Ring Rules to Think About...

We've given you a handful of things to think about when setting out to find your wedding bands.

Choosing or designing your wedding ring is a pretty important process. You both will wear your wedding rings for the rest of your life. Sometimes the bride may choose to wear her engagement ring only on special occasions, but the wedding ring is there for the long haul.

You want to make sure your rings reflect your personalities, but you also want to ensure that they aren't going to make you cringe in 10 years time.

Here are FIVE helpful hints to think about when choosing your bands.

Think About Your Wallet

Before you visit jewellery galleries, stores or websites, make sure you've set aside a portion of your wedding budget for your wedding bands. The average price of an average sized band of the standard metals:

Titanium: $200
Stainless Steel: $100
Sterling Silver: $50
Yellow Gold: (Lady's 9ct) $150 (Lady's 18ct) $300 (Man's 9ct) $300 (Man's 18ct) $700
Rose Gold: Same as Yellow Gold
White Gold: 10% more than Yellow Gold
Platinum: (Lady's) $1,000 (Man's) $2,000
Palladium: (Lady's) $250 (Men's) $600

If you plan on having stones, such as diamonds, in your bands, than you should intend on spending considerably more. Remember - the smaller the diamonds, the more affordable! So a thin band of small diamonds will probably be markedly more affordable than a band with a few, larger diamonds.

Note: If your skin is sensitive to metals, you may want to consider spending the extra money and investing in platinum. It is quite pure, which means it is less likely to annoy your skin or your allergies.

Think About Your Actions

Is your fiancé a builder or a personal trainer? Do you play the guitar? It's important to remember and consider what you do day-to-day when choosing wedding bands.

If you work with your hands a lot, and are not overly gentle, consider a simple, solid ring that can withstand both strain and grime. Rings with a lot of etchings or carvings will cling to dirt; stones, no matter how strongly they are set, can always come loose; and embellishments are susceptible to chips. Make sure you are going to take great care of your ring if you plan to have any of the above features.

Musicians, such as guitarists and violinists, should consider thinner bands that are custom fit. This is a round-edged design, which means the sides of the ring won't catch or interfere with anything.

Think About You

Maybe you're really into flowers at the moment...will you be in 20 years time? You never know...so getting a wedding ring that is a band of little sunflowers may be a bit of a gamble.

There are so many different ideas these days about wedding bands. You don't have to go down the traditional, 5mm, yellow gold route anymore. But that doesn't mean we're saying go for something that is super trendy, as it may not always be your cup of tea.

Some great, alternative wedding bands that will probably always have a place in your little Kiwi heart are Ashley Hilton's rings. He incorporates traditional kiwi icons into a range of different metals, but not in a way that overwhelms. To see some of his work, visit the Quoil website below.

It's also more and more common to meet with your local jeweller and discuss your personality, your tastes and your style. He or she can then come back to you with designs - a great way of ensuring your wedding ring is all your own.

You and your fiance don't have to have the same band either. You each may have very different tastes, so don't get a wedding band that doesn't suit you just because it suits your partner. A way of tying it together is to either use the same metal, or arrange for engraving in both bands. 

Think About the Future

Didn't think about the wedding bands when setting out your budget? Or is money a bit tight after the catering and flowers are ticked off the list? No need to worry. If you've always wanted platinum but it's a bit out of your price range, why not get a white gold or titanium wedding band now, and in a few years, maybe for your 5th anniversary, you upgrade? If you wanted diamonds but they are a bit out of reach, hint to your soon-to-be husband that the perfect anniversary or first baby present would be a beautiful diamond eternity ring...

Think About Your Time

Give yourself ample time to browse before the wedding day. If you plan to have your wedding bands custom-made, allow even more time. New Zealanders tend to get married in the summer months...but December, or the holiday season, is the most frantic time of year for jewellers. So give them a bit of padding by visiting them 3-5 months before the wedding.

If you plan on purchasing a ring from a jeweller's existing collection, give yourself time to visit a range of jewellers and try on a bunch of different bands. It's just like a wedding dress - sometimes the last ring you thought would suit you is the most beautiful one on your finger.

If you plan to have your wedding rings engraved, you should also allow at least a month or two before the day for this to be done, as it can often take a bit longer than you may expect.