The long-awaited, your wedding day is here. It’s your turn to plan it all down to the very last details. From the venue and dress to stunning bouquets and yummy gorgeous cake. Yes, it is possible to customize all the decorative elements but one thing that you can’t change is traditions!
Weddings come with traditions and wearing the wedding ring is one of the most common ritual practices by almost all the societies around the globe and prevailing for many years. A wedding ring signifies everlasting love, affection, respect, and commitment between partners. But, what finger does the wedding ring goes on?
Photographer: Jasmine Carter
Vena Amoris-The Ring Finger
Putting the wedding on the ring finger symbolizes undying devotion. It also ties the hearts together for eternity. Vena Amoris- the vein of love is a beautiful, and romantic explanation by the Romans for the ring finger. They usually wore wedding rings on the fourth finger of the left hand. They had a belief that the ring finger is directly connected to the heart through nerve or vein.
Whereas our modern-day understanding of anatomy suggests all fingers are connected with the heart through veins. This idea shattered the adorable symbolism because no such finger exists in actuality. Yet tradition still holds to many cultures where the fourth finger of the right hand signifies commitment between couples.
Photographer: Caleb Oquendo
The Symbolism of Wearing the Wedding Ring in Right Hand
Different cultures have different traditions and preferences for a wedding ring and the ring finger. The ancient Romans used to wear their wedding rings on the right hand because they consider the right hand the symbol of honor and trust. Meanwhile, the left hand was thought of as being unreliable, sinister, and untrustworthy.
Similarly, some eastern countries and western cultures opt to wear the wedding ring on the right hand because of their traditional values on what the wedding ring symbolizes.
In addition to it, the wedding ring in the right hand indicates financial independence for those who have diamond rings or the family heirlooms for the fingers on the other hand. Left-handed people find it convenient to wear the wedding ring in their right hand as it minimizes the risk of damage because they use the right hand less frequently.
In cultures where it is customary to wear the wedding ring in the left hand. Instead of removing the wedding band, people move it to the right hand signaling that they are available for a romp between the sheets.
Photographer: Terje Sollie
Countries Wearing Wedding Ring on Their Right Hand
In India, it has been customary to wear the rings on the right hand because the left hand was considered “impure”. In Germany and Netherland, the wedding ring symbolizes the change in social status. Therefore, the couples used to wear the engagement ring on their left hand and wedding rings on their right hand.
Syria, Brazil, Turkey, and Lebanon follow the tradition of wearing the wedding ring in the right hand during the ceremony and it moved to the left after the ceremony. Similarly, in Jewish culture, the groom put the ring on the bride’s index finger of the right hand. Once they are married, women, usually change it to the ring finger of the same hand.
In Sri Lanka, the groom wears the wedding ring in his right hand but the bride wears it in her left hand.
Photographer: Gift Habeshaw
Bottom Line
There is no hard and fast rule for the wedding ring to be in the right hand. Culture and traditions may dictate the perfect wedding ring finger, but, in the end, your personal preferences matter the most. Wedding rings are primarily the symbol of your commitment to your spouse, so the choice is yours.