Question: Wear Engagement Ring After Wedding?

Q: I've noticed a lot of women wearing their engagement rings along with their wedding rings, either on the same finger or on different ones. An engagement ring literally signifies imminent marriage, right? So why continue wearing it after the wedding? What other meanings besides showing off might this have? If you're a bride-to-be with an engagement ring, do you plan on wearing it after you're married, and if so, why? If not, why not? If you're already married, what does it mean to you to wear or not wear your engagement ring (assuming it's different from your wedding ring)?

A:I *do* have an engagement ring and I do not plan on wearing it much after my wedding (which is in less than two weeks, I can't believe it). My case may be different, however, in that my beloved didn't buy my ring. It was my mother's ring and I insisted that if there had to be a ring, it would be one that didn't put either of us in debt. I figured that if he went into hock for this ring, after the wedding we would essentially *both* be in debt, and to me it wasn't worth it. However, I should think that if Ross had indeed spent the supposedly requisite 2 months salary on a rock, I'd be feeling pretty guilty if I wasn't wearing it all the time. 8) If you're really wondering what to do with the ring you have, I'd say, do whatever seems most natural. If you like the ring, wear it. If it means a lot to you and you don't want to wear it all the time, wear it occasionally. If it doesn't mean a lot to you and you don't like it all that much, sell that puppy and buy some furniture. You might also look at is as a promise, not just to eventually marry someone, but to love and care for them for the rest of your life...and the wedding ring as a symbol of the public commitment made during the ceremony. Personally, my wedding band looks dumb without the engagement ring next to it, 'cause it fits around the stone (little "v" in the band to fit around the corner of my slanted emerald cut stone - painful when one isn't careful how one moves one's hands around ;)). I also have two friends who's engagement rings were round stones set on wide gold bands. Neither of them wears a separate wedding band, but just the one ring. My fiance gave me a ring as a promise, but that promise isn't necessarily dead when we get married....just one way to look at it I guess.

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