When you’re looking for the perfect wedding ring, you have to take several factors into account. Not only does the ring need to be aesthetically pleasing, but it needs to be within your budget. Although budget and looks are important, you also have to take personal preferences into account. This is where finding wedding rings can get a little challenging, so here are some tips to make the process easier.
1. Narrow down your options based on your budget
You’ve probably heard that you should spend three months’ salary on your engagement ring, and some people apply that to wedding rings, too. However, ignore that because there is no hard rule about what you should spend. Instead, work with your actual budget, not some arbitrary figure you calculate based on your income.
Narrowing down your options based on your budget will make your search easier. This way, you won’t end up looking at a bunch of rings that aren’t in your budget.
Look for wedding rings with lab grown diamonds. When you look at lab created diamonds for your wedding rings, you’ll actually have more options since these diamonds are cheaper than traditionally mined diamonds.
You can save around 30 to 40% by going with lab created diamonds, which means you can upgrade your wedding rings and still spend the same amount of money you had planned.
Lab created diamonds are real
When diamonds are created in a lab, they’re made under the same conditions as natural diamonds, but those conditions are simulated with special equipment. The end result is a diamond that is atomically identical to a diamond that formed naturally in the earth and can’t be distinguished with the naked eye.
Ethical companies will place a stamp on the bottom of their lab made diamonds so that the origin is unmistakable. However, this stamp can’t be seen with the naked eye, which makes lab created diamonds an excellent choice.
2. Consider your style preferences
Once you know your budget, consider your style preferences next. Working within your budget, what styles do you and your partner prefer? Do you like traditional diamond wedding rings? Antique rings? Vintage rings from a specific decade? Maybe you like colorful gemstones, or some of the more creative wedding ring styles where rings are made out of coins and hex nuts.
Whatever your style preferences are, there’s a ring for you out there, even if your preferences are a little obscure – you just have to find the right source.
Keep in mind that your wedding rings don’t have to match. You might have a preference that is completely opposite from what your partner likes and it’s perfectly okay to have rings with completely different styles. Choose what you like because it’s your wedding!
3. Shop for wedding rings together
Plan some time for you and your partner to go shopping for your wedding rings together rather than separately. Shopping for wedding rings together is a wonderful way to share another meaningful experience in your relationship. Not only will you get the perfect rings this way, but you’ll enjoy looking at rings and trying them on together.
Looking at wedding rings together can also spark some inspiration for ideas. For instance, you might want matching rings and when you find a design you like, it might give you ideas for getting custom matching rings.
4. Consider your lifestyle
One thing you may not have thought to consider as an influence is your lifestyle. Some wedding rings are absolutely beautiful, but the band will get scratched if you use your hands throughout the day. If you work with your hands, the ideal material for your band is titanium because it doesn’t bend or scratch as easily as gold and other metals.
If you’re fairly active, channel set gemstones will be a better option for your ring. A channel setting puts the gems side-by-side with open channels between each gem, which makes them more secure.
Stay true to your preferences
Above all, when shopping for a wedding ring, it’s important to stay true to your preferences. Jewelers will show you the latest and greatest rings, popular styles, new settings, and options for customizations. All of this can help you find your perfect wedding rings, but try not to be influenced too much by what other people like and what’s on sale.
Instead, stay true to your preferences and in the end, you’ll find your ideal wedding rings.
