Wedding Band
The wedding band is something that is almost universally exchanged between men and women when they wed. Weddings bands are the centerpiece of the wedding ceremony the way the wedding cake is the center of the reception. Wedding rings are a universal symbol and replicas are often used in the wedding table decoration in confetti or in the tying of favors. The rings are supposed to symbolize the never-ending love that they have and the promise to make their relationship last forever. Wedding bands are an important part of the ceremony and will be a permanent fixture in your lives once you are married. That is why it is important that you pick the right wedding band for you and your partner. The rings have to be comfortable to wear, the appropriate size so that they do not interfere with your daily work, representative of your personality, and compliment the engagement ring for the woman. Although it is typically the responsibility of the woman to pay for the wedding bands, you should pick them out together to make sure that everyone is pleased with the final wedding band decision.
Many men and women decide to get matching wedding band sets. In wedding band sets, the rings for the man and woman match each other. Sometimes the wedding band designs are the same only different sizes. This choice is especially nice in the pictures for the wedding albums. The picture to the left shows a wedding band set that follows this rule. Other times, the wedding band set has rings that complement each other but are slightly different in design. For example, the wedding band metals could be the same but the male ring could have an inlay and the female wedding band will not because it would detract from the engagement ring. Even if you decide not buy wedding rings that match, another way to make two rings seem like they are a wedding band set is to put matching engravings inside. Wedding band engraving is a great way to link your bands together into a set. Some common wedding band engraving quotes are things like “My One and Only” or, “Together Forever.” Other people put their initials and the wedding date. If you choose to engrave your wedding bands then you will need to make sure that they are large enough for the engraving. Some women’s wedding bands are very thin and cannot be engraved. Make sure you think about this before picking out your wedding bands.
One important thing to think about is what kind of material you want your wedding band to be made of. A gold wedding band is most common. White gold or yellow gold are both used in wedding bands. Whatever wedding band metal you choose, it should match the metal of your engagement ring. An up and coming trend is the titanium wedding band. Titanium is used widely in industries such as aircraft, submarines, and industrial parts. Recently it has been used to make wedding bands as well. Three propreties make titanium a good choice for wedding bands. First, it is hypoallergenic so it will not react with people’s skin. Many people are allergic to gold and cannot wear other jewelry. The titanium wedding band is a good substitute for them. Second, titanium does not react with most substances so it is safe to wear it while performing a multitude of tasks. Water, cleaners, or exposure to chemicals at work will not damage the titanium wedding band. Finally, titanium is extremely lightweight. When my husband and I got married, he said that he would not be able to wear a wedding band because the weight of it would bother his arthritis. However, when he tried on a titanium wedding band he said it was so light that he barely noticed it.
In addition to matching the wedding band metal, many woman want wedding band enhancers or wedding band wraps to complement their engagement rings. A wedding band enhancer is any wedding band that continues the theme of the engagement ring or enhances the stones on the engagement ring. The picture to the right shows a wedding band enhancer that is a solid band. A very specific kind of wedding band enhancer is the wedding band wrap. A wedding band wrap is a band that has stones that actually wrap around the solitary stone in the engagement ring to make it look like the wedding band settings have more than one stone. If you are purchasing your wedding bands at a different location from your engagement ring or if your engagement ring is a one of a kind then you might want to consider designing your own wedding band wrap. A jewelry designer or jeweler should be able to help you with this.
Some people choose not to buy new wedding bands, but rather use an antique wedding band that has been passed down in their family. If you have a family heirloom like this then you should make sure that your fiancé knows so that the engagement ring can be chosen based on the wedding band. Even though this is the reverse of what normally happens, you want to make sure that the engagement ring will set off the antique wedding band well and not over shadow it. Another alternative is the use of wedding band tattoos. It is not uncommon to see people have a tattoo around their ring finger in place of a wedding band. This gesture is a very permanent one and speaks to the commitment of the parties involved. If you have a wedding band tattoo then you might have a design as well as a person’s name tattooed there. The possibilities are much more abundant than what is available in actual wedding bands.
