The wedding ring, that most famous and instantly recognizable symbol of the joining of a man and a woman as husband and wife in the institution of marriage, has a long, and widespread and mysterious history.

 

 

 

The ancient Egyptians used plants growing on the banks of the Nile to fashion the first wedding rings. The ring is of course a circle and this was the symbol of eternity for the Egyptians as well as many other ancient cultures. It had no beginning and no end, like time. It is not difficult to see how the ring and the gift of a ring began to be associated with love and could take on the characteristics of the circle and capture eternity.They wore it like we do today, on the third finger of the left hand, because of a belief that the vein of that finger directly traveled from the heart.

 

 

 

 

This legend was later taken up by the Greeks, when they conquered Egypt under the generalship of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. and from them passed onto the Romans, who called this the ‘vena amoris’, which is Latin for ‘the vein of love’.

 

 

 

Today, wedding bands are a billion dollar industry. The biggest trend right now? Individuality. Your wedding band is a reflection of who you are and of the story you tell as a couple. The days are long gone when the bride’s engagement ring and wedding band were sold as a set-sometimes even as a trio, with the groom’s wedding band included in the mix-and style choices were fairly limited.

 

 

 

 

Today, the engagement ring and bride’s and groom's wedding bands are three unique entities, with a seemingly limitless choice of style.

 

 

 

 

• Shop around. Each jeweler offers different designers and each has its own style. A special event and special occasion in your life should be celebrated with your wedding band as a symbol. Jewelers carry the classics plus a majority of the alternative metals. Discover which material speaks to you and works with your lifestyle.
• The size of your fingers fluctuates during the day, so have someone qualified measure your ring finger. The proper way for a ring to fit is to have to work to get it on and off over your knuckle. Along these lines, the band width tends to match the size of your finger. A man with a smaller finger may have a preference for a 4-millimeter width over the more popular 6-millimeter.
• Plan ahead! On average, give 4 to 6 weeks before you get the ring you ordered. Keep in mind that this is a lasting symbol of not only your wedding day but of your lives. Put the time and energy into choosing something that will last the rest of your lives.