How To Wear Your Wedding Band (Wedding Ring)

How To Wear Your Wedding Band (Wedding Ring)

So recently I posted a blog on 8 ways to wear your wedding rings. I found it to be informative and helpful. I later realized that the content I wrote about didn’t exactly correspond with the title. I intended to write about How To Wear Your Wedding Band (Wedding Ring), but instead ended up writing about styles of wedding bands.

Essentially what I did was give a detailed breakdown of the different types or styles of wedding bands instead of delving into actually how to wear your wedding band.

So here’s my do over…

In the United States it is customary to wear a wedding ring on the left hand ring finger (fourth finger from the thumb). For other countries and regions it seems wrong to wear your wedding ring on the hand less dominant. Unless you live in a country where the population consists of a majority of left handed people. That would hardly be the case since people that are left handed only compose 10% of the world’s population.

So why does America have this backward custom of wearing your wedding ring on the left hand?

It was an ancient Roman belief that a single vein on the ring finger of the left hand traveled directly to the heart. They called the vena amoris, the vein of love. Well, the idea is that since your heart is on the left side of your body wearing your wedding ring on the same side would keep it closer to your heart. Sweet, no? I find it endearing. How sweet is it to know that your wedding ring, the symbol of your endless love and devotion is that much closer to your heart? It’s adorable. Furthermore, once you’ve graduated from being engaged to being married you wear your wedding ring before your engagement ring.

I wish someone would have told me that before my wedding day. Blog post weren’t as persuasive back then (2003).

All my wedding pictures have my engagement ring and wedding band on the “wrong” way. See I thought I wore them in the order they were received. I got the engagement ring before the wedding band so that was order I wore my rings in.

Then I was informed of this whole “Closer toy your heart” notion. Now I’m always paying it forward and letting our customers know before the wedding. It’s the least I can do.

But there are still other countries that wear the wedding ring on their right hand. Since the right hand is a symbol of dominance and strength it’s only natural to wear it there.

And some ask why we’re it on your ring finger? Many countries and cultures wear their wedding rings on the middle finger. Symbolizing balance and a ying/yang relationship between partners. The middle finger is usually the tallest and allows for the hand to have an equilibrium for the remaining fingers.

So why wear your wedding ring on the ring finger? Aside from the obvious…that it’s your RING finger?

I’d ask myself this question many times and forget to actually find the answer to it. Now I find myself forced to look for the answer.

The Chinese give an amazing allegory for how to wear your wedding band. They say that each of your fingers represents significant people in your life. Your thumbs represent you parents. Your index fingers your siblings (brothers and sisters). The middle finger represents you. Your ring finger is betrothed for your spouse. And last but not least, your pinky is representative of your children. Now, whether or not any of these roles are prominent in your life at the moment is not important, but rather hold a symbolic value.

Here’s the kicker…

Put the tips of all your fingers together.

Then fold over both middle fingers (representing YOU) to point downwards.

Are you able to pull you thumbs apart? Yes. That means that eventually your parents will leave you at the end of their days.

Next,

Are you able to pull apart your index fingers? Yes. That means that your siblings will also at some point part with you to build their individual lives with their families.

At that point, just your pinky and ring finger are remaining.

Try pulling apart your pinkies. Are you able to? Yes. This means that once your children have come of age, they too will leave you and build their lives.

Now, try pulling apart your ring fingers. Are you able to pull them apart? NO!!! This comes to prove that your spouse, your soul-mate cannot be repelled from you. The ring fingers are the only ones that have a special connection  and are inseparable in of their own strength.  This, according to the Chinese is the reason you wear your wedding band on the fourth finger.