If you thought that millennials proposing with avocados was was the height of alternative wedding traditions, think again.
People have opted for customised wedding bands as way to personalise ready made rings for a while now. But, this usually only entailed making minor modifications such as unique stone placement, jewel cut or engravings.
Bringing one’s personality, style and history into the mix is a must as people have started going to incredible lengths to make their wedding bands mean more than just “I’m taken”.
Here are four unique wedding band alternatives people are loving:
Fingerprint Ring
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Nothing is more unique to individuals than their fingerprints. Preserve the touch of your loved one by engraving the tiny ridges and patterns of your partners fingerprint into your wedding band.
Custom Waveform Ring
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"I Do" rings, created by Japanese artist and designer Sakurako Shimizu, feature custom made bands etched with a sound wave of couple's uttering their own choice of words. The name comes from people often choosing to record themselves saying "I do". It certainly is a unique way to preserve such a significant moment.
Piercing
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Love is pain, or at least it is for those who are swapping traditional wedding bands for something much edgier: piercings.
The concepts requires placing getting a dermal piercing, a type of single-point surface piercing, on the fourth finger. In order to achieve this, a piercer uses a punch to remove a small circle of flesh. Ouch!
When done correctly, the skin around the stud will heal with the results obtaining a rather minimal and dainty effect.
Tattoo
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Diamonds are forever, but so are tattoos. This trend took off after celebrity power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé got matching roman numeral tattoos on their ring fingers.
Since then, couples have been sealing the deal with creative variations of the wedding band tat. Everything from wedding dates to infinity symbols and initials, delicately scrawled across ring fingers, have been tattooed. Tattoos are not limited to ring fingers, often images that typically go together (like peanut butter and jelly for example) are tattooed on any part of the body and symbolise a union or togetherness.
This trend not only says “yes” to saving, it is perfect for couples who want to express their love with something less materialistic, more sentimental, but with the same amount of impact that a diamond would have. It also spares you from having minor panic attacks every time you forget your rings at the bathroom sink.