Wedding Ring Etiquette

Wedding rings are a piece of jewelry a couple will ideally wear for the rest of their lives.  However, the rules as to how they are supposed to be worn can be quite confusing, especially since every culture has their own ideas as to how they are supposed to be worn.  Here’s a short guide to wedding ring etiquette that can avoid such confusion.

In a typical western wedding ceremony, the rings - which typically match are or roughly similar in shape and design - are worn on the left ring finger.  This is because of ancient beliefs that that finger’s veins ran straight to the heart; however, the practical reason is that most people are right-handed and won’t subject their ring to massive abuse if it is worn on the left hand instead.   Traditionally, the bride and groom pay for each other’s rings.  Post wedding, the bride wears her engagement ring on her right hand and the wedding ring on the left.

These rules are actually just guidelines and not everyone subscribes to such rules.  For example, the Eastern Orthodox as well as Catholics in certain Non-Western countries wear their rings - both wedding and engagement - on the right, and the brides match them with diamond studs.  Other differences from such tradition include the Jewish tradition in which the wedding ring is worn during the ceremony on the index finger the bride writes with and Indians, who use a foot ring rather than finger ring.

If you would like some ideas regarding wedding rings and wedding jewelry, please visit Zoara.com and view their collection of wedding jewelry.