Who Buys the Wedding Bands?

Jewelry shopping can be intimidating. That’s why we started Ask Holden, our blog where we answer your FAQs, break down scary industry lingo, and guide you in finding the perfect piece of jewelry.

Weddings are joyful. Wedding planning can be... stressful (and joyful, too!). One of the most difficult parts of planning any wedding is budgeting. Inviting your friends and family, your partner’s friends and family, and (inevitably) some of your family’s friends and your partner’s friends’ family can get expensive. In fact, according to a 2020 report from WeddingWire, 60% of couples end up increasing their budget during the planning process, primarily due to unexpected costs and added “must-have items.” Some difficult decisions may have to come from determining the cost of the wedding. Today, we’re here to talk about one purchase decision: rings.

We’re asked frequently by friends, family, and couples: who buys the wedding rings? Trying to coordinate how to pay for the wedding can be tricky for couples, and our number one piece of advice is communication, communication, communication! As an engaged-to-be-wed person reading this, you’ve probably already discovered the importance of communication in any relationship, and this is no different! There are no hard and fast rules regarding who should pay for the ring, so it’s up to you to decide as a couple.

If you search the internet or ask your friends, you’ll get lots of different answers. Some cultures have guidelines, and different families may have long-standing traditions about brides and grooms (which dictate that the bride buys the groom his ring and vice versa). If you’re asking this question and don’t fall into either camp (or if your wedding doesn’t feature one bride and one groom!), then take a deep breath. The choice is ultimately up to you. You’ve chosen the person you want to marry, and now the two of you can decide together how you’ll be paying for the rings that will symbolize your marriage.

We’ve seen partners of all genders purchase their own rings, purchase rings for each other, or choose for one partner to purchase both. We’ve seen wedding rings as birthday presents, Valentine’s Day presents, and anniversary presents. One thing you might want to keep in mind: if a partner (or both partners!) is wearing an engagement ring, it's important to make sure the engagement ring and wedding band fit each other.

Once you’ve decided who will be paying for each ring, might we suggest you check out our Ultimate Wedding Band Buying Guide? There are so many decisions to be made about wedding bands! You may want to consider whether you and your partner would like to rock matching wedding rings or buy wedding rings with rocks. Want to learn more about the rocks we use? We’ve got a great post on lab grown diamonds that will tell you everything you need to know.

Questions? Give us a shout at help@hiholden.com or a ring (pun intended) at 646.722.6817.