How long did it take to get wedding rings?

tigerlily6 · March 2016

As our ticker shows, we're just a bit less than 4 months out from the wedding. All my "timeline" apps keep saying we are past due for getting wedding rings.

I mentioned it to FI last night, it was probably a bad time because he was tired, so he was annoyed at me worrying about it and said we have plenty of time. He has a lot on his plate right now finishing school, and I don't want to stress him; BUT, he has a tendency to be rather absent-minded about things like this. I could easily see him forgetting all about wedding rings until the week of, just putting it off until the last minute. When do I really need to start hounding him that we need to go ring shopping?

OliveOilsMom · March 2016

It really depends on what you want. We ordered H's ring off Overstock and it came within a week. And mine was just a plain 2 mm band, which we did order from our jeweler. That also took a week to come in. We were able to directly order our sizes and didn't need to worry about resizing.

If you are thinking of intricate rings with jewels and potential resizing needs, then I would think about getting them in the next 2 months.

madamerwin · March 2016

In short, it depends on where you get them, what size your fingers are, and the material they are made of.

Most jewelers carry all rings in the stock sizes - 7 for women, 10 for men. Sometimes they also carry other common sizes, but not always. If you both wear the stock sizes, you could potentially walk into a jeweler and leave with your rings the same day.

If you have different sized-fingers, or you want a ring in an alternative metal (like tungsten, or titanium), you may need to have them special ordered and/or sent for re-sizing. Metals like tungsten cannot be resized, so you will definitely need to special order them if the store doesn't have your size in stock.

I work for a national jeweler, and we ordered our rings through my company's website. I wear a stock size 7 - my ring came in the mail 3 days later. H wears a size 12.5, and his came about 10 days after we ordered it. However, the ring was not properly sized, so we had to return it and get a new one. All said and done, his ring took about 3 weeks.

I would definitely start shopping around now - figure out what size ring you both wear, start thinking about the metal type/style, etc. If you have to order them (vs. going into a store and buying them on the spot) I would recommend ordering them at least two months before your wedding, just to be safe.

tigerlily6 · March 2016

Thanks, @madamerwin, your info is very helpful. I know my ring size (5.5) but I have no clue what size ring FI would wear. Also, we haven't picket out any style or metal yet, which may be the source of some of my apprehension also. As two students, we are probably looking at something more frugal, something around $100-$500 each ring. Originally, back when we first got engaged, FI said he had a particular ring design in mind he wanted to do for me, but as it is, I don't think we've got the money or the time for that.

My mom said not to go with silver, since she feels that it tarnishes too easily. But from the bit of browsing I've done online, at least, it seems like we could get a bit more style selection for silver rings than with white gold (which my e-ring is). Any strong advice one way or the other?

sal2015 · March 2016

I think my wedding ring (white gold with diamonds) took about 2 weeks to get sent out for sizing. I think H's was about the same time (white gold, no stones). I personally would go with white gold over silver as I have had tarnishing experiences. I have no experience with any other metals, but my white gold is holding up well and still looks good about a year later.

spockforprez · March 2016

tigerlily6 said:

Thanks, @madamerwin, your info is very helpful. I know my ring size (5.5) but I have no clue what size ring FI would wear. Also, we haven't picket out any style or metal yet, which may be the source of some of my apprehension also. As two students, we are probably looking at something more frugal, something around $100-$500 each ring. Originally, back when we first got engaged, FI said he had a particular ring design in mind he wanted to do for me, but as it is, I don't think we've got the money or the time for that.

My mom said not to go with silver, since she feels that it tarnishes too easily. But from the bit of browsing I've done online, at least, it seems like we could get a bit more style selection for silver rings than with white gold (which my e-ring is). Any strong advice one way or the other?

I personally would do 10k white gold as a compromise between silver and pricier karats of gold. Silver will not only tarnish but scratch or even bend. Fixing those types of issues removes metal, weakening the ring over time. If you intend to wear them permanently I would do gold. (But I am incredibly sentimental so would never want to have to purchase a new wedding ring. If you're not as concerned about that or think you might upgrade later, that may not be an issue for you.)

You probably have more style options for silver in your price range because silver is cheaper so intricate designs don't drive the price up as much. Going with 10k might help you a bit there, too. There was several hundred dollars' difference for our 10k gold bands vs. the same bands in 18k.

You may be surprised how cost effective going to a local jeweler can be vs. a chain store or buying online. It's worth a consult, at least! I would go now for your own band since it sounds like you want something custom or unique. If your FH just wants a plain band, you can buy that quickly in a couple months, to give him some more time to de-stress.

madamerwin · March 2016

tigerlily6 said:

Thanks, @madamerwin, your info is very helpful. I know my ring size (5.5) but I have no clue what size ring FI would wear. Also, we haven't picket out any style or metal yet, which may be the source of some of my apprehension also. As two students, we are probably looking at something more frugal, something around $100-$500 each ring. Originally, back when we first got engaged, FI said he had a particular ring design in mind he wanted to do for me, but as it is, I don't think we've got the money or the time for that.

My mom said not to go with silver, since she feels that it tarnishes too easily. But from the bit of browsing I've done online, at least, it seems like we could get a bit more style selection for silver rings than with white gold (which my e-ring is). Any strong advice one way or the other?

First, re: your husband's ring size... Next time your FI is near a jewelry store, tell him to go in and ask them to help him figure out his size. Most jewelers have a set of sizing rings to help people figure it out.

As for metal type: I agree with your mom, avoid silver since it tarnishes really easily. I am partial to white gold, since my e-ring is also white gold. The only downside to white gold is that eventually, it starts to turn yellow. (Fun fact: white gold is not, in fact, white. It is an alloy of gold and white metals - usually platinum and/or nickel - so it has a yellowish tint. Most WG jewelry is plated in rhodium, which is a very rare bright white metal, so that it looks white.) Not a big deal, as getting it re-plated every couple of years (IF you can't stand the yellowish tint, which isn't really bad) only sets you back around $40 in most cases.

Other benefits of white gold:

1. It is generally more affordable than alternatives like platinum, although platinum is gaining popularity these days. My 2mm white gold band cost $90, H's 6mm white gold band cost $270.

2. It is a soft metal - this is important if you or your FI work in an industry where you work with your hands and/or with heavy equipment, since, if one of you injured your hand and your finger swelled, it would be easy to cut off (other, harder metals can lead to ring avulsion - Google it at your own risk). Obviously this is not much of a concern if you both have desk jobs, but something to consider.

3. Because it's a soft metal it's very easy to resize. Many people's fingers change size over time, and it is easy to get gold resized. Other metals, like tungsten, cannot be resized, so if you or FI's fingers get larger or smaller, you'll be SOL.

ETA: I definitely recommend going into some jewelers to browse... Research online is great, but you will want to look at whatever catches your eye in person. Sometimes rings look very different online vs. on your finger. Also, a jewelry store employee could help you narrow down options. Good luck!

tigerlily6 · March 2016

Thanks, @spockforprez! I think I'm going to drag him out to the jewelers with me this weekend, then, ha! I've only ever owned rings in white gold (my "graduation" ring my mom got me at the end of high school, and my e-ring, which is an heirloom that belonged to my great-grandma). I do like white gold a lot, but hadn't thought to look for lower k. Thank you for the idea!

Also, just noticed your ticker reading just over a week to go! Congratulations!

madamerwin · March 2016

spockforprez said:
I personally would do 10k white gold as a compromise between silver and pricier karats of gold. Silver will not only tarnish but scratch or even bend. Fixing those types of issues removes metal, weakening the ring over time. If you intend to wear them permanently I would do gold. (But I am incredibly sentimental so would never want to have to purchase a new wedding ring. If you're not as concerned about that or think you might upgrade later, that may not be an issue for you.)

You probably have more style options for silver in your price range because silver is cheaper so intricate designs don't drive the price up as much. Going with 10k might help you a bit there, too. There was several hundred dollars' difference for our 10k gold bands vs. the same bands in 18k.

You may be surprised how cost effective going to a local jeweler can be vs. a chain store or buying online. It's worth a consult, at least! I would go now for your own band since it sounds like you want something custom or unique. If your FH just wants a plain band, you can buy that quickly in a couple months, to give him some more time to de-stress.

This is a good call-out. The lower the karat number, the less expensive a gold ring will be. 18K = 75% gold, 25% other metals, 14K = 58.3% gold, 10K = 41.7% gold. So an 18K ring contains almost twice as much gold as a 10K ring, and therefore will be about 2x as expensive. Also, 18K gold is very soft, since gold is an extremely soft metal. It will start to bend out of shape/wear unevenly with time, so I would stick to 14K or 10K.

ETA: To be honest, I am not even sure you would be able to find 18K white gold, since white gold must be mixed with white metals in order to actually be white. Pretty much everything my work sells is 10K or 14K.

badbnagdway · March 2016

madamerwin said I think you could start shopping around now. My H was the one who kept talking about the wedding rings. We started by going to a jeweler together and trying some things on to get a general idea of what we each wanted and get him sized. He probably hemmed and hawed more over the style of his than I did mine. Like many men he does not wear jewelry and his initial thoughts on what he would want turned out to be totally different from what he picked. I ended up finding the style he liked on Amazon and it came within days.

My wedding ring is custom partly because my e-ring is custom and to find something I liked that fit with it required some customization. I ordered mine from a jeweler with an etsy shop. The process of sending my e-ring to the jeweler to see if it fit with the wedding band, getting the band made, and having it all sent back probably took a couple weeks.

We started shopping probably three months before the wedding and both had our rings at least a month before the wedding. We probably could have done it faster if we were in a hurry but why be in a hurry over something you'll hopefully wear the rest of your life? I also really recommend shopping around for price. The jeweler we talked to in town quoted me over $3k for the band I described and I ended up paying $1,250 plus shipping. Similarly H's big fingers and taste for a wide, two-toned band would have amounted to a $1,500+ wedding band at the local jewelers, but I found one he loved on Amazon for $850.

spockforprez · March 2016

madamerwin said:

tigerlily6 said:

Thanks, @madamerwin, your info is very helpful. I know my ring size (5.5) but I have no clue what size ring FI would wear. Also, we haven't picket out any style or metal yet, which may be the source of some of my apprehension also. As two students, we are probably looking at something more frugal, something around $100-$500 each ring. Originally, back when we first got engaged, FI said he had a particular ring design in mind he wanted to do for me, but as it is, I don't think we've got the money or the time for that.

My mom said not to go with silver, since she feels that it tarnishes too easily. But from the bit of browsing I've done online, at least, it seems like we could get a bit more style selection for silver rings than with white gold (which my e-ring is). Any strong advice one way or the other?

<snipped>
The only downside to white gold is that eventually, it starts to turn yellow. (Fun fact: white gold is not, in fact, white. It is an alloy of gold and white metals - usually platinum and/or nickel - so it has a yellowish tint. Most WG jewelry is plated in rhodium, which is a very rare bright white metal, so that it looks white.) Not a big deal, as getting it re-plated every couple of years (IF you can't stand the yellowish tint, which isn't really bad) only sets you back around $40 in most cases.

Definitely true! I think that's actually an advantage to a lower karat like 10 or 14. Yellows more slowly.

tigerlily6 · March 2016

spockforprez said:

madamerwin said:

<snipped>
The only downside to white gold is that eventually, it starts to turn yellow. (Fun fact: white gold is not, in fact, white. It is an alloy of gold and white metals - usually platinum and/or nickel - so it has a yellowish tint. Most WG jewelry is plated in rhodium, which is a very rare bright white metal, so that it looks white.) Not a big deal, as getting it re-plated every couple of years (IF you can't stand the yellowish tint, which isn't really bad) only sets you back around $40 in most cases.

Definitely true! I think that's actually an advantage to a lower karat like 10 or 14. Yellows more slowly.

I have no actual idea, but I'm guessing my e-ring must be about 10k, then. Like I said, it was my great-grandmother's e-ring, so it's close to 90 years old now. It's still very "white" toned, and all we've done with it is had it resized and cleaned.

charlotte989875 · March 2016

I have white gold bands and ering, I get them inspected every six months to keep my warranty good. My ering has a lot of detailing so it took a few trips to different stores to find something that fit with it. I think we started looking 6 weeks out? H doesn't wear jewelry so he wanted a simple, light, sturdy ring. He went with titanium, which also couldn't be resized so his ring was too big at the wedding then had to be replaced three times until it was correct (all the jeweler a fault with incorrect sizing). My H made a good point when we were shopping, the salesman asked if the ring felt OK and if it fit right and he said he had no idea what how a ring was supposed to fit/feel. If your FI isn't used to wearing rings I'd suggest trying a few types and sizes on before you buy.

CMGragain · March 2016

You can get very reasonably priced 10K or14K wedding rings at Walmart. This is the brand I have worn for almost 40 years, and it still looks great.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Keepsake-10kt-White-Gold-Wedding-Band-4mm/24190481

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Keepsake-10kt-Yellow-Gold-Wedding-Band-5mm/24190451

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Keepsake-10kt-Yellow-Gold-Comfort-Fit-Wedding-Band-5.5mm/24190408

Yellow gold is easier to care for than white gold because it doesn't need rhodium plating.

Lala9414 · March 2016

I went into a local jeweler with FI just to start browsing because my e-ring (which was his moms) is yellow gold and I always pictured myself with white gold or something lol so I just wanted to see what kind of yellow gold options there were that I would like. We went and we both found rings we loved that day and purchased them. We had to get them sized and we got them about a week later. FI didn't know his ring size and they sized him on the spot. So long story short it doesn't take too long but like PP's have stayed, it depends on what you want. But it looks like PP's have you covered!

Cookie Pusher · March 2016

DH and I both have sterling silver bands and have had no issues with them over the last 18-ish months. His had a brushed finish so scratches don't really show, and as mine is only 2mm, I don't see much scratching on mine either. Neither ring has tarnished and we wear them almost constantly. DH's ring is 8mm in a large size (comfort-fit band), cost about $180 and mine cost $18 from our local jeweler. We received them about a week after ordering.

ernursej · March 2016

My FI and I joke ... but I go shopping and he will come at the end for the buying. Consider going to a couple of stores ahead of time to narrow down the options. My FI loves when I do this (clothing, furniture ... rings!). I think he finds the options easier to manage and not as time consuming, while I love the act of checking things out. You can also print off a paper ring sizer from the internet. It won't be perfect, but it would give you a rough idea.

A funny story in case rings don't come in time ... I was at a wedding once where the best man forgot the rings in the car. Instead of running to grab them, he grabbed the twist ties from tidying up cables from the microphones and they used those. The bride thought it was hilarious (although I imagine that not all would) and I think they kept the twist ties as a memento.

luckya23 · March 2016

I took forever to decide, mostly between 4 rings from Overstock, and their return policy was 30 days, so no more than 40-60 days!
DH's ring was a sample on sale at the jewelry store, and it fit him almost perfectly, but we did go back the next week and have it made a tiny bit bigger, which took about 15 minutes.

artbyallie · March 2016

tigerlily6 said:

spockforprez said:

madamerwin said:

<snipped>
The only downside to white gold is that eventually, it starts to turn yellow. (Fun fact: white gold is not, in fact, white. It is an alloy of gold and white metals - usually platinum and/or nickel - so it has a yellowish tint. Most WG jewelry is plated in rhodium, which is a very rare bright white metal, so that it looks white.) Not a big deal, as getting it re-plated every couple of years (IF you can't stand the yellowish tint, which isn't really bad) only sets you back around $40 in most cases.

Definitely true! I think that's actually an advantage to a lower karat like 10 or 14. Yellows more slowly.

I have no actual idea, but I'm guessing my e-ring must be about 10k, then. Like I said, it was my great-grandmother's e-ring, so it's close to 90 years old now. It's still very "white" toned, and all we've done with it is had it resized and cleaned.

If it's that old, it's more likely 14k. It's also probably an alloy with more nickel than is used today. Nickel is very good at making gold whiter, but nickel allergies are also fairly common, so the industry standard has changed to a lower nickel content alloy that must be plated with rhodium, a platinum-family metal that is very white, thus the 'yellowing' over time as it wears off.

kvruns · March 2016

we waited until about 2 months ahead (bc H didn't want to look) and almost had a panic because he didn't really like anything he saw and then finally found one he liked but he wanted a different finish and they said they could get it in but it was going to be about 1day ahead so cutting it close!! Fortunately the clerk checked again and realized the finish he wanted had just come in, it wasn't even listed in inventory or something, so it worked out. If your H isn't picky, it might not be an issue, but I wouldn't leave it too much longer

Edit: mine was purchased as a set, so we had it already, just had to get H's

pinkcow13 · March 2016

We went to get ours a week before the wedding. We went to the jeweler where he purchased my engagement ring, and I picked out a ring I loved. It fit my finger perfectly, and we were able to take it home that day. H ended up wanting a ring he found on Amazon, so I purchased it that day, and with my Prime membership it arrived 2 days later.

emmaaa · March 2016

I think the others have good advice. I just want to share the story with our wedding bands.

We went and picked out our wedding bands 3 months before the wedding. We both got plain white gold bands that matched my engagement ring. Our jeweler got our sizes and ordered them. He said they would be in in 2 weeks or less but since I wanted my e-ring cleaned before the wedding, he said he would hold them until the week of (Christmas week) and we could get them when he did the cleaning.

Well we went to pick our rings up that Monday and get to the store and he couldn't find our rings. He thinks an associate (he's the owner) gave them to someone else or sold them by mistake. Since it was their fault, he rush ordered them again and said they would be in by Wednesday (Christmas Eve).

DH went and picked them up and brought them home. We opened the box to check them out because DH didn't think to do that in the store. DH's ring was perfect and fit good. My ring, OTOH, was not. I have a european band (squared bottom) e-ring and wanted my band to be the same. Well the wedding band that came in was fucking SQUARE, the whole ring. Plus, it was a 1/2 size too small. So we rushed to the store (we live 30 minutes away) to see what to do. He offered me any band in the store but they all had diamonds in them and I wanted just a plain band. He said he could fix it. So he resized it really quick and it fit. Then he "grinded", for a lack of a better term, the top of the band to be round. He ended up giving us our bands for free for all the issue.

So I guess the moral of the story is to not wait to pick them up like I did and check them out once they come in. Most jewelry store (chains or private like we used) can have them in in less than a month but it is nice to have wiggle room.

tigerlily6 · March 2016

Thanks, everybody. I'm definitely feeling a bit better to (1) realize we have a little time before we need to order anything, but (2) I wasn't completely off base thinking we should start looking pretty soon.

I think I'm starting to stress a bit since I realized my exam period is coming up in about three weeks, and during that period (about 4 weeks) I will be out-of-commission for doing any wedding planning, it it will be anything like last semester. And directly afterwards I'll be starting my internship. Definitely smarter to get our rings figured out sooner rather than later, I think, or else we may be rushing with only 5-6 weeks left.

lembaslover · March 2016

madamerwin said:

spockforprez said:
I personally would do 10k white gold as a compromise between silver and pricier karats of gold. Silver will not only tarnish but scratch or even bend. Fixing those types of issues removes metal, weakening the ring over time. If you intend to wear them permanently I would do gold. (But I am incredibly sentimental so would never want to have to purchase a new wedding ring. If you're not as concerned about that or think you might upgrade later, that may not be an issue for you.)

You probably have more style options for silver in your price range because silver is cheaper so intricate designs don't drive the price up as much. Going with 10k might help you a bit there, too. There was several hundred dollars' difference for our 10k gold bands vs. the same bands in 18k.

You may be surprised how cost effective going to a local jeweler can be vs. a chain store or buying online. It's worth a consult, at least! I would go now for your own band since it sounds like you want something custom or unique. If your FH just wants a plain band, you can buy that quickly in a couple months, to give him some more time to de-stress.

This is a good call-out. The lower the karat number, the less expensive a gold ring will be. 18K = 75% gold, 25% other metals, 14K = 58.3% gold, 10K = 41.7% gold. So an 18K ring contains almost twice as much gold as a 10K ring, and therefore will be about 2x as expensive. Also, 18K gold is very soft, since gold is an extremely soft metal. It will start to bend out of shape/wear unevenly with time, so I would stick to 14K or 10K.

ETA: To be honest, I am not even sure you would be able to find 18K white gold, since white gold must be mixed with white metals in order to actually be white. Pretty much everything my work sells is 10K or 14K.

My e-ring and wedding band are both 18K white gold and they look very white. Every jeweler we visited had 18K white gold as an option. I've been wearing my e-ring for almost 2 years and my wedding band for not quite 6 mo. If you look REALLY REALLY close you can see that my e-ring has a slightly more yellow cast than my wedding band but honestly it's not really noticeable. Obviously 18K isn't the way to go if you're looking to save money but don't not go with 18K because you're worried about the yellow cast. Also I have other rings that have bent over time but I haven't had an issue with these rings yet and both bands are pretty thin.

I agree with PP that I'd avoid silver because it tarnishes really quickly. Both of our rings took a couple of weeks to come in but the person who ordered DH's ordered the wrong size, we had to show them the size on the receipt and the size of the ring that came in did not match so it took another couple of weeks to get his ring in. I'd make sure you have at least a couple of weeks to spare in case something like that happens.

teddygirl9 · March 2016

Silver rings actually don't tarnish that much. Wearing them often will either totally or almost prevent tarnish. It is a softer metal though, so the bending/scratching could be a concern if you're hard on your hands. You might want to start looking now, but not buy right away. A lot of the websites (James allen, blue nile, e-weddingbands) will offer discounts around holidays. I'm not sure if Easter is much of a jewellery giving holiday, but I'd expect some discounts coming up. Sign up for their newsletters if you're interested (I don't think they sell silver though, these would be gold/plat).

How long did it take to get wedding rings?

Re: How long did it take to get wedding rings?

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