A popular tradition among brides and grooms of today is engraving the wedding
band(s). Usually, the bride will purchase her groom's ring and have it engraved
with the message of her choice, and the groom will do the same for his bride.
Many brides and grooms are not sure what they should have engraved in the rings,
and so below I have provided a list. The entries in this list are based on my
own ideas and those gleaned from the newsgroups soc.couples.wedding and
alt.wedding, along with an informal survey of my married friends and acquaintances.
Our Rings
Mine says, "I will always love you" and the date. His says, "Whither thou goest, I will go," from Ruth 1:16-17, which I read to him at the ceremony.
Names and the Date
This is the classic and most traditional of engravings. The variations
include initials and the date or just the spouse's name and the date.
A snippet of the wedding vows
A good friend of mine, recently married, wears a wedding band bearing the
sentiment "Till death do us part." I think this is lovely, as almost any part
of the wedding vows would be. For instance, "From this day forward," "In
sickness and in health," or even the simple "I do."
Sentiments of love
Examples would be "Endless love," "Love forever," "[With] All my heart,"
and "I love you." A sentiment of love which also expresses
the commitment you're undertaking is "This and the giver are
thine forever." A variation on this theme is seen in the Leonardo DiCaprio/Claire Danes
film William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, where Juliet's
inscription is shown to read, "I love thee," and opposite those words, "R + J".
Meaningful or personal messages
To make the inscription even more personal, have your fiance[e]'s ring
engraved with the nickname that you call him or her, the title of "your" song,
or some other personal words. This could be as simple as the single word
"soulmate," or a message that no one would understand but the two of you.
Other personal messages might include the title of your
song or a line of poetry that is meaningful to you.
Spiritual or Religious engravings
Bring your spirituality into this holy union by
including a scriptural reference as your ring's engraving.
A favorite is I Corinthians 13, the passage that begins
"Love is kind...". Another suggestion from alt.wedding
was "the 3 of us," a reference to the couple's relationship
with God.
Humor
For the more lighthearted approach, use a sentiment such as "Put it back
on!" or "I like my choice!" For a 2nd marriage, "This one's the keeper!"
Acronyms
Abbreviate a personal message, such as "IWALY"="I Will Always Love You".
Combine your names
To show that you have combined your lives, combine your names into one such as Jennidale (from soc.couples.wedding--thanks!).
A variation on the theme
Here's one we received by email. One bride gave her new husband a nice watch
as a wedding gift. On the back it was engraved, "Until the
end of time." Thoughtfully submitted by Barbara Errico. Thanks Barbara!
Another email submission suggested an alternate watch engraving,
"Time to think of me" with the names. That one was submitted
by Sarah Scheidel. Thank you Sarah!
I would love to expand this list to include a larger volume of ideas. If anyone
would like to submit their own ideas for addition to the list, please
email me and I will add them.
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