15 Fun Facts About Wedding Rings

Wedding rings have been used since Ancient Egypt to show love, commitment, wealth, and even ownership. The tradition of exchanging rings is deeply rooted in many cultures and in most mainstream wedding ceremonies. It is no wonder that with such a rich history, people are fascinated by the stories, facts and traditions that surround wedding rings. This list of fifteen fun facts about wedding rings shows an amazingly diverse history about one of the most important symbols in our modern culture.

1. In all, about 70% of brides wear their rings on the fourth finger of their left hand; a tradition that comes from the Roman belief that the vena amoris, or vein of love, was located there.
2. Not all cultures wear wedding rings on their ring fingers. Some Indian traditions even require that a bride wear a toe ring instead.
3. Couples in England, France and the U.S. wear their wedding rings on their left hand, but couples in India, Germany and Russia prefer the right hand.
4. The tradition of both the bride and groom wearing wedding rings only began during WWII, when men began wearing rings to remember their wives back home.
5. One historical reason for the exchanging of wedding rings was for the man to prove that he was financially stable enough to support his new bride by first giving her a gift of precious metal.
6. The groom’s name is the most commonly engraved phrase on a wedding ring.
7. Many linguists believe that the name “diamond” comes from the Greek word adamant (adamas), which means untamable, or invincible.
8. The first recorded wedding rings date back to Ancient Egypt. Couples would exchange circles to symbolize eternity, and deities of the sun and moon.
9. White gold and platinum are the two most popular metals for wedding rings, with white gold being the most popular at 73% of rings.
10. The most popular shape for a diamond is a round brilliant cut.
11. Every year, the U.S. sees seventeen tons of gold turned into wedding rings.
12. It is a tradition in Romania for couples to exchange silver bands on their 25th anniversary. Both the man and the woman will wear the new bands in addition to the gold ones exchanged at their wedding.
13. According to tradition, the marriage is doomed if the groom drops the ring during the ceremony.
14. In ancient Rome, men often gave rings that were adorned with a small key, making the ring the symbolic key to his heart.
15. Wedding rings were traditionally made of gold because it was considered the most pure and valuable metal, and was thought to perfectly symbolize marriage.

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