Wedding Rings: When to Buy, How to Get the Size Right and What Engraving Takes

The engagement ring gets weeks of thought. The wedding rings often get an afternoon, about a month before the day, when someone notices they are still on the list.

That is a shame, because you will wear them every day for decades, long after the flowers and the cake are forgotten. They are also one of the few wedding purchases with a real lead time, especially if you want something made, fitted or engraved. Here is how to get them right without leaving it too late.

What couples spend

The Bridebook UK Wedding Report 2026 puts the average spend on wedding rings at £1,057 per couple, for both rings together. That figure hides a very wide range. A plain silver or titanium band can cost well under £100, while a platinum band set with diamonds can run into the thousands on its own.

Two things are worth knowing before you set a number:

• Prices are usually quoted per ring, not per pair. A band that looks like a bargain may only be half the cost.
• You do not have to spend the same on both. It is common for one ring to be plain and the other to be set with stones, or for the two of you to choose different metals entirely.

Put the rings in your budget early as their own line, rather than treating them as part of "miscellaneous". Our guide to setting a wedding budget covers how to give each line a realistic figure.

Choosing a metal

The metal decides how the ring looks in twenty years, not just how it looks in the shop.

• Yellow gold is traditional and warm. 9ct is harder and cheaper, 18ct is richer in colour and softer, so it shows scratches sooner.
• White gold is usually plated with rhodium to make it bright white. The plating wears over time and needs redoing every so often, which most jewellers will do for a small fee.
• Platinum is naturally white, heavy and very hard wearing. It costs more up front but needs less upkeep.
• Palladium looks similar to platinum, is lighter and is usually cheaper.
• Titanium and tungsten are tough and affordable, but they are very hard or impossible to resize. Think carefully before choosing one if your ring size might change.

If one of you already wears an engagement ring, take it with you when you shop. Rings sit against each other all day, and a softer metal will wear where it touches a harder one. A jeweller can tell you whether the two will sit flush, or whether you need a shaped band that curves around the engagement ring's setting. Our guide to choosing an engagement ring together has more on metals and settings.

Getting the size right

A ring that fits in the shop on a warm afternoon can spin on your finger on a cold December morning. Fingers swell in heat and shrink in the cold, and they change through the day.

A few habits help:

• Get sized by a jeweller, not with a printed sizer or a piece of string. Ask them to measure more than once.
• Size at a normal temperature, not straight after coming in from the cold or after a long walk.
• Try the width you are actually buying. A wide band fits more snugly than a narrow one in the same size, so a 6mm ring may need to be half a size bigger than a 3mm one.
• Think about the shape inside the band. A "comfort fit" or court-shaped band is rounded on the inside and slides over the knuckle more easily than a flat one.

If you are getting married in winter, it is worth trying the ring again close to the day.

Engraving

Engraving inside the band is a lovely, private detail: your initials, the wedding date, a word that means something to the two of you. Plan for it in two ways.

Space. How much will fit depends on the width of the band and the style of lettering. A narrow ring may only take a date and initials. Ask the jeweller for the character limit before you settle on the wording.

Time. Engraving is often done after the ring is made or sized, so it adds to the lead time rather than running alongside it. If you change your mind about the size, the engraving may need doing again.

When to order

The safe answer is to start looking three to four months before the wedding, and to have the rings ordered at least two months out. That leaves room for a resize, an engraving and a second trip if something is not quite right. If you want something made from scratch, ask the jeweller for their lead time in writing before you commit.

If your wedding is this winter, start now. The weeks before Christmas are the busiest of the year for most jewellers, and workshops fill up quickly. For a 2027 wedding there is no rush, but it is worth browsing over the winter so you know what you like before the final few months get busy.

Check the hallmark

In the UK, most precious metal rings must be hallmarked before they can be sold as gold, silver, platinum or palladium. The legal threshold is 1 gram for gold and palladium, 0.5 grams for platinum and 7.78 grams for silver, so almost every wedding band is covered.

A full UK hallmark has three compulsory parts: the maker's mark, a mark showing the metal and its purity, and the mark of the Assay Office that tested it. If you are buying online or from abroad, ask about the hallmark before you pay.

After you buy

Rings are small, valuable and easy to lose. Once you have them:

• Get them added to your home contents insurance, with a valuation or receipt, and check whether they are covered away from home. Our wedding insurance guide explains the difference between wedding cover and contents cover.
• Decide who holds them on the day, and when they hand them over. It is usually a best man, maid of honour or a trusted friend, and they should know exactly where the rings are from the morning onwards.
• Keep the receipts and the jeweller's details together for resizing and re-plating later.

Keep it all in one place

Rings add a handful of dates to the plan: the sizing appointment, the order date, the engraving deadline and the collection day. Build The Day keeps your budget, your suppliers and your timeline together, so the ring line sits next to everything else rather than on a sticky note. It is free to start.

Then book a sizing appointment. It takes ten minutes and saves a lot of fuss later.