A wedding is all about the coming together of two separate yet complementary entities: your engagement ring and your wedding ring.
Oh yeah, and you and your SO.
But we’re assuming your relationship is rock solid at this point, so let’s make sure that the pairing of your engagement ring and wedding ring is too. Here are a few things to remember when you’re in the design process…
You want your engagement ring and wedding band metals to be the same hardness, even if they’re not the same colour. If there’s a difference, the harder ring will gradually wear the softer one away, either damaging the surface or obliterating design details. Take this seriously. We’ve heard some truly tragic tales out there of beautiful engagement-ring engraving being rubbed off by a harder wedding band. (Haven’t we all suffered enough lately?)
And it’s not just a question of, for example, gold versus tungsten carbide (such an unsexy name for a pretty sexy metal). A lot of factors affect hardness within the gold family itself, which means you could have two yellow-gold rings that look similar but don’t play well together on your finger. We can’t imagine that an eroding wedding band is a good omen for domestic bliss, so always double-check your metals with your jeweller.
Your rings should fit together snugly along a flat edge to avoid rubbing, scratching and damage to details. Life is busy and ain’t nobody got time for plastic ring guards, DIY BandAid solutions or resizing/remaking, so ideally you want to get this right the first time around.
There are a few things to think about here. Do you want your rings to sit flush together, or can you live with a slight gap between them? If you want them flush together, you could consider an engagement ring with a high-profile setting, so your wedding band can snuggle in underneath.
Another option? A contoured band that accommodates your unique engagement ring. Considering the world’s current love affair with elongated and oval stones, we’re seeing more wedding bands with these beautiful customised contours. Or you could get really elaborate with a nesting or interlocking bridal set that fits together like a puzzle piece. (It’s, like, a metaphor, you guys…)
Don’t forget that there are two ring fingers in the mix here. Talk to your partner about what they want for their wedding band. If it’s important to you that there are matching elements, what will they be? Metal colour? Stones? Engraving? Neither of you should have to compromise here, so it’s best to start the conversation as early as possible so you both get what you want.
Feeling a little extra? Stackable wedding bands are a playful way to personalise the traditional bridal set. Pile additional bands on to your ring finger, either stacking them above your engagement ring and wedding band or enclosing the two.
This is a great opportunity to have fun with different styles, widths, metals and coloured stones, and to try out any aesthetics you were hesitant to use in your primary rings. Apart from the price of the jewellery, it’s a relatively low-stakes style to experiment with; if you get over it, you can always wear the rings on other fingers and go back to your classic bridal pair.
The best part? You can tap into this trend whether you’re about to say ‘I do’ or you have a 20-year-old ring that you want to breathe new life into. And – just saying – they make great anniversary gifts…
Got your dream bridal set in mind? Hop on over to your mood board and get designing that engagement ring.
