WaveMaker Lauryn L. Shares her sand story of how Dune has captured important milestones with her husband, Ryan.

I first found out about Dune Jewelry in 2017 and loved the idea!  I love to travel and grew up collecting shells and sand on every family vacation.  That hasn’t stopped, but now I drag my husband along with me ha!  Just like everyone else, our story is unique. 

May 6, 2015

Cozumel Mexico Vacation

Ryan and I began dating; he moved from Connecticut to Florida in December.  Long-distance wasn’t easy but overcoming those challenges and visiting Florida was worth it and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  The first vacation we went on together was a cruise out of Tampa that I got Ryan for our one-year anniversary.  We spent a quick weekend in Cozumel, then it was back to reality and home to CT for me until he moved home at the end of June 2016.  

April 1, 2019

Neither of us realized it was April Fools Day.  For over a year leading up to this day, Ryan joked that I would have to propose to him – definitely love his sense of humor! We would be on the beach somewhere nice, we would have 3 Corona Lights, a margarita, and a sandwich before I would either have to skydive down to the beach or flyboard and pop-up out of the ocean and propose to him!  My flyboarding skills are rusty so I definitely would have dropped the ring… 

Little did I know that Ryan was actually telling me how he was going to propose to me all along! Luckily I got to enjoy my 3 Corona Lights, a margarita, and a sandwich on Coki Beach in St. Thomas! I was completely surprised and in true Ryan fashion, he purchased my engagement ring the day before at a jewelry store we had visited in Old San Juan on a cruise the year prior! Brownie points to him for remembering that store.  

Ryan was strutting his stuff up and down Coki Beach that day to get on a flyboard to propose to me while I would be up on a cliff.  There were six of us at Coki Beach and I can’t tell you how many times Ryan reminded us to watch his backpack, we just kept responding “yeah sure. It’s right there. It’s fine. We’re in the water we can see it. Relax!”  Unfortunately, the jet ski wasn’t available, so the flyboard proposal was out of the question.  My butter-finger husband decided to propose to me in the water at Coki Beach!  It was so perfect and neither of us dropped the ring!

2020

Luxe Horizon & Delicate Dune Round Bracelet

A year none of us will forget, though I’m sure there are parts we wish we could.  2020 was actually a wicked awesome year for us.  For my 2020 birthday gift, Ryan gifted me two bracelets from Dune Jewelry.  One is a Delicate Dune Round Bracelet with sand from Cozumel for our first vacation as a couple, and the other was a Luxe Horizon Bracelet with shell from Hapuna Beach on the Big Island in Hawaii for our upcoming Honeymoon. We planned our wedding, stuck with our date, made the best of it and had the most fun and memorable night of 2020 – per many of our guests.  

We got married in Vermont on October 2, 2020.  Less than a week before our wedding we had to cancel our honeymoon to Hawaii due to the state shutting down. I was devastated. I asked Ryan to please plan something since I have this time off work, and we will save Hawaii for a time we can go and enjoy it. Boy did we!  Ryan planned a weekend in Bar Harbor, Maine for our first honeymoon.  It was both of our first times there, with beautiful weather, fall foliage, and a cute town to celebrate our marriage in.  

March 2021

Delicate Dune Wave Bracelet made with shells of Hawaii

We made it to Hawaii for two weeks!  One week on the big island, one week on Oahu.  We made sure to stop at Hapuna Beach to see it for ourselves – so perfect.  We were so thankful to be able to celebrate our “second” honeymoon in Hawaii, even though it was delayed.  A must-visit was Green Sand Beach on the Big Island which was so beautiful!  I had a Delicate Dune Wave Bracelet made with shells of Hawaii as a gift to myself from our honeymoon.  

October 2, 2021

Our first anniversary.  We celebrated a week early because my husband’s (construction) job wasn’t quite done yet.  We had to cancel our original plans to go to Nashville, which I’m glad we did because I was able to visit the Dune Boutique in Harwich Port, MA, and check that off my bucket list!  After he beat me in mini-golf I suggested we go to Chatham, we never made it there because we passed the Dune Boutique (which I planned).  The store is fantastic and so cute!  Ryan absolutely loved the sand wall- he spent our whole time there just looking at all the sand, seeing how different they were!  It’s definitely a cool feature! 

 I knew I wanted a new piece of jewelry to remember our first wedding anniversary at the Cape.  The Boho Stack Ring caught my eye by the register, as Kellie was just unpacking them!  I love stackable rings and how unique they are.  I chose to go with the Cape Cod sand and blue hydrangeas because blue is my favorite color and hydrangeas are all over the Cape.  It also reminds me of my parent’s house I grew up in; the front of the house is lined with everchanging hydrangeas, it’s so beautiful and comforting.  Now I have both with me at all times!  

Boho Stack Ring made with Cape Cod sand and blue hydrangeas

I love wearing these pieces!  They’re delicate, they can be dressed up or down, they’re beautiful and so special to me!  I look forward to adding to my collection and spreading the Dune word to my loved ones!