, after all. However, the One Ring is a thing of darkness, and our lives together shouldn’t be represented by that idea.

It’s fairly popular with those of the Jewish faith to inscribe the phrase “Ani L’Dodi, v’Dodi Li” (“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine”) on the inside of the wedding band — and sometimes on the outside as well. Another phrase I’m fond of is “Matzati et Sh’ahava Nafshi” (“I found him, whom my soul loves”).

How cool would it be to have either (or both!) of these phrases inscribed on Dan’s wedding band — not in English or Hebrew, but in Tengwar, so that the ring can look like the One Ring?

Pretty awesome, I think.

But here’s the catch — I can’t just select a Tolkien font and start typing away. I need to get the phrases translated into one of the Elven languages, either Sindarin or Quenya. So here’s a call for help for any Tolkienphiles that are students of the Elven languages. If you can translate these phrases for me and then write them for me in Tengwar using the Tengwar Annatar type family, then please let me know. But only if your skills are for reals and totes legit. If you wanted to do this for a pair of geeks for your love of language and as a wedding present, that would be cool; but I’d also be willing to pay a negotiable fee.

So, come to me, Tolkienphiles! Or send your language-crazy Tolkien-admiring friends my way. Make our wedding even more geeky and even more precious.