Guide To Matching A Wedding Band To Your Engagement Ring
Planning a wedding can be a monumental undertaking. Fortunately, there are lots of fun parts to it along the way — including finding your wedding band. And in some ways, the band has a different context than an engagement ring. The engagement ring is a promise of betrothal, whereas the band signifies the lifelong commitment you are about to make.
To keep the shopping process from being daunting, we’ve put together a guide to matching a wedding band to your engagement ring.
First, find out if the ring was made by a jeweler or jewelry brand that offers matching wedding bands. If so, that was easy!
However, engagement rings are often designed as standalone pieces, which makes sense because they’re meant to be the star of the show. That means when it comes to shopping for a wedding band that matches your engagement ring, you need to consider a few factors: is there a unique shape to your ring? What is the tone of the metal? What cut is the center stone? Thinking about these elements can help you find the perfect match for your engagement ring.
Metals
A lot of people assume that wedding bands and engagement rings need to be made of the same metal, since that’s what has been the tradition. We’re here to tell you that’s not true! You can mix metals for a truly modern look. One of our favorite pairings is white gold with yellow gold, and we’ve also seen some beautiful sets that mix white, yellow, and rose gold together. Feel free to shake it up — after all, it’s your marriage and it’s your style. What best reflects the pair of you?
Bands
Finding the right band will be dependent on the setting of your engagement ring. If you have a larger stone that is set higher than the band, it might be easier to find a matching band that sits flush against your ring. A lower center stone might lend itself better to a contoured or notched style. And of course, you want to consider the band width. If your engagement ring has a thinner width, then you might want to choose a wedding band with a thinner width to match the style. Likewise, if you have a thicker width, consider a thicker width.
Wondering what the difference between contoured and notched bands are? The main difference is one follows the curvature of your engagement ring (contoured), whereas the other one is completely straight with a notch for your stone to slide into (notched). Both have their benefits and it truly comes down to personal preference!
Styles
The classic wedding band is simple, purely metal, and has no additional details — it’s been the style for centuries, which is why it’s classic! Lately, we’ve seen couples opt for a little more flair in their wedding bands. A popular choice is the eternity wedding band, which features pavé diamonds all around the band, held in place by prongs or small beads. We’ve also seen a lot of couples choose the channel-set wedding band, which has diamonds set into a grooved channel. Some couples prefer the infinity band, which repeats the infinity symbol throughout the band, though the one caveat with this style is it might not sit flush against your engagement ring.
At the end of the day, a style is just a style. What’s most important is finding a band that reaffirms the commitment of the love you two have for each other and the promise you’re about to make.
At Samuelson’s, we’d be delighted to be a small part of your love story! With more than a century’s experience of helping couples through the wedding band shopping process, we’re here to guide you. And if we don’t have one you like, we can help you design one! Ultimately, we want you to have a wonderful, one-of-a-kind experience in finding your wedding band.
To schedule your private consultation, you can fill out our online form or give us a call at 410-403-3091.
