MATT LAUER, co-host:
We are back and ready to get down to business on
TODAY'S WEDDING
,
MODERN LOVE
. Let's put a ring on them. Just a couple of minutes ago we announced the winning couple,
Melissa
and
Jeremy
, who are going to get married live on our plaza coming up in just a couple of weeks,
September 30th
. And now we start with our first vote, the
wedding bands
.
Avril Graham
, the executive fashion and beauty editor for
Harper's Bazaar
, is here with four fantastic choices.
Avril
, good morning to you.
Melissa
, good morning to you again.
Ms. MELISSA McMILLIN:
LAUER:
Jeremy
joining us live from
Bagram Air Base
in
Afghanistan
, which has got to be a real kick for him, kind of surreal I would imagine. Anyway, before we talk about this, are you OK? I mean, have you come to terms with the idea that you're going to have basically no control over this process over the next several weeks?
Ms. McMILLIN:
I'm excited about that. I'm excited to see what other people are going to choose for me. I don't really care, I'm just so happy it's us.
LAUER:
Even when we get down to something like this, what you're going to wear
for the rest of your life
?
Ms. McMILLIN:
Yeah. I mean, it's our wedding. Why not?
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. McMILLIN:
We'll go big or go home, so.
LAUER:
All right. That's great. And,
Avril
, let's talk about -- not only in their situation because this is accelerated.
Ms. AVRIL GRAHAM:
Yes.
LAUER:
Generally speaking, a couple getting married, how quickly or how early do they need to start picking out
wedding bands
?
Ms. GRAHAM:
I think you should start picking out
wedding bands
straight away, as soon as possible. I mean, that's going to be your biggest expense
at the end of the day
.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
And it's something you're going to be wearing forever, so you have to get it right.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Yeah.
Ms. GRAHAM:
I thought this was a huge responsibility choosing this for you...
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
...
and I
really wanted each one to have a story behind each one.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
And our first one that I went with was from a company called
Brilliant Earth
and they are a very green eco-conscious company. And they wanted to be sure -- they -- well, they do, they -- in their line, make sure that everything is ethically mined, it's recycled platinum. So they ensure that every stage of the jewelry-making is all conflict-free and eco-conscious and absolutely green.
LAUER:
And actually they donate a percentage of their profits each year to causes that are -- that are very great.
Ms. GRAHAM:
To causes, yeah. To the communities in
Africa
that have been affected by bad mining practices. So that's a really good, you know, great one.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Beautiful.
LAUER:
And we're looking at these. The guy's band is
beautiful
and the -- and the woman's, the bride's band is
a little bit more
elaborate.
Ms. GRAHAM:
You'll be able to see this closer up on the
Web site
and on
Facebook
, but it's a scrolled vine story, lots of
diamonds
. Absolutely
beautiful
.
LAUER:
Next is
Neil Lane
. This is very popular. He's a very popular guy in
Hollywood
.
Ms. GRAHAM:
Yeah, absolutely. I'm on this show talking how fabulously he dresses everybody on the red carpet after the big awards seasons.
Neil
knows about style, he knows about elegance and he dresses, you know, everyone from
Barbra Streisand
to
Gwyneth Paltrow
to
Jennifer Lopez
, all the big names. He's a celebrity jeweler, so it'll be very glittery. It's 116
diamonds
...
Ms. McMILLIN:
Beautiful.
Ms. GRAHAM:
...set on three sides on this particular band.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
LAUER:
Can you see
Jeremy
wearing that band?
Ms. GRAHAM:
So...
Ms. McMILLIN:
Yes.
LAUER:
...the guy's band there? Yeah?
Ms. McMILLIN:
I absolutely could.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Love it.
Ms. GRAHAM:
And it's all designed and individually signed by
Neil Lane
. So this is a real sparkly celebrity number.
LAUER:
Next you've chosen
Diamonds For
a
Cure
. Tell me the story behind this company.
Ms. GRAHAM:
Yes. This was founded by expert goldsmith
Neda Behnam
, who is a
cancer survivor
. And she wanted to -- she obviously makes gorgeous jewelry, and in this particular setting we have seven
beautiful
princess-
cut diamonds
set in platinum. And even your husband-to-be will have some
diamonds
in his ring, there's three set in here, too. And she really wanted to
let us
think about
diamonds
as -- are precious and so is life.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
And so, again, proceeds of every sale that she ever has from her line go towards
a cure for cancer
. So again, anyone that's been affected in your family from that disease...
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
...you know that you're giving something back when you're wearing this.
LAUER:
And they have a laser etching of the logo on each piece...
Ms. GRAHAM:
Yes, inside each one, so gorgeous.
LAUER:
...as a support.
Ms. GRAHAM:
So far, are you excited?
Ms. McMILLIN:
No, they're
beautiful
. Oh, my gosh.
LAUER:
Now your accent's going to fit perfectly with this next one. Go ahead.
Ms. GRAHAM:
OK. This one has a very royal connection.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
This one is an English brand and they have had a great connection with royalty from -- since
Queen Victoria
gave them a
royal warrant
in
1862
, and she had a very sort of long and fabulous marriage to her husband.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
They currently have a warrant from no less than
His Royal Highness Prince Charles
, Prince of Wales.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Wow.
LAUER:
We haven't said the name of the company yet, it's
Asprey
.
Ms. GRAHAM:
It's
Asprey
.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
It's a very prestigious brand. And incidentally, there's a connection there, too,
Prince Harry
also, son of
Prince Charles
, fought in
Afghanistan
, too...
Ms. McMILLIN:
Oh.
Ms. GRAHAM:
...so there is a connection. And in this particular one you're going to be getting sapphire and
diamonds
interspersed throughout the bands.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Beautiful.
Ms. GRAHAM:
So on each of these stories there's something quite interesting behind each of these brands and they're really gorgeous.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm. They're...
LAUER:
And you're not allowed to tell me which is your favorite, that's taboo here during this process, but you're happy with the selections?
Ms. McMILLIN:
They're all
beautiful
. It's more than I could ever ask for. You did such a good job. They're...
LAUER:
Jeremy
, I know there's a big delay to
Afghanistan
, but have you been able to see any of this? And what do you think?
Mr. JEREMY GEBHARDT:
Yes, I have the printouts right in front of me and they're all absolutely gorgeous. And like you said, they all go for a good cause, so any one of these would be more, like
Melissa
said, more than I could ever ask for and it also goes out to help other people across the country. So they're all -- they're all
beautiful
.
LAUER:
He's so easy to get along with. He's really -- he's great. That's terrific.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Easy-going, yes.
LAUER:
Yeah, he is.
Ms. GRAHAM:
I mean, this is something you're going to wear
for the rest of your life
.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. GRAHAM:
You know, possibly giving birth in, everything...
Ms. McMILLIN:
Yeah.
Ms. GRAHAM:
...you know, all of these things, so it's a big responsibility for us to get this...
LAUER:
You're getting a little ahead of yourself there,
Avril
.
Ms. McMILLIN:
Yeah, I was like, oh!
LAUER:
Let's get them hitched first, all right?
Ms. GRAHAM:
That's the -- that's the next thing, that's the next thing. But anyway.
LAUER:
All right.
Avril
,
thank you so much
for the selections. We appreciate it.
Melissa
, we can't wait to see you more in the coming weeks, all right?
Ms. McMILLIN:
Thank you. Yes.
LAUER:
Jeremy
, you hang in there. We'll see you in a couple of weeks as well. And to vote, you can go to our
Web site
at todayshow.com and you can vote for the set of
wedding bands
you want to see
Jeremy
and
Melissa
exchange vows on -- in on their wedding day. You can also text in your votes to 622639. Text one for
Brilliant Earth
, two for
Neil Lane
, three for
Diamonds For
a
Cure
, and four for
Asprey
. You can also go to facebook.com/todayshow. And don't forget to like us on
Facebook
to follow our wedding progress. We already have some dedicated staffers checking our page for your comments and votes. We're going to reveal the winning rings next Wednesday. A little later this morning, we're going to check out the latest
wedding favor
trends. But up next,
Nate Berkus
shows you how to pick up some great design elements at a local garage sale or even on the curb. But first, this is TODAY on
NBC
.
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