The moment you get married is one of the high points in your life, but a lot of things need to happen in order for you to actually get to that point. First comes the act of proposing to your loved one, which in turn follows buying a beautiful ring for her. A lot of people place significance on planning ahead where their engagement ring is concerned, specifically the way it pairs with the future wedding ring.
The sorry fact is that too many people still fail to grasp the differences between engagement and wedding rings. While the names themselves answer most of that unasked question, it is vital that one understand the symbolism behind each.
Wedding Rings vs. Engagement Rings
Engagement rings are usually gaudy affairs, presented to sweethearts at the time of proposing. These typically comprise center gemstones set on precious metal bands, and are usually worn only by women that want to show that they are “spoken for”. Wedding rings, on the other hand, are what brides and grooms exchange when they get married, and include relatively plain but nicely constructed bands, without gemstones on them.
The man wears just this after marriage, while the woman may wear her engagement ring as well. The latter’s two rings would traditionally be worn stacked in a visually pleasing arrangement. For that to be possible, it often requires planning for the wedding ring even before picking out one for the engagement. There are women that wear only the earlier ring after getting married, because this is generally the more prominent of the two. In such cases, the wedding rings simply get exchanged during the ceremony.
Wedding Rings vs. Bands
Both wedding “ring” and “band” have occupied the same space in people’s minds for centuries, considering that symbolically, they hold pretty much the same significance. Appearance is where the two mainly differ from each other. A wedding band is generally plain, in that it has no studded stones on it; meanwhile, wedding rings commonly carry paved stones, engravings, etc.
Suppose a woman’s engagement ring is made in an understated design; then, the man would normally go in for a gem-studded wedding ring pair. If, on the other hand, the engagement ring is a loud expression of jewel-studded beauty, then a plain wedding band makes more sense. Men usually prefer the latter option, because it easily suits them.
