What Are Good Alternatives For a Wedding Ring?

Regardless of the reason behind your decision, there are plenty of creative and meaningful alternatives to wedding rings.

Consider your lifestyle, personality, budget, beliefs, and style preferences when choosing what to have instead of wedding rings.

For instance, a tree is an eco-friendly idea for nature lovers, whereas family silverware is a practical choice.

Most importantly, your wedding band alternative should be personal and reflect your unique relationship traits.

Matching Necklaces

Rings are traditional pieces of jewelry signifying love and devotion. If you can’t wear rings because of work or find them uncomfortable, but like the idea of matching jewelry, necklaces are the closest alternative to wedding rings.

The options are vast – you may get gold or platinum necklaces to honor the tradition of wearing precious metal wedding bands or choose something more unusual.

Tungsten, titanium, cobalt, and damask steel are cheaper but stronger than gold and platinum.

You’re free to choose any necklace design you both like. It may be actual rings hanging on a chain, medallions with meaningful engravings, parts of your wedding attires in epoxy resin, etc.

Consider your style, comfort, and material durability when choosing the necklace.

Ideally, your necklaces should last for decades, so jewelry from silver, copper, and other affordable metals isn’t the best choice unless you plan to change the necklaces later.

Alternatively, you can get matching wedding bracelets instead of rings if you don’t like necklaces.

Same as necklaces, they can be easily personalized at a local jeweler’s. Other options include watches, nose rings, toe rings, earrings, and brooches.

Plant a Tree

Planting a tree together instead of exchanging wedding rings is a meaningful ceremony. It’s ideal for all nature lovers who don’t want to support gold and diamond mining companies and instead want to contribute to saving the planet.

A tree represents how something once small and new can grow into strong and lifelong. You may plant the tree in your backyard or anywhere else as long as you get permission.

The tree can be any you prefer: for example, an oak, weeping willow, red maple, or birch. Fruit-bearing trees are a popular choice because they symbolize the work you put into your relationship and the results of your mutual effort.

Furthermore, you can pick the fruit and cook something together – that’s a great way to bond. Perhaps, the only drawback of this wedding band alternative is that, unlike jewelry, it requires constant care.

Gift a Star

A few things are more romantic than gifting your loved one a star. Nowadays, you can name a star of your choice via online services.

While you won’t be able to ever visit your star, the two of you will remember it every time you look in the night sky.

The star’s name can be any – typically, either the name of the star’s owner (your partner) or a couple. After you name a star, you will receive a certificate to hang in your family home.

Stars aren’t eternal, but their life seems like an eternity to human beings. Furthermore, each star is unique, just like each person. For centuries, stars symbolized divine guidance, protection, and hope.

Gifting a star instead of a wedding ring is undoubtedly meaningful. However, it’s crucial to find a trustworthy star naming service to avoid being scammed.

Tattoos

Tattoos are a common alternative to wedding rings – what could symbolize eternal love better than a tattoo that remains on your skin forever?

This wedding ring alternative was chosen by many celebrities, including the Beckhams, Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, Beyonce, and Jay-Z.

The wedding tattoo design options are endless – the wedding date, partner’s name, phrases from your vows, imitation of actual rings, or something more creative like a reminder of a specific occasion in your relationship.

Tattoos are typically cheaper than wedding rings, and you certainly won’t lose them. However, the main tattoo advantage is also their main drawback – tattoos are forever.

If you don’t like its look or want to get rid of it for a different reason, you would have to undergo many laser removal sessions, and success is not guaranteed. Plus, some people are sensitive to needles.

Engraved Wallet Cards

If you’re the type of person who never leaves home without a wallet, an engraved wallet card may be a valid alternative to a wedding ring.

You can engrave your partner’s name, wedding date, a quote from your vow, your inside joke, or anything else you consider meaningful.

Such cards are typically made from metal and are about the size of a debit card, but you can choose any size and material you prefer. Some cards are double-sided, often featuring a picture on one side and text on the other.

The benefits of wallet cards instead of wedding rings are apparent – they are highly customizable, relatively cheap, long-lasting, and allow you to always carry your partner’s picture with you. However, wallet cards can be easily lost if you lose your wallet.

Family Silverware or Porcelain

A family silverware or porcelain dinnerware set is an excellent alternative to wedding rings for couples who value tradition. It’s a practical and simultaneously meaningful way to mark the start of a new married life.

Many people pass their silverware and porcelain to future generations as heirlooms, so it can also be useful for your children and grandchildren. Silverware and porcelain dinnerware can last longer than any ring with proper care.

You may buy a ready-made set or order custom silverware with engravings or a hand-painted dinner set. It can feature your wedding date, your and your partner’s names, or even your family crest.

Note that high-quality silverware and porcelain are costly, often exceeding multiple hundreds of dollars, so it isn’t a way to save money on wedding rings. However, it’s undoubtedly a more useful investment.

Love Lock Ceremony

A love lock ceremony is a beautiful way to celebrate your wedding without spending a fortune. A lock doesn’t require maintenance like a tree. You don’t have to worry about losing it like a ring. And most importantly, it will last for decades.

This ceremony is simple – the couple buys a lock, hangs it on a bridge, and throws the key in the water or keeps it in their home. Many couples exchange vows during the ceremony.

The tradition is relatively new in the U.S. but has been around for decades in Europe. Nearly every major town in Central and Eastern Europe has a bridge full of locks hung by newlyweds.

You can buy a regular lock from the local locksmith or order a custom one with engraving. As for the location, you may choose a popular bridge in your town or find any other symbolically significant place.

Craft Something Together

Nothing bonds people better than creating something together. If you are crafty, do a DIY project together to celebrate your wedding.

This creative wedding ring alternative is ideal for couples who don’t want to spend a ton of money on the symbols of their love but still want to own a physical reminder of their wedding day.

Depending on your skills and preferences, you may make a wedding photo album, furniture for your home, clay vase, matching mugs, oil painting to match your interior, wine to enjoy on your 50th anniversary, or anything else.

Framed Certificate

Your home is your safe haven, the place where you can escape the outer world and spend time together. If you don’t like the idea of wearing a symbol of your love, display it in your home.

The easiest way to do so is to pick a beautiful frame for your wedding certificate and hang it in your bedroom, dining room, or hallway.

If your certificate design isn’t particularly appealing, you may hire a graphic designer to create one that matches your interior and preference.

It’s a cheap wedding ring alternative that doesn’t require much effort but is still meaningful. Perhaps, the only drawback is that wooden frames are not everlasting, so you may need to renew yours once in a while.

As for the certificate, lamination is a simple way to preserve it in its original state for many years to come. Framed wedding vows are an excellent alternative to a certificate.

Nothing At All

After all, you don’t have to come up with an alternative to wedding rings. What’s the purpose of carrying around a reminder of your wedding if you never forget about it anyway?

If both of you don’t mind, feel free to refrain from physical symbols of commitment. Expensive wedding rings don’t say anything about the relationship, just as a lack of such.

Finding something that would reflect all the love and respect you have for each other isn’t simple. Remember that your relationship is unique, and no one has a say in how you want to express your devotion.