It’s only natural to want something as symbolic as your engagement ring or wedding ring marked with a special date, phrase, or other meaningful inscription that evokes love and commitment. An engraving can add another layer of meaning to this important piece of jewelry and make it deeply personal. The motives are pure, so the question becomes, what to engrave on a wedding ring that will encompass such significance?
Ring engraving has been done for centuries. Posy rings or poesy rings, named after the French word “poésie,” meaning poetry, were worn throughout the middle ages but were most popular in France and Britain the 17th and 18th centuries. These rings were inscribed with messages of love, devotion, or faith on the outside of the band, while later rings carried similar messages but inscribed on the inside of the band.
So for centuries, men and women have looked for ideas to engrave on a wedding ring. To help you gather inspiration for your own romantic engraving, we’re sharing dozens of engraving ideas for wedding rings. While you can use one of these inscriptions outright, they may also spark a unique idea or inspire you to look to places you hadn’t thought of before and come up with an engraving that is all your own.
Where to Gather Engraving Ideas for Wedding Rings
There are many ways to gather inspiration and ideas to engrave on a wedding band, be it a women’s wedding band or a men’s wedding band. You can look to your favorite movies and books, to history, or at your unique love story and the special phrases you and your fiancé say to one another for wedding ring engraving ideas. Use this as a guide to uncover an inscription that makes sense for you and yours.
From History
History is marked by great love stories, so why not draw from one of these for your engraving or from a famous love quote or poem. Turn to Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, or your own favorite poet, or to someone revered for their wisdom like Gandhi or Maya Angelou.
There are so many ways we can describe love, yet it can be difficult to put what you’re feeling into words. Sometimes, someone else says it best, so don’t shy away from using famous words or phrases throughout history as the inscription on your wedding ring. The key is ensuring the words feel personal to you, not random or forced.
From a Movie or Book
If you have a favorite movie or book as a couple, a quote from it could be fitting for the engraving on your wedding rings. Consider the classics or the films you watch over and over again. Does a quote always hit home? Just make sure whatever quote you select does have meaning to you as a couple.
Draw inspiration from Harry’s iconic line in When Harry Met Sally, “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
From Snape’s love for Lily Potter, “After all this time?” “Always.” Or from Mr. Darcy’s confession to Elizabeth, “You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”
In terms of books, Emily Bronte spoke for so many love stories when she wrote, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same,” in Wuthering Heights.
From a Religious Text
Marriage is not only a societal construct but a deeply spiritual commitment. If your faith is important or integral to your relationship, a ring engraving idea incorporating a piece of scripture, such as a bible verse or reference, which can be a wonderful way to signify its role in your marriage. Consider the scripture or advice you have relied on or want to remember in good times and in bad, and keep it close by engraving it on your rings. Look also at the scripture, hymns, or religious poems that will be a part of your wedding ceremony.
From a Personal Anecdote
If you plan to engrave the inside of a ring, you can consider the inscription a secret between you and your loved one. Funny or intimate, use this space to write a personal love note, nickname, or even an inside joke that you share. Think about what you want your partner to feel when they read the inscription: joy, warmth, connection, romance. Use that feeling to influence what you choose to engrave on the ring and watch and wait for their reaction.
From Song Lyrics
Music can take us back to a specific time and place and make us feel things even more deeply than we already do. For these reasons, song lyrics can be an apt engraving on a ring, especially if you have an “our song”. You could also pull song lyrics from the song of your first dance, or from any song that reminds you of each other. Once again, whichever song lyric you choose, it’s important that they feel true to you and how you feel.
From Your Wedding Day
Your wedding day is an incredible picture of your love story and is a natural inspiration for the engraving on your wedding band. There are many pieces of your wedding day you can draw from, such as your wedding date, place, location coordinates, a romantic phrase said, or a combination of these. You can also choose an excerpt from your vows, which can be incredibly meaningful and a way to keep them close at all times.
If you love the idea of engraving your wedding ring but want to keep it simple, consider inscribing your rings with just your and your fiancé’s initials.
From Your Family
Engraving an engagement ring, wedding band, or eternity ring doesn’t need to happen before the wedding. An engraved ring doesn’t have to be a wedding ring or a ring at all. Any piece of jewelry, such as a pendant necklace, charm bracelet, watch, or promise ring, can be engraved and given as a meaningful gift. It can be an anniversary present, a Christmas gift, or a gift to commemorate the birth of a new baby. In all of these instances, you can draw inspiration from your family for the inscription.
If you have a family crest, for instance, it would make for a wonderful engraving on a signet ring, watch, or anniversary ring. Other familial engraving ideas include family names, mottos, or the initials of each family member. This last idea can be especially impactful after having children.
Symbols
You don’t have to use words at all when engraving a wedding ring or piece of fine jewelry. Symbols are another effective way to evoke how you feel. There are, of course, hearts, stars, and crosses, but engravers can create any number of symbols on a ring. Perhaps there’s an animal or a constellation that speaks to you. You can also choose to use symbols in addition to words to tell the full story you want to.
How to Go About Wedding Ring Engraving
If you plan to pop the question with an engagement ring or give your fiancé a wedding band on your wedding day, or simply surprise someone special with a diamond ring, a custom engraving is the perfect way to personalize it. Keep in mind, if the ring is a gift or a surprise, it’s critical to get the ring size right as engraved rings can be resized very little.
Once you have decided what you want to be engraved on the ring, you’ll need to confront how to engrave a ring. There are many ring engraving methods, including laser engraving and machine engraving, which are directed by computer, and traditional engraving, which is done by hand. All of these methods can produce beautiful engravings, but depending on the metal of the ring, one may be better than another.
An engraved wedding band or engraved wedding ring is a unique touch to your and your partner’s day. The best way to go about engraving a wedding ring is to partner with a custom design service from the start. At 12FIFTEEN Diamonds, we offer custom wedding ring design services that you can rely on for your engraving needs. If you want a fully custom ring, the designers will build your custom ring from pictures, drawings, or your own description, and you will be able to see your design take form in a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file. You can then approve or make edits to your design before it is handcrafted and delivered to your door.
It’s important to know that all of our custom rings are made with lab grown diamonds because we only provide ethical, environmentally superior stones that are, of course, beautiful. When you work with our team of designers, you will be able to craft your dream ring or any custom piece from scratch.
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