Personalizing Your Wedding Band
Nothing symbolizes the permanent bond you share with your groom like your wedding rings. Perhaps that is why so many couples have their wedding rings engraved, to make the rings as unique and personalized as the union itself. The tradition remains as popular today as when it began, hundreds of years ago in Medieval Europe, because a few carefully chosen words on your rings can distinguish your marriage from all others.
Words of love.
What you choose to have engraved on your rings is something you’ll want to consider carefully. Once, members of the royal court would have poetry inscribed on their rings. Today couples tend to opt for just a few words, often in one of the Romance languages (Latin, French, Italian, Spanish…), or a quote from a religious text.
You should also consider where on the body of the ring you would like the engraving to be. Traditionally, the inside of the shank was the spot, but the parameter around the stone has become popular more recently as well. Some couples even inscribe half of the chosen words or phrase on each ring, so that they “complete each other.”
Most jewelers can perform the engraving themselves (if not, they’ll be able to recommend a quality engraver), so it’s easiest for you to request what you want when you initially order your rings. If you decide on engraving after you’ve already received your rings, you can probably still be accommodated, but timing will be important: Depending on your location, the time of year, your jeweler’s capabilities, and your specifications, engraving could take anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 month. Obviously, the longer the grace period before you will need the rings ready, the better.
The cost of engraving your wedding bands will vary, depending on the number of characters (and yes, spaces count), the font that you select, and whether they’re hand-crafted or machine-etched. Expect the price range to be about $1 per character for machine engraving, and up to $5 per character for hand engraving. Like with tattoos or sushi, you might regret it if you try to be “as cheap as possible” with your engraving. You’ll want these rings to be perfect, and you get what you pay for! But you don’t want to go overboard either, so talk with you groom about what’s important to you both, and you’ll know what to do and how much you can spend.
A secret love.
A modern twist in this tradition is “secretly” engraving the stone itself. It’s a way to keep your engraving truly intimate: The inscription will be totally invisible to the naked eye, and only viewable through a magnifying glass. Although extravagant, it holds the extra insurance of positively identifying your stone should it ever be lost or stolen. Specialized engraving such as this can be provided by The Gemological Institute of America. Your jeweler will not be able to do it for you, but they should be able to provide details.
Whatever you want your wedding rings to say, make sure you don’t forget to say what you’re supposed to: “I do!”