Your big day is fast approaching and you’ve ticked off all the major to-dos in your wedding planner but there’s one very special job still to do: buy wedding rings.
As this is a job that you don’t need to nail down well in advance like the venue and the dress, many couples find themselves leaving it to the very end, and with the budget already stretched, you may be left wondering how something so tiny can be so expensive.
A brief online search can quickly lead you down a rabbit warren of overwhelming choice that can vary massively in price, leaving you wondering who to trust, and even if it sounds too good to be true, do you take the risk?
Your wedding ring will be with you every day for the rest of your life (well, that’s the intention, anyway!). It will go through every bit of trauma you put your hands through and so arguably, this will be the most important purchase of your wedding planning journey, and not one to be taken lightly.
We have put together our five most important, and frank, points for you to consider when wedding ring shopping so that you can avoid the overwhelm and ultimately, a purchase you may regret later on.
- Set a budget early on. Unless you’re aiming for a triple row of bling, wedding rings don’t need to be shockingly expensive. We would advise setting a budget of approximately £2,000 for them both, which may go down if you’re both lucky enough to have small fingers (as most jewellers will charge per gram of metal) or up if you’re adding diamonds or gemstones, or want something particularly heavy. Setting a sensible budget early on in the wedding planning journey will help you to avoid disappointment when choosing the rings you really want, and will keep the experience one of excitement and pleasure, as it should be.
- Try them on. You may have a trusted jeweller on the high street that you want to buy from, or you may prefer to shop online – we say do a bit of both! A jeweller will always thank you for coming in armed with an idea you’ve liked the look of online, as this will enable them to pinpoint which styles they have that are similar for you to try on, and then they can help narrow your favourites down. Trying on is essential, as so often a style you think you may like just won’t suit your hand, and likewise, a style you quickly scrolled past whilst browsing online may just be your perfect life-long companion. Getting a feel for the weight, shape and width of a ring before you commit is a must.
- Get the metal right. If you have an engagement ring that your wedding ring will sit alongside, it’s always advised to match the metals so that one won’t wear the other one down over time due to them having different levels of hardness. Similarly, make sure the two rings sit flush with one another so that there isn’t one section of the ring taking the brunt of the wear (this is often the basket or claws holding the main stone of the engagement ring). For something as special as your wedding ring, we would always recommend precious metal, our favourites being 18ct gold or platinum. Although the likes of titanium and tungsten can seem appealing online, they are impossible for a jeweller to repair or resize should it need it in the future (hands age and change!) and near on impossible to cut off should it get stuck. We would also always recommend ensuring the ring is solid, as hollow bands, albeit cheaper as the weight it less, are renown for trapping dirt and bacteria and therefore causing the skin beneath to break out.
- Purchase them at least three months before the big day. For the vast majority of jewellers, even ‘off the shelf’ wedding rings will be made to order as they won’t want to keep every style in every size in stock (that’s a lot of rings) so we would advise to begin looking at rings around six months before the day, with the view to purchase them at least three months before. On average, wedding rings take around 6 weeks to make so leave yourself plenty of time for adjustments just in case they don’t fit when they arrive.
- Go Bespoke! Most independent jewellers will be able to offer some degree of bespoke customization to the selection of rings they offer, from engraving, to adding various textures and finishes, or even adding hidden stones within the band (multiple jewellers, or ‘chains’ may be limited on what they can offer) however, did you know that going completely bespoke shouldn’t cost any more than buying ‘off the shelf’? In fact, it may even cost less. Between the small team at Katrina Young Bespoke, we have been lucky enough to meet with, get to know, and design the wedding rings of thousands of couples, and so there’s very little we haven’t had the chance to sink our teeth into. Usually, couples decide to go bespoke as they have sentimental jewellery that they wish to incorporate into their wedding bands, or they are undecided between two or three different designs and choose to have aspects of each of them all married into one. Knowing that your wedding ring is a complete one-off and exactly how you dreamed it would look, for much less than you thought, is exactly why you should contact us today for a friendly, no obligation chat.
