You’ve chosen your life partner — now it’s time to choose the ring you’re going to wear for life! A wedding ring symbolizes the love and commitment between the two of you. It’s important for you to select a ring that suits your tastes and lifestyle, and an engraving is a way to make your wedding band even more meaningful and unique to your love story.
Whether you’re looking to get your own ring engraved or want to surprise your partner on your wedding day with a special message, there are several ways to make your mark. Shop engravable women’s wedding bands or men’s wedding bands to choose the style you like, then incorporate an engraving with one of the ideas below.
Why Get a Wedding Ring Engraved?
The most popular reason to get your wedding ring engraved is the sentimental value behind it. An engraving makes your ring feel even more personal and special to your relationship. You can add symbolism that is important to you or a quote that represents your love story. Engraved wedding rings also make for great heirlooms your family will cherish for generations. Plus, in the event that something happens to your ring, it’s much easier to identify if it has a special marking!
Engraving Ideas
There are so many ways you can get your ring engraved with something that’s meaningful to you. Check out a few of our favorite ideas below.
A Special Date
Rings don’t offer a lot of canvas space, so numbers are a great way to convey large meaning in a small area. We recommend a date that’s special to the two of you, like:
- The day of your first date or another anniversary
- The day you made things official
- The day you first said “I love you”
- The day you got engaged
- The day you’re getting married
- Another symbolic date in the history of your relationship
There are plenty of ways to get creative with numbers aside from a date in time! You could engrave your rings with the coordinates of the place where you first met. Birthdays, Bible verses, area codes, and anything else you can think of are all fair game.
Meaningful Words
On most wedding bands, there is space to engrave a name or short phrase. We recommend finding a quote you love, something special you say to each other, your new last name, or a classic phrase like “Always.” Depending on your relationship, you may even want to get an inside joke engraved to serve as a reminder that a sense of humor goes a long way. Initials paired with your wedding date always make for a sweet sentiment if you’re not sure what to get engraved.
An Intricate Design
For something especially unique, consider getting an intricate design engraved on your wedding ring. Fingerprints are a common one that we can work with at Shane Co. Depending on the thickness of your ring, you may also be able to get a small symbol engraved, like a heart, infinity symbol, or a cross.
Engravings at Shane Co.
When choosing your engraving, there are different ways to customize it. For example, we have several font options, including Antique, Calligraphy, Deco, Journal, Letterbox, Modern, and Signature. You can select from these fonts yourself when requesting an engraving message on your ring.
As far as symbols, connect with our team to go over exactly what you want engraved. Sometimes, we can work with photos to ensure a unique engraving, like in the case of a fingerprint design or even a photo of a person. Our team will help you determine the perfect placement for your engraving as well.
From there, we use our specialty machine to input the design first in a computer program. Our jewelers work with the photo to make sure it’s engravement-ready, then send the design to our laser machine that perfectly implements the design. Learn more about the process and our unique engraving offerings in our Guide to Engravable Jewelry at Shane Co.
Frequently Asked Questions About Engraving Wedding Bands
Whether you want your wedding band engraved or not is totally up to you! It’s a personal preference. If you want to surprise your future spouse with an engraving, many will take it as a sweet gesture. That said, it’s not a requirement for a beautiful band.
Simple engravings (a name, a date) at Shane Co. tend to cost around $60, depending on the style and the ring. Detailed engravings may cost a different price. For more information, chat with one of our expert jewelry consultants at ShaneCo.com or visit a store near you.
Engravings are typically done on the inside of a ring, so they last a long time. They’re up close to your skin, offering a layer of protection. We recommend regularly getting your ring cleaned and polished for ultimate longevity.
Resizing an engraved ring depends on the design and the resizing qualifications. It’s possible sometimes, while other times it isn’t. If you need to get a ring resized, you can request a new engraving if the original one is no longer viable.
No matter what you want engraved on your ring, the best way to make sure it’s perfect is by scheduling an appointment. Speaking with an expert jewelry consultant will allow you to share your vision and make sure it’s possible. If you want something simple like a letter engraved, you can also directly add your message when placing your order. In addition to wedding bands, check out the rest of our engravable jewelry.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published February 2016 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.