The nose ring shall stay!

Ashley (obviously):

I have a nose ring.

I have had said nose ring since 2004. It was one of the many piercings I got during my college days in Santa Cruz, California, and perhaps one that I was most excited about getting for the following reasons:

a. Source of initial inspiration: Joan Osborne. You know, the chick who debuted with the single titled "One Of Us" circa 1995, posing the question, "What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us?" It was brilliant. I loved her voice, dug the melody, and thoroughly enjoyed the sound of the gnarly guitar riff. I  received her cassette tape (yeah, cassette tape...wow, I wonder where it is??) as a gift from my mom and I was thrilled, but it was seeing Joan Osborne's music video on VH1 that helped formulate my opinion of what a cool, laid-back, hippie-chic,California girl looks like...and what I wouldn't mind looking like "when I grew up." At the tender (and impressionable) age of 11, Joan Osborne quickly became my female icon of cool---not only was she a groovy singer-songwriter, but she had a most powerful "look" that I interpreted as a sexy feminist making a statement without being over-the-top. I was awestruck by her curly blonde tendrils and that shiny silver hoop decorating her nostril. She paired these things with a relaxed wardrobe, light make-up, and a perfect smile....but it was always the image of the nose ring that stuck with me. I thought it to be both unique and beautiful, and I knew that I was just "crazy" enough to pierce a hole in my face one day.

b. Nose piercings were welcome and celebrated in Santa Cruz. That should have come as no surprise really, since the place is a liberal breeding grounds for wanna-be, semi, and true-blue-crunchy-granola hippies....as well as non-hippies who just enjoy arts'y ways of expressing themselves. Piercings of all sorts proved to be part of the norm, and having come from a part of San Diego that was so conservative and "white bread," I was pleasantly surprised to find that this fun aesthetic / body decoration was relatively common. Getting a nose piercing as a 20-something college student in Santa Cruz was LESS than unique, I'll admit, but I was amped about it anyway...and even MORE psyched that it was quick and painless!

c. Getting a nose piercing was a "happy middle-ground" type of piercing. It definitely had more "umph!" than a basic ear piercing (which I ended up having a total of 14 of by the time I was a junior in college), but it wasn't as distracting and "cutting edge" as a lip, tongue, or eyebrow piercing. Nevertheless, I knew having a piercing ANYWHERE on my face was risky because "having a piece of tin in my face" would upset my mother...... and it did....for a short while....but I don't regret coming home that Thanksgiving with a nose stud. A simple diamond stud is rather tame, and I think my mom did finally realize that when she stopped to think about all the other things I COULD have been doing up at college, but wasn't. :o)

SO! Here I am, six years later, still with a nose ring and still very happy with it....and, oh yeah, engaged to be married in just four months now. Like every other bride-to-be, I've been flipping through countless bridal magazines, searching for inspirational images; brides who I feel like I can identify with in terms of personal style, wedding aesthetic, and so on; guidance and helpful tips for things that I am NO pro in. But, Ive said it before and I'll say it again: most of the bridal magazines out there on the stands are absolute CRAP. Instead of serving as realistic inspiration, they make you feel a) poor  b) class'less  c) wrong  d) angry  e) all of the above. It has been so frustrating to come across featured weddings and brides that spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on their designer dress, coiffed hair, hoity-toity country club venue, etc. and claim to be "DIY" or "Budget Brides." *HA!* I scoff in their general direction. Even better is when I see how much a bride has spent and I find her whole aesthetic to be completely offensive---hideous dress, bad hair, pompous and pretentious vibes, and unoriginal everything. Not my cup of tea. And yet, while I consider myself to be unique and "above" the trite bride'isms of this century, I can't quite dub myself an "Offbeat Bride." The one obvious facet that does make me "offbeat," however, is my nose piercing.

That's something ya don't see much of--if at all--in the bridal magazines: brides with nose rings. Well, unless they Indian....
[SIDENOTE: I recently learned that it is custom for Indian Hindu women to wear a nose ring, usually in the left nostril, due to the association it has with the female reproductive organs. Interesting, eh? My nose ring happens to be in my left nostril as well......so we better have good luck when it comes to makin' babies!]

Aaaaaaaanywho, back to my being semi-offbeat and the lack of representation of nose-pierced brides: After months (okay, years) of flipping through bridal magazines to evaluate each bride's "look" and learn what is typically acceptable and unacceptable, I only recently came upon the realization that most brides we see are very conservative in their jewelry choices (again, Indian brides being the exception, bless their gorgeous, beaded-and-bright-colored hearts). The typical bride is expected to wear jewelry, but keep it tame...because heaven forbid you wear something other than your grandmother's silver cross necklace and tiny pearl earring studs???

Jewelry is SUCH an issue. Realizing this has caused me to actually stop and think about whether or not I ought to follow suit and be a conservatively-jeweled bride....if my taste for colorful jewelry and my desire to keep my nose ring in is detrimental....and it was the stopping to think about it that actually kind of angered me! Who am I, the girl voted "Most Original" in both Jr. High and High School, to question whether or not my nose ring is acceptable for our wedding?! The nose ring shall stay, period. I adore my nose ring; I feel comfortable and happy with it and it is "me."  Do I really care what the wedding "experts" think? Do I care what our friends and family are going to think when they see me with the gown, the veil, and *GASP!* the small diamond stud in my left nostril? Do I really think that keeping my nose ring in is going to ruin the pictures, or the ceremony, or the reception?

The answer is, obviously, NO.