How To Wear Your Engagement and Wedding Rings

Engagement and wedding rings are more than just decorative symbols of love or unity between two persons. They are commitment identifiers and they represent an oath sworn before God and man. Now, as significant as these bands are, not many people know how to wear them.

 

Yes, most people think it’s on the middle and fourth fingers of the left hand. Although there’s no one set way of wearing these jewelry pieces, you’re however implored to try out the different ways and figure out which one works best for your lifestyle, job and partner. So, if you’re engaged, anticipating engagement, or already married this piece is a great way of refreshing your memory and keeping you grounded on these little things.

Before we get into this there are some factors that are worth considering. This includes:

• • Your cultural and religious backgrounds
  • The ring size
  • Lifestyle
  • What you and your partner wants

Backgrounds

Now, your cultural and religious backgrounds can affect your ring placement. This is because different cultures have different beliefs about which finger should be adorned. Some cultures don’t even bother with adorning their fingers and may end up wearing the rings on other body parts like noses or as a necklace as seen in the Hindus. While in other countries like Austria, citizens wear wedding bands on the right hand. Hence, conduct your own personal research and figure out what your religious/cultural background encourages.

 

Size

A good percentage of people initially wear the wrong-sized rings. This could be a result of bad judgment from the buyer or it could be a result of weight gain or weight loss on the wearer’s side. Hence, if your engagement or wedding band is too small for the middle finger, there’s justification for you to wear it on your fourth finger until you can get it resized. Also, if they’re too large for your fourth finger, you can place them on your middle one in the meantime.

 

Lifestyle

Due to lifestyle choices which could be work-related requirements or any personal reason that’s best known to you, your ring placement could change. Whatever the case, ensure that the placement decision you make is one that favors your day-to-day activities and doesn’t infringe on your productivity.

 

Personal interests

You and your partner may want different things concerning your engagement and wedding rings placement. However, in such cases, one person has to compromise if the other is set on his/her decision. But regardless of how you wear your bands, the important thing is that your partner knows how much you love them because after all, the bands aim to signify that love.

 

Now that’s out of the way, here are some practical ways you can wear your wedding and engagement bands.

 

Left Hand

This is one of the most traditional ways and although the placements may differ, the hand is the same. Since engagement naturally comes before marriage then your engagement ring should be first and then the wedding ring is added to it on the altar. In western countries, the engagement finger is the same as the marriage finger which is the fourth finger when counting from your thumb. However, you can decide to place the engagement ring on the middle finger of the left hand and then move it to the fourth when married. It all depends on what you want. But you can alternate between which ring comes first on the marriage finger.

 

Separate Hands

This is a less traditional approach and it involves wearing your wedding and engagement bands on the fourth fingers of both hands. The wedding ring goes on the right hand while the engagement is on the left. This arrangement mostly favors couples with shorter/smaller-sized fingers as they may be tired or uncomfortable due to wearing both rings on a single finger. Also, people whose rings do not fit well together also follow this method, even those that want to display them independently.

 

Body Parts

Wearing your wedding rings on your fingers can make them easier to misplace. Hence, for those tired of facing the wrath of losing them every time you can try a more creative approach. Married surgeons, doctors, and people of other disciplines can try wearing their wedding rings as a necklace or a bracelet during work hours. This is a more practical approach and can make you less conscious of the ring’s safety and more invested in your work.

Wedding and engagement rings are probably the most sentimental jewelry pieces a person can own. Hence, their value isn’t in their monetary worth, but in their emotional representation. In essence, regardless of how you decide to wear your wedding and engagement bands, one thing is for sure, your comfort should come first. Hence, before you decide on which approach to follow, do consult your partner first as the ring is a symbol of unity and love.