Preparation
Booking the ceremony and reception venues and shopping for your dress are tasks that get lots of attention when planning a wedding. They’re the things you want to do first because they’ll affect all your other wedding decisions. Once you’ve nailed down those essentials, you can focus on other (read: smaller) wedding-day must-haves. One such detail? The wedding bands. Since you’ll be wearing them every day until eternity, they’re pretty important, but they won’t have an influence on the other choices you’re making. So when should you start shopping for these rings? We break it all down.
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Some brides wait until a month before the wedding to get the bands, but cutting it that close could be stressful-what if you can’t find what you want but you have no more time to shop around? Then there are brides who know what they want early on, see a great sale nine months out, and don’t hesitate to make a purchase. What generally works is to start shopping about three or four months before the wedding, then make the actual purchase at the six-week mark, at the latest. If you’re engraving the rings, it may take a few extra days until they’re ready. If you want custom bands, figure on the process taking at least six to eight weeks, though it could be more or less time, depending on what you want or the jeweler.
His-and-her rings aren’t as popular as the bride and groom getting non-matching rings that reflect each one’s personal style. For a bride, an extra consideration is finding a band that complements her engagement ring since you’ll presumably be wearing them together. But the band should also look as good alone as it does paired with your diamond.
Like wedding dresses, it’s better to see bands up close and personal to get a three-dimensional view than to shop online. Check out your favorite jewelers’ websites to get some ideas then go to their brick-and-mortar stores to try on a variety of rings until you find the one that you love.
