Over the last two plus years we have been casually searching for wedding rings. Before we set our wedding date; before we decided that we were going to make ‘us’ official and get married; before it became legal in the state we lived in, we looked, well because, we hoped.
Looking for a ring on the internet is exhausting; plus, how do you try them on? There are so many rings to choose from. Actually, a ridiculous number to choose from. Styles, weights, widths, materials. Overwhelming!
We narrowed our sights down to a few options. The ring had to be modern with little to no lines and feel sturdy. It also had to be durable and not too expensive. Nothing over $500. Less if we could. Neither of us wanted silver or gold so those were out. And last, no diamonds or any other type of gem stone.
After lots of back and forth, deciding and then un-deciding, we finally narrowed it down to these three.
- Black Tungsten Carbide. Brushed with polished edges at 9MM which is a great width. It feels simple and gives that “inlaid” look but, we are not sure if we want a black ring.
- Gray Tungsten Carbide. It has a thin brushed line down the center. I am not sure I like how small the ring looks at 5MM – could be too small and yes, dare I say it – It may feel to feminine for us. Derek likes this one, however, so I am “open” to considering it further.
- Celtic Tungsten Wedding Band. This ring is 8MM which is slightly less then the black ring. I was so sure I did not want an engraved ring when we started looking and it turns out to be one of my favorites.
Neither of us wear jewelry. For me those days passed with my Madonna slash Boy George phase in the 80’s (yes I am that old) so I was not sure how to size the ring to our fingers. I found this great chart to help out. One site listed above also has a 30 day return policy that will allow you to return the ring even if it is engraved and resized. Their 30 day money back guarantee gives you time to make sure your purchase is perfect. If you are going to order online be sure to scour the return policy before you order.
As for engraving we have been tossing around a couple ideas. Friends of ours had the longitude and latitude of their first date engraved in their rings. Which is very sweet but, since we can’t remember our first “date” we might use the wedding location or we might just stick with a special message that’s just meant for the two of us. We are also going to wait until we have the rings in hand before we make the final decision and have that done locally.
We will eventually go into an actual brick and mortar store and try them on and make our purchase, because for me, buying a ring over the internet seems too impersonal for something we will have on our hands for the rest of our lives. I want the experience of trying them on together.
We have a little time. We opted out of the whole engagement cycle of the marriage event. We’ve been living together for over 8 years and our son just turned ten. I’ll let you figure that timeframe out on your own. Suffice it to say we have been “common law married” for quite sometime. Now we are going to make it official. That’s one less expense – more money for the cake!
How did you choose your wedding ring?
