San Jose Wedding Articles » Wedding Day Details
Exchanging wedding rings seals the vows taken by the bride and groom. After the verbal affirmation of a couple’s commitment toward one another, the ring exchange symbolizes the love between the two. The rings, which have been picked out months in advance of the wedding ceremony, are an important part of the wedding.
In the order of the wedding service, the ring exchange takes place after the vows have been spoken. At the point that the last word is repeated or read, the minister or marriage official takes the rings from the best man and maid-of-honor. He or she may perform a blessing of the rings, in certain religious ceremonies, or simply hand the bride’s ring to the groom and the groom’s ring to the bride.
When ready, the groom will be instructed to place the ring onto the ring finger of the bride. The saying, “with this ring, I thee wed”, will follow this action. The bride will be asked to do the same, accepting the ring from either minister or her maid-of-honor. The ring exchange may also take place simultaneously.
The wedding rings should be kept in a safe place until the time that they are needed for the wedding. In some circumstances, you may ask the jeweler designing the rings to simply hold on to them until such time as they are needed. It is typically the role of the maid-of-honor and best man to place the rings in safekeeping until the wedding. It goes without saying that you should make sure that it is a person or people that you trust implicitly.
Once the rings have been exchanged and the wedding has been deemed valid, the ceremony concludes with the wedding march. The rings always remain as a symbol of the couple’s fidelity and commitment to each other and the ring exchange an important step in solidifying the couple’s union.