How to choose wedding ring timeless

Engraving your partner's ring can be a stressful endeavor. Not only do you have to choose the words he or she will wear forever, but you're limited to the size of your partner's ring finger. Talk about tough. But our experts are here to ease your stress, with their top tips for picking the perfect engraving for your partner's wedding band.

Learn about your ring's restrictions.
Before you make any grand plans for the engraving you'll place inside your partner's wedding band, "it's important to talk to the retailer and learn more about any restrictions they may have on engraving and be sure what you're planning to engrave will work within those restrictions," says Oded Edelman, cofounder of James Allen. For example, your jeweler may have restrictions based on the number of characters.

As Stephanie Maslow-Blackman, owner of Metalicious, points out, the number of characters you can place inside the band is limited to the length of the inner circumference of the ring. "The larger the finger size, the longer the circumference and the more words you can fit inside your ring," she explains. "You want to keep the engraving fairly simple and legible since it will be so small."

Choose something to last a lifetime.
What resonates with your partner today may not mean anything to him or her 20 years from now. "When choosing an engraving, it's important to think about what will be relevant and personal to you both today and for years to come," says Edelman, who points out that many couples choose to engrave a date, such as their wedding date, because those numbers will never go out of style.

But numbers are hardly your only option. "Choosing your engraving is where you can get really personal and customize your wedding bands so that they more fully represent the bond between you and your partner," says Maslow-Blackman. "Some couples have asked me to engrave nicknames or funny phrases that will only make sense to them, and others have gone romantic and had me engrave a few words from their favorite love poem." Whatever you decide, don't let it stress you out. "If you're stuck then I recommend that you go with something simple like your wedding date or your initials," says Maslow-Blackman. "It makes your bands unique and special and will be a symbol of your love for your partner."

Keep the font simple.
Serif and script fonts may look pretty in theory, but on such a small band, they're often difficult to read. "I recommend using non-serif fonts because they are easier to read than serif fonts, and definitely no scripted fonts," says Maslow-Blackman. "It can look pretty on paper and invitations, but inside a ring where there's not a lot of contrast between the engraving and the metal it will be difficult to read."

Talk to your partner first.
Some couples keep their ring engravings as secret as they did their proposals. And while you can keep the message a surprise, it's a good idea to get on the same page about whether you'll each add an engraving to one another's rings. "The worst feeling would be to know that your partner took the time to have your band engraved and expected you to do the same and you didn't," says Maslow-Blackman. "So step number 1 is to decide to engrave or not to engrave. Step number 2 is whether to share or not. Some couples like the surprise aspect and others have known for a long time what they want to have engraved. And some couples go so far as to only show their engraving to one another and no one else. It's completely up to you."