Rings and customs
Which finger does a wedding ring go on?
In South Africa, the wedding ring goes on the fourth finger of the left hand, counting the thumb as the first. The same finger as the UK, the US, Australia and most of the Commonwealth. The engagement ring goes on that same finger, and on the wedding day it usually gets moved.
That is the whole answer. The rest of this page is the detail people ask about afterwards.
Which hand, by country
The left hand is not universal. It is a regional habit, not a rule, and plenty of South African families follow the tradition of where they came from.
| Left hand | Right hand |
|---|---|
| South Africa, UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Sweden | Germany, Austria, Russia, Poland, Greece, Norway, Denmark, Spain, India, much of Eastern Europe |
Orthodox Christian and many Jewish traditions place it on the right. In some Jewish ceremonies the ring is put on the index finger during the ceremony itself and moved to the ring finger afterwards. In parts of India it sits on the right because the left hand is considered unclean for ceremonial purposes.
None of these is more correct than another. If your family does it differently, your family is not wrong.
The order on the wedding day
The usual sequence, and the one most South African couples follow:
- The engagement ring comes off the left hand before the ceremony, or moves to the right hand for the day.
- The wedding band goes on first, so it sits closest to the heart.
- The engagement ring goes back on afterwards, on top of the band.
The “closest to the heart” reasoning is sentimental rather than anatomical, but the practical effect is real: the band sits below and the engagement ring is seen. It also means the band takes the wear from the finger rubbing against things, which is why a plain band ages better than a set one in that position.
The vein of love is not real
You will read on a lot of jewellery sites that the fourth finger was chosen because a vein runs directly from it to the heart, the vena amoris. It is a lovely story and it is anatomically false. Every finger has veins that return blood to the heart. There is no special one.
The idea comes from Roman and later Renaissance writing and was repeated because it sells rings. We would rather you had the true version: the custom is old, the reason is lost, and the story attached to it was invented later.
If it does not fit
Two things worth knowing before the day rather than after it.
Fingers change size. Heat, salt, flying, pregnancy and the time of day all move a finger by up to half a size. If a ring is being sized, do it late in the day when the hand is at its largest, not first thing on a cold morning.
Wide bands need a bigger size. A 6mm band sits tighter than a 2mm band on the identical finger, because there is more metal in contact with the skin. Going up a quarter to a half size on anything above about 5mm is normal, and a jeweller who does not mention it has not thought about it.
Our ring size guide has the measuring method and the South African letter sizes, or bring the ring in and we will measure it properly in thirty seconds.