The History of Wedding Rings

Because I am just a hopeless romantic at heart, this week's post is all about the history of wedding rings and the logic behind them!

The earliest exchange of rings to symbolize love was in ancient Egypt. Along the Nile River there was a plant called papyrus that would be bent and shaped into rings.

The rings are shaped like circles to symbolize eternity. Because a circle has no beginning nor end, the marriage will therefore have no end. A circle is continuous, as is the love in the marriage. The hole in the middle also symbolizes the gateway into the life the husband and wife now share.

Later, the materials the rings were being made of were replaced by longer-lasting materials such as leather, ivory, and even bone. It wasn't until much later that rings began to be made from gold. However, even before gold rings, it was still thought to be that the more expensive the material was, the more the man loved his wife.

Of course, the Romans couldn't resist on adopting this adornment--but not without putting their own spin on it first. They began to make the rings out of iron and it's also believed that they were the first to engrave their rings.

The Christians later adopted this tradition and came up with the other tradition of wearing the ring on the fourth finger of the left hand. During the wedding ceremony when the bride and groom exchange rings, the minister would take the ring and tap the thumb and say, "In the name of the Father," tap the index finger, "the Son," tap the middle finger, "and the Holy Spirit," then he would place the ring on the ring finger and say, "Amen" thus sealing the marriage.

The other reason for wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger on the left hand was because it was believed that there was a vein in that finger that lead straight to the heart called "Vena Amoris" or the "Vein of Love."