It is traditional to wear wedding rings on the left ring finger
The wedding ring is traditionally worn on the fourth finger of the left hand, which is referred to as the ring finger. This goes for both the man and woman. According to legend, there is a vein in the left ring finger that leads directly to the heart. This isn?t true, but it?s a nice thought and a well-established tradition to wear the wedding ring on this finger because of the connection to the heart.
The precursor to the wedding ring is the engagement ring; however, not all brides-to-be have engagement rings.
During the wedding ceremony, if the bride has an engagement ring, she may choose to wear it on her right hand and then switch it over to her left hand once the wedding band is in place. Alternatively, the bride can opt to leave her engagement ring on her fourth finger on the left hand, and the groom places the wedding ring on top of the engagement ring. After the ceremony, the rings can be switched, and the wedding ring goes on the bottom, closest to the heart, and the engagement ring goes on top of it.
When the engagement and wedding rings are soldered sets, the bride won?t be wearing her engagement ring until the groom puts the set on her finger so that eliminates the problem of how to wear the engagement ring during the ceremony.
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If the bride is wearing gloves
If the bride is wearing gloves during the ceremony, do not wear the engagement ring on top of the glove because the ring could fall off. If the bride wears the engagement ring under the glove, it is possible for the glove to get snagged on the ring. The gloves should be loose enough to prevent this from happening.
There are gloves specifically designed with a slit on the ring finger so that the ring doesn?t get tangled up in the glove material, and so the ring finger can be discreetly slipped out of the glove during the ceremony, and the wedding band placed on it.
Practice doing this before the ceremony. If it?s too complicated, remove the glove prior to the ring exchange. The bride can remove one glove and then put it back on after the wedding ring is in place or remove both gloves prior to the ring exchange and hand them to her maid of honor. Gloves are a beautiful accessory to a wedding dress, but if they become problematic, forego them. That is one less thing that has to be worried about.
Foreign customs
In the United States and various other countries, the wedding band and engagement ring are worn on the fourth finger on the left hand; however, in some countries this is considered taboo because the left hand is believed to be associated with bad luck. The word ?left? means ?sinister” in Latin. When living in a country that adheres to this philosophy, wear your wedding and engagement ring on the right hand.
If you are living in a foreign country and are about to be married ask what the appropriate custom is.