Should You Wear Your Engagement Ring Down the Aisle?

As you’re gearing up for your wedding day, you may be wondering what you should do with your engagement ring. Should you wear your engagement ring down the aisle? Do you wear it on your left hand? Or your right hand? Do you not wear it at all? There is no right answer, ultimately how and if you wear your ring is completely up to you. Let’s discuss the different options so you can make the best decision for you.

Should You Wear Your Engagement Ring Down the Aisle?

Standard Etiquette

In traditional ring etiquette, the bride wears the engagement ring on her right hand when walking down the aisle. During the exchange of rings, the groom places the wedding band on the bride’s left ring finger. Tradition suggests that the wedding band goes first on your left ring finger to keep it closer to your heart. After the ceremony, the bride can then move the engagement ring back over to the left ring finger with the wedding band. The purpose of the engagement ring is to protect the sacred wedding band and the bond of love.

Leave The Ring On Your Left Hand

If you want to leave your engagement ring on your left hand during the wedding ceremony, the groom will place the wedding band on top of your engagement ring. Once you and your significant other walk back up the aisle, you can change the order of the rings so the wedding band is on the interior side, closest to your heart.

If you plan to go the nontraditional route and decide to keep your ring on your left hand, be sure to talk to your officiant, especially if you are having a religious ceremony. Religious establishments might have some rules about this issue.

Another option if you want to keep your engagement ring on your left hand is to place it on another finger during the ceremony. But only do this if the ring fits properly — you don’t want to have to worry about it falling off and losing it before you have a chance to put it back on your ring finger.

Other Options

If you don’t want to wear your engagement ring on your left or right hand during the wedding ceremony, there are lots of other options for what to do with the ring.

If you are planning on soldering your engagement ring and wedding band together, get it done about two weeks before the wedding. You will then walk down the aisle with no engagement ring on but walk back up it with both the wedding band and engagement ring, showing off your bling.

Use a Ring Box

Store your ring in a ring box until after the ceremony if you don’t want to wear your ring down the aisle. If you don’t want put it back on during the celebrations, you can keep it in there the entire time, However, it just won’t appear in any of your pictures.

Give it to Someone to Hold On To

If you don’t want to wear your ring, give it to someone you trust to hold on to it until after the ceremony. When the ceremony is over, you can slide it on your finger with your wedding band.

Wear it on a Chain

If you want to keep your engagement ring with you but don’t want to wear it on either hand, simply place the ring on a chain and wear it as a necklace. Or attach it to some other bridal jewelry you are wearing. This way, your ring will still be close to your heart.

Leave it at Home

This is probably the best option for most people who don’t want to wear their engagement ring down the aisle. Leaving it at home, your engagement ring will be safe and sound and you won’t have to worry about moving it between hands, asking a loved one to hold on to it, or storing it in a box in the bridal suite. One of the benefits of not wearing your engagement ring? It will give your wedding band a chance to shine.

In the end, it is completely up to you whether or not you want to wear your engagement ring down the aisle. Do what works best for you!