Wedding rings are expensive and unlike your other fashion rings, are not meant to be replaced and should be worn every day. It’s not news that some women later hate their rings and stop wearing it. I’ll help you avoid that (see tips down below).
To help figure out the perfect wedding ring style and design that you’ll forever love to wear, I put together the 6 questions you should ask and the 5 steps to finding the bridal ring you’ll forever love and never regret buying. Swipe/ scroll down to read the tips.
When shopping for a ring, you need to consider a few things and put some thoughts into choosing your wedding ring design and style. If not, you may later dislike the ring.
It’s the only wedding day fashion piece you’ll be wearing years (or forever) after your big day. It’s the reason why some women either stopped wearing their wedding ring or replace it not long after their big day.
You don’t have to make the same mistake and waste your money. In this post, I’ll show you how to find the wedding ring you’ll still like years after.
Choosing a Wedding Ring: 6 Questions to Help You Figure Out Your Ring Style
Not all wedding rings look the same. They come in different metals and shapes to suit the different tastes of diverse women. You can get confused if you go shopping for a ring without first figuring out the specifics of the wedding ring you will buy.
Besides, it’s time-consuming to make a decision while at the market or jewellery store. Here are our quick tips to help you figure out the specifics of your wedding band in advance:
1. Colour of the Ring Metal
When choosing your wedding ring, first decide the colour you want for the metal part. What colour of ring metal do you usually gravitate towards?
The colour of the metal part of a ring is usually the first thing most women identify with when they see or like a ring. Some ladies gravitate towards white-coloured ring metals, some are drawn to golden-yellow coloured ones, and some prefer the rose-gold coloured rings. What do you prefer?
The colour of a ring is determined by the type of metal that the ring is made from or coated with, and this would determine the options you have when shopping for your wedding ring. Here are options you will find when shopping:
YELLOW-METAL RINGS: If you prefer to buy a wedding ring with yellow-gold appearance, your options would be between original gold rings and gold-plated wedding rings.
It’s important to note that rings with higher carat numbers have darker golden shades than those with lower carats. Put in another way, a 9-carat wedding or engagement ring has a lighter golden colour than an 18-carat ring.
ROSE-GOLD-METAL RINGS: Rose-gold wedding rings are also a variation of gold rings. Like their white-coloured cousin (above), rose gold rings are actually made by plating/ coating the base ring metal with copper to achieve a rosy-coloured ring. The metal ‘Copper’ has a rose-gold colour. Note also that with time and usage, your rose gold ring will fade to show the colour of the metal inside. It can be related back at a jewellery maker’s shop.
Unlike the yellow-gold rings, the higher the carat number of a rose-gold ring, the lighter the rose-gold shade of that ring. In other words, an 18ct rose-gold ring has a lighter shade/ colour than a 9ct one.
WHITE RING METAL: If you prefer wedding rings with white metal appearance, your options when buying would be to choose between silver, 9ct or 18ct white gold, steel, titanium, platinum or palladium.
CONS OF WHITE-GOLD RINGS: The metal ‘gold’ is not white but naturally golden-yellow in colour. Talking of white-gold rings, according to ring experts, they are actually yellow gold rings that are coated/ plated with Rhodium, a white metal. The result is a white-looking gold ring (rhodium-plated, of course).
If you choose a white wedding ring, it’s important to know that at some point, it will tarnish to lose the coating, and fade back to show the yellow colour of the underneath ring metal (gold). This would take some time, though.
When my sister’s white-gold wedding ring faded to gold colour, I remember her telling me that the Hausa man she bought it from told her to expect that.
So, if you’ve ever wondered why your white-gold ring is turning yellow, now you know the reason. Anyway, the good news is that a faded white-gold ring can be re-plated again to have a white appearance (if you like). Top jewellery shops in Nigeria offer this service for a fee.
HINT: If you want a white ring metal that will not fade, a platinum wedding ring is an alternative to consider buying. The metal ‘platinum’ is naturally white in colour and do not fade. Platinum rings can be polished to look shiny again any time you scratched it.
In summary, platinum wedding or engagement rings are a maintenance-free option for any woman that likes white rings. They do not require re-plating.
2. The Durability and/ Or Price of the Ring Metal
Some women first specify the metal of the ring they want, before any other thing. For many Nigeria women, some consider the durability and the future market value of the ring, or the possibility to resell the ring in the future to repurchase another design.
Gold wedding rings are the top choice for any women who has this thought.
Some women simply like what they like, which may not be gold, and that’s okay. For others, their choice of ring metal would be based on what their budget can afford, with the thought to replace with a better one in the future.
What I always tell brides is to just follow their heart, but be realistic with your budget.
So, what kind of ring metal would you like it to be? Gold and silver are not the only options. Popular wedding ring metals include gold (comes in white gold, yellow gold, or rose-gold), silver (pure silver, sterling silver), platinum, and titanium. Cheaper gold-plated options are also available in Nigerian markets.
3. Width or Ring Metal
If you look at wedding ring pictures, you’ll find that some rings are slim (have a slim metal part), some are big or wider. Every woman has their preference.
Since your wedding ring is going to be your new everyday wear, you’ll want to choose a ring width that aligns with your personal style, that you’ll not get tired of. Take a look at the rings you already have, what’s the width of most of them?
Also, the size of your fingers matter when choosing the right ring width. Be sure to not choose a ring that will swallow your hand. Ensure to visit the stores to try out the rings in person, in order to get a feel of the ring width that looks best on your finger. Don’t forget to take photos so you can look through and finally decide.
4. Wedding Ring With or Without Stone?
How do you like your wedding ring – with precious stones or simply a plain wedding band? Types of ring stones include diamond, sapphire, ruby, cubic zirconia (CZ) and moissanite (both are popular and cheaper diamond alternatives that closely looks like a diamond);
5. Which Particular Ring-Stone Type?
If you prefer to go to a wedding ring with precious stone, what type of stone do you prefer (including diamond, ruby or other)?
6. Bridal Set, Wedding Set or Stand-alone Wedding Band?
Do you want a matchy-matchy set of rings (engagement and wedding ring)? Do you just want to buy only a wedding band? When shopping for your wedding ring, you’ll come across some rings in ‘sets of two’ and some in ‘sets of three’.
There’s the ‘bridal set‘, which is a set of a pair of rings designed to be worn together and consists of the engagement ring (which has a centre stone) and a wedding band of similar design. There’s also the ‘wedding set‘, containing three rings of uniform design – the groom’s wedding band, and the bridal set.
NOTE: Even if you’re not buying a ready-made bridal set, something to look out for is to buy a wedding ring that complements your engagement ring. Get the same colour of the ring metal, and find a ring that will sit next to your engagement ring with little or no gap.
Which type of wedding ring should you buy?
Let’s be real, not every woman preparing for a wedding has an engagement ring, and if you’re one, buying a bridal set may be the right option for you. Some women are also able to pick out separate, stand-alone engagement rings and wedding bands that complement each other, during shopping.
That’s also an option – depending on the option that has the right price point for you. It’s important to decide whether you are going to buy a wedding set, a bridal set or a wedding band.
Many women regret their choice of wedding rings sooner or later after buying because they did not research first. This post will help you avoid that.
If you’re in the middle of planning your wedding, it’s okay to not have figured out your wedding ring style yet. However, it is a good idea not to start ring shopping until you figure out the type of wedding ring that appeals to your taste.
OTHER WEDDING RING BUYING GUIDE:
- 42 Stylish Ways to Show Off Your Engagement Ring in a Selfie
- Latest and Classic Wedding Ring Designs Every Bride Should See
- Interesting Wedding Ring History: How and Where It All Started
5 Quick Steps to Finding Your Best Wedding Ring Style and Design
Once you’ve decided on your wedding ring specifics (metal, shape, stone, set or no set), it’s time to decide on what the ring would look like. It is easy to get confused when you see very many rings at the jewellery stores, and it can also be time-consuming sifting through what’s in the market to choose from.
Therefore, I always recommend knowing what you want in terms of the ring design, before going out to the stores. Here are our quick steps to guide you when buying your wedding ring:
a. Find inspiration from pictures (magazines, wedding blogs, Pinterest, Instagram). That’s how you’ll know what’s in-vogue, what are the latest celebrity wedding ring designs and what the classic wedding ring designs.
From looking at the different pictures, you’ll start getting an idea of the type of designs that appeal to you. This is going to be a ring you’ll wear for everyday of your life, so it’s important to pick ring designs that vibe with your everyday style – so that you won’t quickly get bored wearing it;
b. Save or cut out images of the ring designs you like;
c. Narrow down your list. Look again at the pictures you’ve gathered and narrow down your most-liked wedding bands to the best 3 designs;
d. Save your best 3 ring images. Have those last 3 images saved to your phone or printed out;
e. Shopping time: Take your 3 ring inspirations for shopping. The idea is that you would save time spent at shopping and not get distracted, by starting to ask for any of the 3 wedding ring designs that are your ‘it style’. Know that you may not get exactly the same design but you’ll get something close to that.
- SEE ALSO: 42 Engagement Ring Selfie Samples: Stylish Ways to Show Off Your Ring
- How to Snap the Perfect Engagement Ring Selfie: Everything You Need to Know
Why It’s Important to Carefully Choose Your Wedding Ring
Your goal should be to pick a wedding ring style that you’ll not get tired of wearing years after. Your wedding ring is fine jewellery that you’re going to wear almost every day, starting from the day you say “I do’.
You don’t want to choose a ring style to later fall out of love with it and dislike wearing it. Going ring shopping without having an idea of what to ask for is a big mistake.
Without researching first, you’re going to be overwhelmed with choices and may end up buying on impulse and later hate your ring.
Having an advance-idea of what you want, plus a picture of the wedding ring style that appeals to you will make you calmer during ring-shopping and make less prone to being ripped off at the market.
Therefore, it is important to do your research on the latest wedding ring styles before going out to the jewellery shops. In this post, you will get to look at a wide range of the latest and classic wedding ring styles and designs that are available in the market.
Hopefully, you can find your wedding ring style before you go out shopping, and ultimately know what to buy.
- SEE ALSO: Interesting Wedding Ring History: How and Where It Started
- Engagement Ring Selfie Tips: How to Take the Perfect Ring Shot (Checklist)
What’s Your Wedding Ring Style?
It’s amazing how wedding band design choices differ with different women. Some Nigerian women like plain wedding rings (with a few stones or none, maybe like a wedding band), others prefer designs that include precious stones like diamonds, ruby, emerald, sapphire or other.
When deciding on the wedding band to buy, be sure to decide on the metal – gold, silver or platinum? Also, the colour of the ring metal is a huge part when choosing a wedding ring – silver is whitish; there’s white gold, yellow gold.
Finally, ring stones also come in different colours – keep that in mind, when deciding on the wedding ring design to buy.
If you plan to wear your engagement and wedding rings stacked on one finger: How you like to wear your rings will determine the type of wedding ring suitable for you. For example, some women prefer to keep things simple and wear only their wedding bands on a day-to-day basis.
If you plan to stack your engagement ring on top of your wedding band, choose a wedding ring that matches your engagement ring in design so that they both look like they were bought as a ‘set’. Keep that in mind when shopping.
Where to find wedding rings in Nigeria: Once you’ve chosen the best designs and style of rings that you like, you’re ready to go shopping.
You can find good and original wedding rings in many Nigerian markets and jewellery stores. But if you like the convenience of buying stuff online, you can find beautiful, original wedding rings on top of online stores.
BRIDAL FASHION IDEAS:
- Latest Wedding Gowns Spotted at Big Nigerian Weddings (Photos)
- The Best Wedding Gown Style for Your Body Shape (How to Choose)
- Bridal Trains: The Best One for Your Wedding Gown Style
- Latest Beaded Necklaces for Bride’s Traditional Wedding
- Latest Aso-Oke Styles and Designs for Couples
Know What You Want Before Shopping for Your Wedding Ring
Recap: Don’t go shopping for your wedding band until you figure out the design of the wedding ring you like best. That way, you’ll avoid impulse-buying and regrets.
Smart brides start looking at wedding ring pictures in websites and magazines, so as to get an idea of what to shop for. Not a surprise because there are uncountable wedding ring designs in the market.
That makes it confusing and overwhelming to start your search from a bridal jewellery store where you’ll be presented with so many that it will be hard to decide on one there and then.
Wrapping Up
I hope the above tips will help you find a wedding ring you’ll be forever proud to show-off. Now, that’s it on how to choose the perfect wedding ring. If you like this post, consider sharing it on social media.
Also, if you used our tips above to buy your dream wedding ring, send us the picture for a chance to be featured.
Did you find your perfect wedding ring design from those pictures of the trending and classic wedding rings? Are you going for a bridal set or stand-alone wedding band? Comment below to tell me what your ring style looks like.
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