An engraving can be a great way to personalize your engagement or wedding jewelry, but there are some things you should keep in mind when you’re deciding what to engrave, so I’ve put together 5 tips to help those who are thinking about adding a custom message to their jewelry.

・Keep it simple.

This is pretty important because for one, a ring is a relatively small area and can only fit so much.  We generally have across the board that engraved messages should be no more than 15 characters, but you can always ask us if you want something a little bit longer and depending on the style of the ring we might be able to fit in some extra letters.

・Make it special.

The engraving just like your rings represents you and your partner.  Whatever you decide to put on it should be about you two as a couple.  Sometimes it’s as simple as a date which can be helpful to remember your anniversary or you can put in a special message or code that only the two of you would understand or be a reference to the day you met or special moment you shared.

・Consider making a combined message for all of your engagement and wedding jewelry.

A more recent trend with engagement and wedding jewelry lately are set pieces that make a design, message, or motif when they are together.  Even if your rings are different in design though, you can emulate this trend by splitting up your message by putting them on different rings.  So maybe one ring can read “Always” and your spouse’s can read “Together” so that together they read “Always together” as a message that only the two of you know that make your rings extra special.

・Be careful when referencing pop culture.

Pop culture references are definitely a trend these days with many people being fans of the latest summer blockbusters and participants of various memes.  Some can be really sweet, however, there are times where you should probably stop to think about the true meaning of the message before you apply it to anything related to your wedding or engagement.  For instance, you might be a fan of the Hunger Games like many of our staff in our office, but “May the odds be ever in your favor” probably isn’t a good quote to have on anything in your wedding unless, of course, you actually want people to think about the average rate of divorce and hope that you’re in the 50% that survives.

At the same token, those who are huge fans of Marvel and are just coming off Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the latest episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. probably shouldn’t be writing “Hail Hydra” on their wedding or engagement rings either.  Remember that the in universe usage of the phrase is when a spy is outing themselves and is up to something truly heinous.  In terms of your relationship to your spouse, it’s kind of a statement of infidelity since it’s related to the “enemy in plain sight” motif, which doesn’t exactly add positivity to the future success of your relationship and the celebration of your love.

These are only two examples.  I’m not saying that they should never be used, but if you’re going to have phrases like these associated with your nuptials, you should take some considerate thought about what the phrase means to you and your relationship and if it’s really better than having something else that might be more positive or sentimental.

・Ask about custom designs.

You can also always ask about possibly having a custom design made for you.  Our standard engravings are all in English and are good up to 15 characters, but as I discussed in my previous post about the One Ring, you can ask us about mimicking a design of your choice as a custom engraving.

We hope you are inspired by these engraving tips and maybe incorporate some of the ideas into your wedding jewelry.  Feel free to browse all of our engagement and wedding ring designs to further spur your imagination for the jewelry that will represent you and your beloved.