Buying an engagement ring for your bride-to-be is a minefield. Not only do you need to consider what style of ring she would like and what stones she’d like for her engagement ring, you’ve also got to have in the back of your mind the wedding band. You’ll need to consider the style of the engagement ring you’ve chosen and what kind of wedding band would go with it. The wedding band should neither outshine the engagement ring or be totally outshined by the engagement ring. And that’s tricky!
Here we’ll briefly address what are engagement rings and what are wedding bands and how to wear an engagement ring and wedding band together. We’ll look at some beautiful examples of engagement rings and consider how to pair those with a wedding band. We’ll look at various options for both engagement rings and wedding bands.
We’ve got some stunning examples of engagement rings and wedding bands for you to consider including an oval diamond engagement ring, an emerald cut diamond ring, a pink sapphire engagement ring, a vintage blue sapphire engagement ring, a citrine engagement ring and a white gold tanzanite ring. The choices on our website for engagement rings and wedding bands are extensive and these are just a few designs that are trending right now.
What are Engagement Rings and What is a Wedding Band?
Most of us will be aware of the answers to what are engagement rings and what is a wedding ring. But just for clarity, an engagement ring is a ring given traditionally to a woman at the point of asking her to marry you. These days anyone can propose (man or woman) and anyone can give and wear an engagement ring.
What is a wedding ring is equally easy to answer. These are rings that are exchanged at the point of getting married. How to wear an engagement ring and wedding band together is governed by traditions, but you can choose to wear them on the same finger or not. Traditionally, a wedding ring would be worn below the engagement ring on the third finger of the left hand for both parties. But the choice is up to you.
According to Brides Magazine in their article, traditionally, diamonds are considered the best choice for engagement rings as they are ‘One of the strongest naturally occurring substances … (and they) symbolize the kind of forever love and commitment that come with marriage.’ But they also offer ‘8 Diamond Alternatives to Consider for Your Engagement Ring’. Read the full article here for more advice on choosing an alternative to diamonds for your engagement ring if you wish to choose the non traditional option.
Tip One – How to Sit Both Rings on Your Wedding Finger
A really key element to consider is how would you like your wedding band to sit on the finger beside the engagement ring. And to answer this question, you need to find out a little technical detail about the engagement ring.
Presuming that your engagement ring has a centre stone centrepiece, you’ll need to know what kind of basket is holding that stone in place. Essentially, depending on the setting of the centre stone, can your wedding band fit underneath the stone flush to your band for your engagement ring? If the answer is yes, then you can have a very simple straight wedding band that will fit beautifully next to the engagement ring.
Our Serenity Milgrain Diamond Wedding Band would be a perfect pair for this type of engagement ring. It is available in a full set (with diamonds around the whole band) or half set (with diamonds around half of the band). A wedding band like this with diamonds around the whole band cannot be altered with regards sizing so it’s very important to get the size right from the outset.
This particular design has been beautifully designed and crafted to give shine and sparkle but in a slightly understated way. The band is very thin and the diamonds are very small giving it an elegant and sophisticated feel. It has further milgrain detailing that adds to the overall effect.
If your engagement ring has a basket that wouldn’t allow a ring to fit underneath it, then you’ll have to decide on a style for your wedding band that moulds around the engagement ring. You can either decide to have your wedding band fit very snugly to your engagement ring in which case you may need to use our bespoke service or you could choose to have a slight gap between the two rings.
The first option is a contoured wedding band and the second option is a curved wedding band. Both options are equally popular and are decided upon due to personal preference. How would you choose to match up your engagement ring and wedding band?
Our Singapore Diamond Ring is the perfect choice for a contoured band or a curved band. This is a diamond engagement ring with an emerald cut diamond. The centre stone is rectangular in shape and the band has an angular feel too.
This diamond engagement ring with an emerald cut diamond would suit a bespoke designed wedding band that would be shaped to fit snugly against the stone and ring. The ring has lots of eye catching detail that you can pick out in the wedding band to make a perfect match. Include the milgrain detail? Include diamonds? With our bespoke service the choice is yours! Click for more information on our bespoke service.
You could also choose a curved wedding band to fit loosely around this diamond engagement ring with an emerald cut diamond as pictured below. This curved design is also a bespoke piece to ensure that it fits nicely around the stone of your engagement ring. Our bespoke service is easy to use and ensures that the wedding ring is a perfect match for your engagement ring.
Will you choose a bespoke wedding band to accompany your diamond engagement ring with an emerald cut diamond for your loved one?
Tip Two – Can You Have Too Many Diamonds on One finger? Surely Not!
A further key design question when deciding on an engagement ring and wedding band to match is surrounding the amount of diamonds on the two rings. If the engagement ring has diamonds on the band, then should the wedding band have diamonds on the band too, to match? Or is it best to simplify the wedding band in a ‘less is more’ way?
The truth to this matter is that it is your preference. There are no rules here except that unless you want something that is really overstated, I would choose very small diamonds to decorate the band of the wedding ring, particularly if you’re going for a full set band.
Our St Ives Diamond Ring is an engagement ring with an oval centre stone. And as such you will need a wedding band that goes with an oval engagement ring. This ring has a dramatic oval centre stone and a halo of small round brilliant diamonds surrounding it. It also has two diamonds set into the shoulders of the band. Wedding bands to go with oval engagement rings are fairly straightforward to design and source.
You can go for a curved band that will sit loosely around the curve of the diamond halo or you can choose to go for a bespoke design that will sit tightly around it. Below is a bespoke curved design that is perfect for an oval engagement ring design.
Our Vintage Blue Sapphire Ring is another oval engagement ring design but the diamonds on the shoulders have created a curved step down to the lowest point and a curved step up again at the other side. As such it is a little more difficult to find a wedding band to go with this oval engagement ring.
This vintage blue sapphire engagement ring is a graceful and enchanting design. It features a mesmerising blue sapphire with three round brilliant diamonds on each of the shoulders in a triangular design. And according to the International Gem Society, the sapphire (in any colour) makes for the perfect engagement ring as ‘They combine excellent gem properties, beautiful colors, and stunning performance.’ Read their whole article here Choosing the Best Colored Gemstone Engagement Rings.
As with all of our designs, our Vintage Blue Sapphire Engagement Rings is available in four different precious metals and the centre stone is available in three different qualities to ensure your stone matches your requirements.
For this vintage blue sapphire engagement ring, our bespoke service is highly recommended. The wedding band to match this design would follow the curved steps of the outline of the stones making a stunning wedding band to match an equally stunning engagement ring.
Tip Three – Repeat Milgrain Detailing from the Engagement Ring to the Wedding Band
Some engagement ring designs have extra detailing beyond just the stones and the arrangement of them. Our Arya Pink Sapphire White Gold Ring is a beautifully intricately detailed pink sapphire engagement ring.
As you can see this pink sapphire engagement ring has a large oval pink sapphire at its heart, twin princess cut diamonds frame the pink sapphire and if that wasn’t lavish enough for you, there are more round brilliant diamonds on the shank. A truly luxurious pink sapphire engagement ring!
The detail doesn’t stop there! Elegant milgrain texturing frames the diamonds on the shank. For a wedding band to go with this oval engagement ring, repeat the milgrain detail to give a harmonious, unified effect. Stunning!
Tip Four – Repeat Gemstones from the Engagement Ring to the Wedding Band
If you choose to include a splash of colour in your engagement ring then why not repeat that in your wedding band? Below is our popular Paragon Tanzanite Ring. This white gold tanzanite ring features a large and dramatic 0.9ct tanzanite specially selected for its rich and distinctive colour. And two small round brilliant diamonds on the shoulders create a dazzling contrast of colour.
Choose this white gold tanzanite ring and our Tanzanite Wishbone Ring to make a perfect pair. As you can see both rings are available in the full range of metals allowing you to coordinate your choices to create a co-ordinated effect.
This engagement ring and wedding band look stunning together and are elegant and fashionable. If you have chosen a different gemstone for your engagement ring, you can also revert to our bespoke service to design a wishbone ring that will perfectly compliment it.
Tip Five – Keep an Eye on the Combined Band Width
Ladies fingers are only so long and wearing rings that are too wide could prove pretty uncomfortable! You may need to take into account not only the band width of the two rings but also the centre stone measurements too.
If our white gold tanzanite ring featured above is not what you are looking for, then perhaps our Vintage Citrine White Gold Ring is more like it! This ring is bold and beautiful. It’s vintage and yet modern. A lavish citrine engagement ring that is absolutely unforgettable. The citrine is an octagon 6x4mm, available in three different qualities. The very good is a more yellow coloured stone and the superior is more of an amber shade. Which colour is your favourite?
This citrine engagement ring has a slightly wider band width than that of some of our other designs offered here so it is important to consider the width of the wedding band to match. It’s important to choose a wedding band that will not be too thick for the engagement ring or too thin in this case. The wedding band to match this ring should be at least half the width of the citrine engagement ring to look right.
To conclude
It’s not an exact science of pairing your engagement ring and wedding band, but there are a few do’s and don’t’s. Although these can be flaunted at times for the right rings! And they’ll look stunning! We would definitely recommend taking some elements from your engagement ring and replicating them in your wedding band. This creates a unity between the two.
You can choose to keep your engagement ring fairly simple by choosing a solitaire design (see our blog ‘Solitaire Diamond Engagement Ring – A Gift for your Bride To Be’ for more information on this) and create some added drama through your wedding band. Or you can switch this around and have a glamorous and dramatic engagement ring and a plain and simple wedding band. Just ensure that your rings complement each other.
We’ve shown you a few designs above for both engagement rings and wedding bands, and hopefully you can find some inspiration there. Good luck!