Wedding Bands

Wedding Bands, Wedding Rings
Styles, Patterns, Fashions

A wedding band is the single most important piece of jewelry you are likely to buy or acquire in your lifetime. Your wedding band is the physical symbol of the greatest commitment you make, marrying your true love.

A wedding band is usually a ring made of precious metal, and most people wear them on the base of the ring finger (the fourth finger, if you count the thumb as the first finger). The wedding band symbolizes marital commitment. The groom's bestowing a wedding ring on the bride is almost always part of a wedding ceremony; certainly in Western cultures, it is an element of a weddng with which almost all are familiar. The tradition extends deep into European history, and has grown in popularity in the United States over time.

Most often, the wedding band is made of plain yellow gold. Recent years have seen people opting for more elaborate wedding bands and also bands made of different metals. Rose gold, white gold, and platinum are very popular choices for wedding bands. Metals such as silver, copper, and bronze are very seldom used in wedding bands, though jewelers may work with these metals for other purposes, because the metals are not strong enough to last the way wedding bands are expected to last.

There was a time when women wore wedding bands but men were less likely to; these days, men are more inclined to also participate in the wearing of a wedding band, and we see more and more double ring wedding ceremonies. Occasionally someone will not wear their wedding ring every day because their job makes the wearing of jewelry hazardous, but rings are almost always part of the wedding ceremony, and the wedding ring will be worn on special occasions even if it can't be safely worn every day. Men's rings tend to be more broad than women's bands, which are usually more dainty in scope.

Different cultures have over the years developed traditional styles for wedding bands. In Ireland, the Claddagh ring is commonly given as a wedding ring. This is a band which depicts two hands holding a heart; over the heart, a crown hovers. These symbols are meant to remind one of love, friendship, and loyalty. In some Mediterranean cultures, puzzle rings (also known as gimmel rings) are given; these are rings that are made of thin bands of metal that are carefully interconnected so that they interlock in a very specific way. Once "disassembled," it takes time to get the linked rings set back in place; the puzzle is meant to prove a man's fidelity. In Jewish wedding ceremonies, the wedding band traditionally will not bear any stones or have any holes in its pattern.

People from almost all traditions now have their wedding bands engraved before the wedding ceremony. Sometimes the engraving is something as simple as the couple's initials and the wedding date. Occasionally, a phrase with significance and meaning to the couple will be engraved; one couple, avid fencers, had their rings engraved with their wedding date and the phrase - in this case with a double-edged significance - "To the Death."

In North America it is common to see married women wear both their engagement ring and their wedding ring on the same finger, and it is more and more likely that the rings will have been purchased with the intention of getting complementary designs.

The moment that a couple exchanges wedding bands is a moment like no other. At that time, one's sense of commitment and attachment to one's true love brings more joy than anything else in the world ever could. The ring, which most people wear every day, is a daily reminder of that love and commitment… and joy.




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