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He's your rock, and he's wrapped around your finger.

This blog post today is about how to properly wear your wedding ring(s). I've been noticing lately how different people around me wear their rings and it's quite interesting. I took the liberty of doing some research and the history behind wedding rings and wearing them. Here's what I found out.

The wedding ring which is a symbol of love dates back to North Africa with the ancient Egyptian civilization. The men wanted to establish a custom of placing a ring on the finger of their wives as a sign that they had confidence in her ability to care for his house.

Clearly the wearing and giving of weddings rings still exist today but much more elaborate than the ones the ancient Egyptian men gave their wives. The ring is of course a circle and a symbol for the Egyptians of eternity. It had no beginning and no end like time. Always forever!

Lots of different countries wear their wedding bands on their right ring finger because they believe it's bad luck to wear it on your left hand. Here's why. The Latin word for "left" means "sinister". *GASP* I definitely don't want to be sinister but that's the ideology in some countries--not all.

In many other countries the wedding ring is worn on the left ring finger. The left ring finger is said to have a vein that goes straight to the heart. Awww how romantic! That is how it's typically worn in this country. Somehow engagement rings were thrown in the mix and started confusing me once again. Which ring do you wear first or at all on your left hand.

I had to dig a little deeper for some historical information on engagement rings. We all know what an engagement ring is. It's a ring indicating that the person wearing it is engaged to be married. Traditionally the ring is worn only by women and typically feature elaborate showcasing of diamonds and other gemstones. Oh and some showcasing of diamonds are not so elaborate--I'd rather have a plain band than a tiny, nonsparkling diamond. Just saying. AND heck no I wouldn't buy my boyfriend an engagement ring. Why? That's besides the point right now. Anyway, I learned that in some cultures both men and women wear matching rings. Sometimes the engagement ring also acts as the wedding ring. That's fine with me as long as my ring is NOT tiny and nonsparkly. Just saying once again.



Engagement rings, originally called betrothal rings, were used during Roman times, but weren't generally revived in the Western world until the 13th century. The first well-documented use of a diamond ring to signify engagement was by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria in imperial court of Vienna in 1477, upon his betrothal to Mary of Burgundy. I found this quite interesting too. Before the 20th century, other types of betrothal gifts were common. Before the end of the 19th century, the bride-to-be frequently received a sewing thimble rather than an engagement ring. This practice was particularly common among religious groups that shunned jewelry. UH UH!! Oh no he didn't! I wish Carmund would come to me with a thimble. LOL Dang couldn't the woman at least gotten a silk scarf or something. Nope, he found it more worthy to give his woman a thimble! Now that's confidence. Engagement rings didn't become standard in the West until the end of the 19th century, and diamond rings didn't become common until the 1930s. Now 80% of American women are offered a diamond ring to signify engagement. That's what I'm talking about!! Hopefully only 1% of that have ugly diamonds. Once more, I'm just saying.

With all of that being said it's your personal preference as to how you wear both your wedding band and your engagement ring. I've seen people wear the wedding band first (because it's closest to your heart) and then the engagement ring on top of that. There are some people who wear them the opposite way. There are some who wear the engagement ring on their right ring finger and the wedding band on their left ring finger. The latter is impossible if you prefer to have your rings welded together. I would personally wear my wedding band first and then put the engagement ring on top. I also like having the option to wear my wedding band by itself or having my engagement ring on my right hand. Oh the endless possibilities!

Whatever you decide ladies please make sure that your diamond isn't cloudy. To me an engagement ring is a reflection of the guy. If he loves you he'll work hard to get you a decent ring. No, it doesn't have to be this big elaborate diamond that he can't afford but it does have to be sparkly and pretty and worthy of the woman that you are. If he can't do that but would much rather get you something crappy then good luck with your marriage. Hopefully he'll make it up with other things. LOL Hahahaha! That's just the way it is.

Go go gadget wedding planner!

I am now 129 days away from being Mrs. Carmund T. White, Jr!! Wow! That was weird to say.LOL Anyway, I've been planning our wedding for months. Yes, before I got the ring. Who says you have to wait? I don't have that kind of time, money, and clearly patience for that!

I recently attended the Bloomington Bridal Show just to see what and who is out there in B-town in the bridal industry--quite a bit! It was quite a nice show with LOTS of free food and drinks and giveaways galore. I don't think I won anything but I did get something even better. After attending the show and talking with different vendors while I was there I realized that I had everything planned for my wedding! Talk about a relief! It was very reassuring to walk up to a vendor and they ask me, "Do you have a caterer? A florist? A cake? A location? A gown? A photographer? A coordinator? Invitations? Colors picked out?". My response to ALL those questions is YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, and YES!! Man oh man, it doesn't get any better than that!

I'm a true planner at heart and I knew I needed to jump on a lot of those things early on and the other stuff just kind of fell in my lap and so I took it and ran with it. My hope is that everything I see in my head will come to full fruition on Sunday, June 5, 2011. I think it will. I will be a proud lady that day because not only will I have the man of my dreams but the wedding as well. This wedding will be PAID IN FULL before the wedding date. Carmund and I have worked really hard to make sure that happens and I see it happening right now. We desired to go into our marriage with no wedding debt and that's exactly what's going to happen!

Planning this wedding has been lots of fun. Of course, there have been and probably will be challenges along the way but that's life--the good, bad, and ugly. God has been providing quite well thus far and well, he can't stop now! I've got lots more to do but I'm so happy about knowing what the end result will be. If you ever need a wedding coordinator I'm your girl. Just remember, I don't work for free! LOL That's just the way it is...