My darlings, I just got back from the most fabulous trip for a speaking engagement in Louisville and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
The Frazier History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky has a fantastic exhibit called Love & Marriage, dedicated to the history of (you guessed it!) love and marriage in Kentucky.
I had the pleasure of celebrating the exhibit with a night of fun at the Frazier: whiskey tastings, rounds of The Newlywed Game, free ring inspections and cleanings from local jewelry store Davis Jewelers, a panel discussion with jewelry experts (including yours truly), and a raffle for one attendee to win a $3,000 diamond necklace.
I was there with Jewelers MutuaI®, who – in their role as Education Sponsor of the Love & Marriage exhibit – put together our panel of experts to share knowledge on engagement ring styles and timeless trends, celebrity influence, and jewelry care and protection.
Brilliance & Beyond Panel
Our Brilliance & Beyond panel of jewelry experts was moderated by Emili Vesilind, Jewelry Trends Expert at Jewelers Mutual and Editor-in-Chief of its publication, Gem + Jewel.
I had the pleasure of speaking alongside NYC-based jewelry designer and Louisville Native Shahla Karimi, and Ashley Davis, VP of Louisville’s beloved Davis Jewelers.
The key takeaways:
- Yellow gold is trending! Elongated diamonds are hot for engagement rings, especially ovals, and there is a lot of interest in antique and antique-inspired stones.
- Recent celebrity engagement rings fall into two categories: the gaudiest, most expensive oval diamond possible (Lauren Sanchez, Hailey Bieber, Georgina Rodriguez) OR interesting, uniquely beautiful rings that show personal style (Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez and Zoe Kravitz).
- Jewelry care is vital: take off your rings for heavy duty activities, have them professionally inspected and cleaned periodically (especially daily favorites), and – most importantly – get a dedicated jewelry insurance policy so that you can wear your jewelry without fear.
- I shared that my favorite engagement ring stones are antique diamonds and then rhapsodized about my love for a fragile green gemstone called sphene, which I adore despite the fact that it is not remotely suited for engagement rings.
Love & Marriage Exhibit
The Frazier History Museum’s Love & Marriage exhibit was a delight, all the more so because I had the pleasure of a private tour before the crowds arrived.
I ran straight to the enormous, wall-sized timeline of engagement ring design evolution over time! It’s right next to a very cool display from Davis Jewelers where you can design your own ring.
There is also a parade of wedding dresses going back to the late 1800’s, each with a plaque naming the real life Kentucky couple who loaned it and when and where they were married, as well as displays featuring a wedding dress designed for a wheelchair user, a wedding dress made from a WWII parachute, and traditional attire from weddings of Jewish, Nigerian, Hindu, Palestinian, Buddhist, and Mexican Kentuckians.
I appreciated and admired how the exhibit honored those Kentuckians who have had to fight for their love with displays about the realities of marriage for enslaved Kentuckians, the challenges of finding love as a queer person during the Depression era, the history of interracial marriage, the AIDS epidemic, the local area’s connection to the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision, and more.
Learning about the lengths to which people have gone to secure the right to marry as they wish displayed next to all the wedding outfits that represent happy couples married in Kentucky was truly powerful and beautiful.
I very much enjoyed frolicking around the Frazier after hours living my nerdy childhood dreams of exploring an empty museum at night (yes, I have read The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler many times).
The Frazier History Museum’s Love & Marriage exhibit runs until March 29, 2026 and I highly recommend visiting if you have the chance!
A huge thank you to Jewelers Mutual, Davis Jewelers, and the Frazier History Museum for this incredible experience! I loved being a part of it.
This sponsored post is brought to you by Jewelers Mutual.
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