There are so many wedding expenses to arrange and pay for when planning and working on your budget, but who should pay for the wedding rings? 

It’s generally straightforward with the engagement ring. The one who does the proposing will typically be the one to buy the engagement ring. (And let’s hope they chose well! Or let you pick, of course)

But as you will both be wearing a wedding band, and will most probably be wearing this band every day, are there any specific things you need to be thinking about here?

Splitting The Cost

Long-held tradition dictated that each wedding ring was bought by the other person. So, it was common practice for the bride (or her family) to buy the groom’s wedding band and the groom (or his family) to buy hers. However, things have moved on these days. And, there are no hard and fast rules here. 

If you are paying for different parts of the wedding from separate pots of money, it may be worth thinking about the types of rings you want and keeping your budget in mind. And more important is the big money question; are they both going to have the same price tag? 

Sharing The Cost

If you pooled your money in a joint wedding savings account to pay for everything, the cost of wedding bands is probably a line on your combined budget. It’s perhaps the most modern approach to deciding who pays for the wedding bands!

I like to think of the wedding bands as a joint investment for each couple. Wedding bands can be the biggest purchase you make before you say “I do.” You will wear these rings every day during your married life as a symbol of your commitment to each other – so splitting the cost makes a lot of sense.

Price Tag

We know many brides and grooms who want a relatively plain band as their wedding ring and are on the lookout for affordable options. However, some brides may want something a little more lavish for their wedding band, often including diamonds and precious metals. Therefore, deciding who pays for the piece of wedding jewelry may be different if the bride’s ring is likely to cost significantly more. 

Each of those diamonds, no matter how small, adds up, ladies!

If there is a significant price difference in the rings, and you’re not working from one combined wedding budget, we suggest a frank money conversation here. It all depends on how you are funding the wedding costs. If one of your families is paying for the wedding, they may have an opinion if the wedding bands are considerably different in value.

Hopefully, they will not get involved on this point, but again, to avoid any awkwardness, we suggest an honest conversation with the relevant parties.

Wedding Bands

As for who picks out the wedding bands, well, this is important. Your wedding band is the ring that will need to stand the test of time. 

If you’re planning matching plain bands, we think going to a jeweler and picking your bands together is an enjoyable activity; what an excellent way to spend an afternoon. You may choose identical bands and split the shared expense or want bands of different thicknesses.

However, if one of you wants something with a little more sparkle, then you are almost certainly going to want to do a bit of research to find that perfect wedding band. It might involve trawling many websites and going to multiple stores to check out the array of options in real life.

We feel it’s totally modern (and therefore totally fine!) to pick your wedding bands separately. As we say, it’s an important decision, and we want your ring finger to be eternally happy!