If you’re about to get engaged, or recently got engaged, it’s time to start thinking about wedding rings—that is, the band you exchange during your ceremony as an enduring symbol of your commitment and marital status from that moment forward. There is an abundance of styles to choose from, but one way to make your wedding band choice uniquely your own is to personalize it with a custom engraving.
Most jewelers should be able to handle this detail for you. The average cost ranges from $50 to $100, and most ring surfaces accommodate between 15 to 30 characters.
Ring engraving adds a deeply personal element and sentimental value to the piece, intensifying the connection between the ring and its wearer. Some of the more popular ring-engraving ideas include the wearer’s or couple’s initials, a significant date, a cherished religious verse or a snippet of romantic poetry.
Bonus: When you have your wedding band engraved, you also get a built-in security benefit—if your ring ever becomes lost or stolen, its engraved message can help identify it as yours and yours alone when you file a police report. Which might facilitate solving the crime—and hopefully, expedite the ring’s safe return.
Can all rings be engraved?
The metals most commonly used in rings like gold and platinum are easy to engrave or etch via traditional techniques and tools.
Rings with intricate patterns, filigree, or stones that cover the entire band may not leave enough space for executing a clear engraving. The band’s width is also a factor—jewelers prefer a minimum 3mm band width for engravings.
Can wedding bands made with alternative metals like tungsten, cobalt, and stainless steel be engraved? Most jewelers consider it a difficult and risky process owing to each metal’s unique properties (many are very dense making it difficult for an engraver to penetrate the surface).
The answer? Laser engraving. This modern technique achieves the highest-level efficacy in etching strong, dense metals (like tungsten carbide, for example).
Ring engraving: a time-honored tradition
Ring-engraving has been practiced for centuries. Dating back to the Medieval era, “posey rings” (derived from the French word for poem: poésie) were inscribed with secret messages of love between two people. It was a common belief that when these words were worn close to the skin, the meaning behind them deepened. Some posey rings were engraved with religious text and others depicted engraved images of animals and plants.
Today, you can go classic, utterly offbeat, or somewhere in between. Brevity is key, given the space limitations; beyond that, the sky’s the limit. Start your search with our list of suggestions, compiled by type/vibe for your convenience.
Traditional engravings
- The date you met / wedding date
- Initials (yours or both of yours)
- I Love You
- Always & Forever
- We are one
- Eternity
- Love Endures
- Semper Fidelis (Latin: Always Faithful)
- Amor Vincit Omnia (Latin: Love Conquers All)
Short romantic quotes
- Adventure awaits
- All my love
- Amore mio (Italian: My Love)
- For my soulmate
- Forever begins
- Happily ever after
- I choose you
- I love you more
- Love, honor, cherish
- My one and only
- Never to part
- The beginning of forever
- Till death do us part
- To have and to hold
- To the moon and back
- You have my heart
- You’re my everything
Song lyrics
- At Last
- You Make Me Feel So Brand New
- I Carry Your Heart
- Never Tear Us Apart
- Crazy In Love
- Here, There & Everywhere
- So Happy Together
- Only Love Sets Us Free
- Some Things Are Meant to Be
- Only You and I, My Love
- You Make My Dreams Come True
- Baby, I’m Yours
- I’ll be There
- For My Soulmate
- Written in the Stars
- I Am Your Mirror
- A Whole New World
- I Would Walk 500 Miles
- The Best Is Yet To Come
- You’re All I Need To Get By
- True Love Waits
Playful
- A deal’s a deal
- Better half
- Challenge accepted
- Contractually Yours
- Do not remove!
- Finally!
- Finders Keepers
- Fooled Around and Fell in Love
- Incredibly lucky
- Insert Finger Here
- Mine
- Nicknames for each other
- No Take Backs
- Non-refundable
- Property of (your name)
- Put me back on!
- Ride or Die
- Us Against the World
- Why is this off?
- You’re My Lobster
- You’re Stuck With Me
Companion engravings (one for your band, one for theirs)
- To Have / To Hold
- Little Spoon / Big Spoon
- Love Is Patient / Love Is Kind
- I Carry Your Heart With Me / I Carry It In My Heart
- I Am My Beloved’s / My Beloved Is Mine
- I Found My Other Half / My Other Half Found Me
- I Love You / I Know
- To Infinity / And Beyond
- Yin/Yang (or symbols)
Creative
- A reference to your favorite TV show or movie
- An reference to an inside joke
- GPS coordinates of where you met or married
- Name of a significant location
- “I love you” or another message written in morse code
Symbols
- The infinity symbol
- The Celtic Knot
- Hearts
- Zodiac signs
- The year of your wedding in Roman numerals
- Various religious symbols
Once you have chosen your wedding band and get it engraved, make sure you get it insured by a reputable jewelry company like Jewelers Mutual. Obtaining personal jewelry insurance through Jewelers Mutual is an affordable option and covers loss, damage, and disappearances. You can check your rate by clicking the button below.
