The months leading to the happiest day in a couple’s life, ironically, are the most hectic and stressful. There’s too much to take care of in wedding planning and not much time to make everything perfect. And if there’s one thing a wedding needs to be—the one day you profess to the world that you want to be together forever—it’s to be flawless.
Your wedding rings are top priority. No matter how “too much” the wedding planning may go, you will make it through if you secure these precious symbols of eternal love. There are a few guidelines you can follow to make sure you and your partner choose the perfect wedding rings. You see, no matter how plausible Taylor Swift’s song is, paper rings are not that romantic.
Be Realistic with Your Budget
The success of weddings largely depend on whether or not they operate within the budget set by the couple in the first place. You have to make sure that you allot about 3 percent of your budget on the wedding rings. For example, you may have to spend about $1,000 for a 14-karat gold or a platinum wedding ring. And that’s only for simple designs, without embellishments or engravings.
If you want to engrave your names on the bands, take note that the engraving price is usually per character. The price also varies for hand-engraved or machine-engraved rings. Other embellishments, like diamonds and other stones, will significantly add cost, of course, so be sure you have everything factored in before you get carried away when shopping for wedding rings.
Search for Your Wedding Ring Early
And so the hunt for the perfect wedding ring begins. But hey, don’t make it a one-week hunt or, worse, just a few days before the actual day. It needs to be as early as two to three months before your wedding. You may not think much of it, but it’s more than just looking at display glasses and picking out rings out of the blue.
You need time to research for different types and styles of wedding rings. Then you will have to schedule shop visits to browse for rings and ask attendants all about them. If you’re the sentimental or romantic type and you want to have your rings custom made, you need to allot a time frame for that too. Custom-made rings, like engraved ones, usually take longer.
Narrow Down Your Choices
When you go out to shop for wedding rings, you’ll find that there are countless of choices out there—and most of them feel like they’re “the one.” So what happens if you end up with a dozen “the ones” in your list of possible weddings rings? How do you narrow down to your final choice?
Your personal style helps much—a simple gold or platinum band, a ring similar to your engagement ring, matching rings with your partner, embellishments, or maybe a diamond ring. Whichever is your style, you will likely find one online. You’ll see a vast collection of products with some offering flexible payment terms. Above all else buy from a trusted jeweler online to ensure the product’s authenticity and after sales service.
Once you’ve figured out these things, making your choice among hundreds of wedding rings won’t be too overwhelming.
Bring Your Partner When You Buy Your Wedding Ring
You are shopping for the ultimate couple rings. These are more important than the promise rings you gave each other on your anniversary or your engagement ring. Wedding rings involve you and your partner, so it’s both rational and romantic to look at wedding rings together.
You’ll have a great time consulting different jewelers and trying out different beautiful wedding rings. This experience will add another sweet memory from your wedding.
Think about Your Personality and Lifestyle
Consider that you can’t take off your wedding rings. You’ll have to wear them every day, and if they don’t match your lifestyle or your line of work, for example, you’ll be uncomfortable. You need to pick the style and metal that can blend in well with your life.
You can go for the popular comfort fit. They are slim rings with rounded edges. You can also go for the durable platinum rings. These wedding rings are perfect for couples who play instruments, are into playing sports, or have very active lifestyles.
There are also wedding rings that come with a simple solid metal if you, say, love gardening or work with woodcraft or other jobs requiring the use of your hands.
Learn How to Maintain the Quality of Your Wedding Rings
Nothing lasts for a long time without proper care. The same goes for your wedding rings. Different styles require different methods of maintenance.
The easiest ones to clean are simple gold and platinum rings. All you need is to rub them with a soft, lint-free cloth or chamois.
Wedding rings with stones take more to clean. To keep them clean and gleaming, you’ll need warm, soapy water; toothbrush or eyebrow brush; and soft, lint-free cloth. Wash and soak your rings in the water, brush them gently, rinse, and then pat them dry with the cloth.
The Road to Forever
With these tips, you are well on your way to finding the wedding rings you will treasure throughout your married life. And since you picked them with your partner, they have more meaning to the both of you. They add a whole lot of meaning to your wedding as well.
Although perfection may not be necessarily true with all weddings (nobody has control over wedding mishaps), if you get to say “I do” and put the ring on, isn’t that perfect enough?
