Engagement ring meaning?

edw7479 · December 2011

An article that Juliana posted on FB really has me thinking for some reason. Here is the article if you're interested, but not necessary to read it for this thread: CLICKY.

My question is this: What does your engagement ring mean to you? Why do you love having it and wearing it?

Is it just because it's pretty? Does it make you feel like you are informing people that you are taken? Is it a sparkly sign of your commitment to your FI? What does it mean to you personally?

Also, do you find it odd that women wear them and men don't?

Ash61612 · December 2011

My ring represents the love and bond FI and I have for each other. It is a symbol to others that I "am spoken for" and my heart is only for my FI.

I don't find it odd that women wear them and men don't. I guess I am just used to the tradition of women only wearing engagement rings.

Megbo2012 · December 2011

Mine is a Claddagh so it literally means "engaged" by the way it is worn (hand, position). To me that's all it means. I didn't want a fancy ring because I'm not really a jewelry person and FI and I live a pretty good life as is, so a big purchase like that wouldn't be worth it to me. (It may have been different if I liked them, but even then probably not.)

kelsey+brandon · December 2011

My engagement ring means so much to me! FI spent sooo long picking it out and that time, effort, and love that he put in it makes it even more valuable (litterally...he had the jeweler bring in diamonds for 7 months before he found one he was satisfied with!) I love the memory that we now have of our engagement and receiving my ring was part of that memory. I also hope that it's something that will be passed on to our grandchildren and/or great grandchildren when that time comes. I think part of it is letting other's know that I'm taken, but I think I put off that vibe even before we were engaged and I had a ring.

gregamywedding · December 2011

To me it mean the love that FI and I share is so much that we want to make a life long commitment to each other.

midgetthemighty · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:7b76e5ca-a946-47f5-bc35-bf80c9afa07b">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]My ring represents the love and bond FI and I have for each other. It is a symbol to others that I "am spoken for" and my heart is only for my FI. I don't find it odd that women wear them and men don't. I guess I am just used to the tradition of women only wearing engagement rings.
Posted by Ash61612[/QUOTE]

Pretend I said this too. :)

It also comes in handy if you're out with your girlfriends and some creepy guy won't leave you alone. Shining it in their face is pretty effective.

kelsey+brandon · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:c81c074a-0027-4f86-b3dd-6eaa8cdbb20f">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Engagement ring meaning? : Pretend I said this too. :)<strong> It also comes in handy if you're out with your girlfriends and some creepy guy won't leave you alone.</strong> Shining it in their face is pretty effective.
Posted by midgetthemighty[/QUOTE]

<div>If only it worked on all of them!!!!!!!!!!</div>

Megbo2012 · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:8d899dfc-085f-4697-ad43-301837d0acc5">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]My engagement ring means so much to me! FI spent sooo long picking it out and that time, effort, and love that he put in it makes it even more valuable (litterally...he had the jeweler bring in diamonds for 7 months before he found one he was satisfied with!) I love the memory that we now have of our engagement and receiving my ring was part of that memory. I also hope that it's something that will be passed on to our grandchildren and/or great grandchildren when that time comes.<strong> I think part of it is letting other's know that I'm taken, but I think I put off that vibe even before we were engaged and I had a ring.</strong>
Posted by kelsey+brandon[/QUOTE]

<div>FI actually got me a different Claddagh ring before we were engaged so people would know we were in a relationship. I don't think he understood that he is probably part of the 5% of the male population who knew what it meant when people wore them. People wear them the wrong way all the time, just because they don't know, care, or like it a certain way. haha</div>

sleblanc72 · December 2011

I'm with Midge and Ash on this. My also holds a very special meaning to both of our hearts as it's his grandmother's diamond and she passed away right before we started dating. She was a second mother to him and meant the world to him and it means so much to me that he gave me her stone.

Megbo2012 · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:c81c074a-0027-4f86-b3dd-6eaa8cdbb20f">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Engagement ring meaning? : Pretend I said this too. :) It also comes in handy if you're out with your girlfriends and some creepy guy won't leave you alone. <strong>Shining it in their face is pretty effective.</strong>
Posted by midgetthemighty[/QUOTE]

<div>Ugh unless it makes them more persistent! </div>

edw7479 · December 2011

It's odd to think about seriously for me. I never really thought about it before in this way.

For me, I really feel like it is a sparkly pretty ring that I love to wear, because it announces that I am spoken for and that I have someone that is committed to me. That's it, really!

It sounds bad, doesn't it?

I feel like my wedding ring will be the stronger commitment symbol, I think mainly because FI (then H) will have one as well.

Ash61612 · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:f317e8c6-e160-4b72-b08d-4a8abd5d3b6c">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm with Midge and Ash on this. <strong> My also holds a very special meaning to both of our hearts as it's his grandmother's diamond and she passed away right before we started dating. She was a second mother to him and meant the world to him and it means so much to me that he gave me her stone.
</strong>Posted by sleblanc72[/QUOTE]
that does make it even more special

midgetthemighty · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:26e987b4-f218-48f8-85dd-839429580648">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Engagement ring meaning? : Ugh unless it makes them more persistent!
Posted by Megbo2012[/QUOTE]

Haha, true.

Zimsgirl · December 2011

My engagement ring means that I will soon marry the love of my life. I love it, I picked it out with FI. I like when people notice it and compliment me on my ring. It's just nice to look down and think how lucky I am to have found FI and how I'll get to marry him soon

L&J2012 · December 2011

My ring is very special to me because FI spent hours and hours designing it with the jeweler (he would not buy one from a mass jeweler for mushy reasons that I'll spare you from). It was made by someone (local) who's been making all his parents' jewelry since they've met. It has a diamond in the middle and a ruby on either side, to symbolize us (his birthstone is a diamond, mine is a ruby). I feel like it symbolizes all the love he's put into this, and our love and commitment for and to each other.

However, I feel like it's just a physical token that represents our love, not something that was required to add to our love. He spent way more than I wanted him to on this ring, but he wanted it perfect and it's beautiful. Our wedding bands are being custom-made, too.

It is pretty effective at getting other guys to back off. Once I was walking down the street and some guy sitting at a table on the sidewalk started saying something but stopped dead when I assume he saw my ring. There was another time before we got engaged where a guy asked me out for coffee (I was waiting for FI to bring me dinner) and I really wished I could have told him that I was waiting for my fiance.

midgetthemighty · December 2011

I look at mine all the time! FI and I call it shiny (like my e-rings name is shiny). He loves when he catches me looking at it. He'll say "Jessie has a shiny".

We're adorable, okay?

kelsey+brandon · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:44b230f8-068a-4d46-ad48-442b92a57076">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]I look at mine all the time! FI and I call it shiny (like my e-rings name is shiny). He loves when he catches me looking at it. He'll say "Jessie has a shiny". We're adorable, okay? :)
Posted by midgetthemighty[/QUOTE]

<div>Oh.my.goodness. yes y'all are. </div>

sleblanc72 · December 2011

Oh Jess that's so adorable!

L&J2012 · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:44b230f8-068a-4d46-ad48-442b92a57076">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]I look at mine all the time! FI and I call it shiny (like my e-rings name is shiny). He loves when he catches me looking at it. He'll say "Jessie has a shiny". We're adorable, okay? :)
Posted by midgetthemighty[/QUOTE]

Awwww.

Whenever FI catches me looking at mine he'll say "Sparkle sparkle sparkle!"

midgetthemighty · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:e5cfe062-c18d-4406-b8a2-9bf0b2c2d7b6">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Engagement ring meaning? : Awwww. Whenever FI catches me looking at mine he'll say "Sparkle sparkle sparkle!"
Posted by L&J2012[/QUOTE]

Awwwwwwwwwww!

AlliJae · December 2011

I think the e-ring can mean a lot of things, and my ring is very important to me. As many of you, I enjoy looking down at it and dreaming about my future with Fi

We picked out a yellow saphirre ring instead of anything with diamonds because of all the issues with diamond trade etc...and just to be unique, I guess! But I love it and I think it represents us as a couple!

IMO, I wish that the males wore engagement rings, as well, because they are just as "taken" as we are...and because eventually they wear wedding rings, too. So it's not like the ring would be a totally strange concept on a male! Fi doesn't really like jewelry or things on his finger, so I'm pretty sure it will be a battle to get him to wear the wedding ring (and not lose it!! uh oh!)

MMRoberts11 · December 2011

My FI helped design my ring with a jewler he knows. Apparently, he spent months looking at rings and even asked me a few times what I liked/didn't like etc. After all his effort, he seriously picked out the perfect ring. He didn't want me to have just any old ring that would be identical to anyone else's ring. I "helped" pick it out but seriously he did most of it and I was there to see it buffed and polished.

To me my ring represents the love and bond that we share for each other. Just because he gave it to me it didn't change our relationship beyond status and wedding planning; we act the same way we did when we were only dating.

Jess - My FI calls my ring shiny all the time. Every time he looks at it he says "Shiny, shiny, shiny" as he moves it around to catch the light. When he sees me looking at it he always says "Megan has a shiny."

Oh yeah - when my FI gave me my ring I asked him if he wanted one too but he didn't. I actually know a lot of guys that have e-rings (typically just steel or something) but they still wear them every day.

midgetthemighty · December 2011

Megan, that's awesome! Sounds just like my FI! Adorable! Don't you love it?

MMRoberts11 · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:5f068257-9bc7-44f1-918c-0666826bfcb5">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]Megan, that's awesome! Sounds just like my FI! Adorable! Don't you love it?
Posted by midgetthemighty[/QUOTE]

Most of the time I do. Sometimes he'll do it a lot though so it can get annoying.

acaponi87 · December 2011

Actually in the first month or so of being engaged I would catch FI staring at my ring with this goofy smile on. He loved looking at it on my hand and said how excited he was that he gets to marry me

I'm lucky

That's really what it means to me to. I look at it and it reminds me of how lucky I am to spend the rest of my life with the most amazing man I've ever met.

And actually, my E-Ring is the first piece of jewlery I have EVER received as a gift from a guy.

jaime10285 · December 2011

My engagement ring was my great grandmother's. When my parents got engaged, my mom got the ring. My parents have been happily married for 30+ years. About a year and a half ago my mom decided she would give the ring to me when I got engaged so she took it off to save it for me and my dad bought her a nice new ring for her birthday. She knew I always admired her ring. To have the exact ring worn by these special women is so special to me.

Even if I didn't get this ring with this history, I'd still love whatever ring I had. Yes, I love that they're pretty, I won't lie. I also feel that in today's world there is the feeling that "men won't commit" and this to me shows that yes, men will commit when they find the right one. And I found my one! I'm also a bit traditional when it comes to the idea of him promising to "take care" of me and "provide" for me. (I work and we split our bills 50/50 so he clearly doesn't take care of me or provide for me in those terms but it's just the idea of it).

tania0930 · December 2011

My ring is super special to me. FI designed it with a jeweler, using my grandmother's diamond and pink sapphires on either side (sapphire being my birthstone). Having my grandmother's diamond on my finger, to me, represents happy, blissful love, as her and grandpa have been married for almost 50 years. Since it is a unique ring, I also feel it represents the unique relationship FI and I share, and will share f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I love thinking about forever with FI

Tiffany6912 · December 2011

My ring was my grandmother's but there is more of a (long) story to it that makes it so very dear to me. Part of it is because of my grandmother, the other part is because of my aunt and FI.

My grandmother passed away when my dad was 15 years old, so I never knew her. My dad and my great aunt (her sister) would show me pictures and tell me stories about her all the time. She was so beautiful and must have been remarkable. Apparently, my grandfather fell absolutely head over heels for my grandmother and swore he would marry her, just after their first date. They were married within that year. My aunt always said there was just something extra special about the love they shared. A couple years after she had passed, my grandfather was going to remarry so he gave my aunt their rings.

Forward to me as a little girl. My aunt had a remarkable collection of jewelry. A mix of real and costume jewelry, it filled half of her dresser. When we would go visit her each year, she would take me to her room, open the drawers to show me all of the jewelry and tell me it would all be mine some day.

When we went to visit when I was nine or ten, instead of her usual routine, she opened a different drawer and pulled out this little white box. She opened it and sitting on this beautiful blue velvet cushion were three rings. She told me these three rings belonged to my grandparents. It was their engagement ring and wedding bands. Like all the other jewelry, she told me they would be mine some day. She never showed those three to me again but I never forgot about them.

My aunt passed away in 2008. I inherited all of her jewelry but that white box was no where to be found. I asked my mom about the rings and she just brushed it off that someone else must have them. I persisted for a while, asked everyone I could think of and started to accept they must have been lost.

In 2010, FI proposed to me with my grandmother's engagement ring. It was after we were engaged that they told me where the rings had been all along. The last time FI and I had gone to visit my aunt, just a couple months before she passed, he asked my aunt if he could use my grandmother's ring when it was time to propose to me. She gave him the white box with the three rings and he had my mom hold on to it until it was time. I cannot even put to words what it means to me to know that my aunt knew FI planned on marrying me. I can only imagine how much it meant to my aunt when FI asked her for the rings.

So, it means quite a few things to me... I see it as a symbol of the love between my grandparents that was "something extra special". It reminds me of my aunt, the stories she would share and the time I spent with her. I see it as a symbol of the love and respect FI has for me.

SheilaDancer43 · December 2011

My e-ring symbolizes the bond FI and I have, and that I will spend the rest of my life with him. It doesn't hurt that it is really pretty and shiny though! I like that it is a gift from FI that means so much. Everytime I look at it, it reminds me of how much FI loves me, and that he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him! That means so much to me. Obviously I know he loves me and that he wants to be with me forever, but having something tangible that reminds me of it everyday, is really special to me.

edw7479 · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:76fcf014-34a5-4da4-985a-43327109ca9a">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]My ring was my grandmother's but there is more of a (long) story to it that makes it so very dear to me. Part of it is because of my grandmother, the other part is because of my aunt and FI. My grandmother passed away when my dad was 15 years old, so I never knew her. My dad and my great aunt (her sister) would show me pictures and tell me stories about her all the time. She was so beautiful and must have been remarkable. Apparently, my grandfather fell absolutely head over heels for my grandmother and swore he would marry her, just after their first date. They were married within that year. My aunt always said there was just something extra special about the love they shared. A couple years after she had passed, my grandfather was going to remarry so he gave my aunt their rings. Forward to me as a little girl. My aunt had a remarkable collection of jewelry. A mix of real and costume jewelry, it filled half of her dresser. When we would go visit her each year, she would take me to her room, open the drawers to show me all of the jewelry and tell me it would all be mine some day. When we went to visit when I was nine or ten, instead of her usual routine, she opened a different drawer and pulled out this little white box. She opened it and sitting on this beautiful blue velvet cushion were three rings. She told me these three rings belonged to my grandparents. It was their engagement ring and wedding bands. Like all the other jewelry, she told me they would be mine some day. She never showed those three to me again but I never forgot about them. My aunt passed away in 2008. I inherited all of her jewelry but that white box was no where to be found. I asked my mom about the rings and she just brushed it off that someone else must have them. I persisted for a while, asked everyone I could think of and started to accept they must have been lost. In 2010, FI proposed to me with my grandmother's engagement ring. It was after we were engaged that they told me where the rings had been all along. The last time FI and I had gone to visit my aunt, just a couple months before she passed, he asked my aunt if he could use my grandmother's ring when it was time to propose to me. She gave him the white box with the three rings and he had my mom hold on to it until it was time. I cannot even put to words what it means to me to know that my aunt knew FI planned on marrying me. I can only imagine how much it meant to my aunt when FI asked her for the rings. So, it means quite a few things to me... I see it as a symbol of the love between my grandparents that was "something extra special". It reminds me of my aunt, the stories she would share and the time I spent with her. I see it as a symbol of the love and respect FI has for me.
Posted by Tiffany6912[/QUOTE]
Oh, wow, I looooove this story! How special! :-)

Shelly527IN · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddingchannel.com/main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_engagement-ring-meaning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:59d3abd0-e038-42d4-a533-16982509d1abPost:8d899dfc-085f-4697-ad43-301837d0acc5">Re: Engagement ring meaning?</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>My engagement ring means so much to me! FI spent sooo long picking it out and that time, effort, and love that he put in it makes it even more valuable</strong> (litterally...he had the jeweler bring in diamonds for 7 months before he found one he was satisfied with!) <strong>I love the memory that we now have of our engagement and receiving my ring was part of that memory. I also hope that it's something that will be passed on to our grandchildren and/or great grandchildren when that time comes. I think part of it is letting other's know that I'm taken, but I think I put off that vibe even before we were engaged and I had a ring.
</strong>Posted by kelsey+brandon[/QUOTE]

I second everything that Kelsey said! FI and I were together for over 3 years when he proposed. He picked out the ring on his own (with the help of the patient people at the jewelry store he said). It's better than I would have picked out and he even guessed my ring size correctly! Then he took six months for find just the right time to ask me to marry him. Added to that is the memory of how sweet and nervous he was when he proposed. I've only had my ring for a month and a week, but feel lost when I don't have it on.

Engagement ring meaning?

Re: Engagement ring meaning?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards