Tuesday, December 14, 2010

With this ring...

This last weekend Mr. M and I went to town... In the process we decided, or maybe I decided, and then goaded Mr. M., to go look at wedding rings.
We already have an idea of what to get for him, but we had no idea what size.
I have it my head that the solitaire enhancers are the most beautiful, in my opinion, wedding rings, and so I think I need one of those... :) Like this one shown here...
Wedding Ring Enhancer (solitaire engagement ring fits down inside). Source.


Other than that... We're clueless.

Which got me to thinking... Why wedding rings in the first place? And why the "ring finger"? Shouldn't you know this kind of thing before you commit a huge amount of money to something... So that sent me on a wedding ring knowledge quest. 

I've discovered some very interesting things pertaining to this topic since...

1) Wedding ring significance?
The wedding ring is in the shape of a circle, the circle, which is never ending symbolizes the never ending commitment the couple is making to one another.
There is no beginning and there is no end.
Eternity.
(I really like that word when it comes to the symbolism related to marriage!)
Read more about this here and here.

Source


2) Why the "ring finger"?
This tradition is believed to have began with the Romans. They believed that the ring finger on your left hand was directly connected to the heart, through the "vein of love".
This makes sense, right? Wear the ring signifying your commitment to someone on the finger that is connected to your heart... Aw love.
More on this here and here.

Source


3) Why wedding rings?
There are many different stories pertaining to the initial use of wedding rings, but some believe it began with ancient Egyptians who believed the circle symbolized eternity and the giving and receiving of rings symbolized an eternal love.
To the Romans, a gold ring symbolizes purity. An Irish superstition states that the ring must be made of gold or it's bad luck for the couple.
The Italians seem to be the first to have used diamonds in their wedding bands, believing that they were created from the flames of love.
Read about this here (as well as the meaning of several other wedding traditions) and here.

The men in my life have mixed feelings on wedding rings... wear them, or not?
My dad has a wedding band, of course... but in his profession, it's a safety hazard that may get caught on something, or easily lost. So he almost never wears his. Then there are guys like one of my future brother-in-laws who wears his all the time. 
Mr. M is worried that it will bother him, because the guy NEVER wears anything resembling jewelry. (Except for a cross on a chain that I bought him last Christmas with his mother's name engraved on the back.) So in reality, it might be uncomfortable for awhile. But I think he'll get used to it.... I guess we'll see.

In the meantime, I think Mr. M is leaning towards something like this...
Silver, or white gold, simple.


Source

While I'm leaning towards something like this...
And yes, that's my same engagement ring shown. 
Solitaire enhancer, white gold, to match my engagement ring.

Source
 Or perhaps something simpler... like this...
And no, that's not my exact engagement ring, but it does fit, quite nicely.


Source

Once again, thank you to Kay's Jewelers, whom I'm pretty sure we'll purchase our rings from since that's where Mr. M bought my engagement ring... They have a beautiful selection BTW! But this is a commitment that deserves a little more thought...
Once we decide for sure, I'll let you know! :)

Until then... Does your hubby or hubs to be wear, or think he'll wear, his wedding ring often? How did you convince him it was important?
Any comments on our leaning towards choices?? :)
I'd love to hear from you and promise to respond!

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Kassi,

My wedding ring is tungsten carbide which is pretty much indestructible. I worked for 3 years welding everyday wearing it and it doesn't even have a scratch. I would definitely recommend it for someone that is going to use their hands a lot.

And it will bug the crap out of him for a while, but after a few weeks he will get used to it if he wears it all the time. I still play with mine a lot out of habit but when I don't have it on I feel naked.

From observation I have noticed that a lot of guys will follow what their dad's do as far as wearing a ring or not. My dad has always worn his so I didn't even think twice about it, but my brother-in-law doesn't wear one but neither does his dad.

Good luck,
Wyatt Kartchner

Morgen said...

jeff wears one every day, even when he plays competitive tennis. he never worn ANY jewlery before. he said it was weird at first, but now feels weird without it. my dad never wore one because where he works it is too dangerous. i think it is up to the couple.

my engagement ring came with the wedding band, so i was lucky to not have to worry about it! i do love the enhancements from Kays, very pretty.

Rae Shattuck said...

First off, I love the enhancements, I prefer the first option ;)

Second, Dan wears a Tungsten ring, he's managed to scratch his but it hasn't bent or broken and I can't tell you how many times he's smacked his with a hammer or something. It's gotten caught on a few things and he takes it off time to time but I think if Mr. M is doing anything that could be considered 'rough' with his hands to go with that metal.

payneful life said...

Bryce wore his for about 6 months, took him a while to get used to. But for his safety, I prefer hime to have all fingers, he stopped wearing it. He will wear it on dates, when we go to the temple, and special occasions. To me it's not that big of a deal. My dad never wore one, neither did my grandpa come to think of it. Totally depends on the dude.

As for your ring, I like the 1st set. It's actually something that I'd like to have....like on our 10th anniversary! But coming from experience with kids be sure not to have something that will scratch the heck out of them, cause it happens.

Good luck with all that. keep posting.

ohjustamo said...

Hi Kassi, Thanks for that great post! It’s so interesting learning about all the traditions, superstitions and history behind a wedding ring.

Like your dad, it won’t be practical for my man to wear a ring for work. It makes it a bit tougher but we’re leaning towards a strong silver ring. I like the picture of the one you found. We really need to go ring shopping!

Anyways, have a lovely weekend (it’s almost here).

Unknown said...

Thank you all for commenting!!!

Wyatt, SO great to get a guy's opinion!!

Ladies... I think I'm leaning towards that first option as well. It costs a little more but it's supposed to be worn everyday, maybe a little more is worth it!

Unknown said...

Steve has not worn his ring in 34 years and I have to admit I haven't worn mine in 30 just gets caught during work. I have such a girly job too so that might have something to do with my decision besides I lost the engagement ring while we lived in Walden CO. woops. we have them in a jewelry box now.

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