How much do you spend on wedding rings?

Posted on June 4, 2020 (March 17, 2021)

The planning and execution of your wedding day. The occasion where to-do lists are mandatory, and you want to make sure you cross the “i” and dot the “t”. But you don’t have to stress, research is all part of the wedding plan, and whatever you make of your day will be special.

Of course, when you are planning, you want to make sure you have a budget and a plan on how much you want to spend on all the different aspects of your wedding, including the wedding rings.

So, how much do they cost? How much does it cost for a female wedding ring? And how much for a male wedding ring?

Let’s start the background and the research of a wedding ring to get you fully educated to make the right purchase – at the right price!

Looking at the market

When analysing the market, we can see that a wedding band can range anywhere from a cheap $200 to a more high end of $2,000 and beyond. When choosing a ring for both male or female, it all comes down to the metal, the setting of the design and the number of diamonds featured in the ring.

Looking at an American study (brides.com/gallery/american-wedding-study), we saw in 2019, the average wedding ring for a male was $510USD, and the average was $1,100USD for women. Although this is a study from Brides’ American Wedding Study, it is interesting to see the price difference between the two rings. The research also found that three percent of the wedding budget was put aside for wedding rings, whereas 14 percent of the budget was for the engagement ring.

So now we know the basic figures, how much should you budget for a ring? What other factors need to be considered?

Well, of course, you need to look at the type of design you want to purchase before you know what sort of money you will need to put aside.

 Looking at all the factors

 Choosing the rings you want

 As mentioned, the price of the ring really does come down to the type of design you want. The options range from plain, diamonds, and then custom designs, which of course add to the cost.

Rings to suit and complement

When choosing a ring for you and your partner, you might like to get rings to match. This could be in terms of style and metal. Some couples want to coordinate, whereas others prefer to choose different designs. Of course, this could have an impact on the price, depending on the style you both choose.

This could also be the case with the engagement ring. Some like to match the wedding band with the engagement ring, which of course again, can work for or against the price of the ring.

Durability

The term “you get what you pay for” is relevant when you buy a wedding ring. If it is worn daily, you want to make sure it will last and won’t need to be repaired after a few years.

The better quality the metal or materials used to make the ring, the more you will pay! So again, this comes down to the style you want to be wearing for eternity.

Buying within your budget

So, with the question, “how much should a ring cost?”, this also comes down to the budget you have set for your wedding. As seen in the survey in the US around weddings, couples are spending around three percent of their budget on the perfect ring.

Once you know your wedding budget, you can work out how much you have to spend on wedding rings. Don’t stress about the factor of “it should be a percentage of your wage”. Buy what you can afford, but also buy what you love. After all, you will be wearing it daily, and it is a symbol of your love.

Think about it like this, what is a priority to you? Is it the food and entertainment, is it the rings and the outfits/dress? What do you want to spend your money on? There is no right or wrong answer, you just need to work it to the budget that suits you best!

Discuss it as a couple to work out how much you want to spend on your wedding rings.

Okay, so let’s break it down for both the men and women wedding rings!

How much is a woman’s wedding ring?

Of course, for women, they typically have two rings to wear. The engagement ring is usually more expensive than the wedding ring, but there are also rings made to match the engagement ring to form a set.

When it comes to choosing the wedding ring, some people like to compare what they spent on the engagement ring and work out a figure from there. But it always comes down to the budget you have for your wedding and the rings to go along with that budget.

If your engagement ring is loud and very bold, you might opt for a simpler wedding ring, so it doesn’t take away from the feature piece. Or you might have a plain engagement ring and want to opt for a wedding ring with bling. Both of these factors alter the budget and price of the wedding ring.

You just want to make sure both the engagement ring and the wedding ring match, so they fit nicely on the hand and look good together.

For men, it is a little more simple.

How much is a man’s wedding ring?

As a general rule, a man’s wedding ring is often cheaper as it has fewer diamonds and less bling. However, the price of a man’s wedding ring comes down mostly to the metal used to make the ring.

So, you can generally get a simple ring for a cheaper price, which could be cheaper than a simple woman’s wedding ring.

Final thoughts

Choosing the perfect wedding ring at the perfect price comes down to a few factors. These need to be determined and a budget needs to be set before going to purchase a ring.

The budget can be a small portion of the overall wedding budget and plays into account the designs the couple wants for their special day and of course, eternity.

At Kalfin Jewellery, we offer a variety of wedding rings for ‘Him & Her’. An assortment of fitted, matching, or even a band to compliment your existing engagement ring, can be custom-designed. Our obligation-free consultation with an expert jeweller will help you customise a wedding band design that suits your requirements.