The first people to wear wedding rings were the Pharaohs
of Egypt, who believed that the "circle" was a symbol
of eternal love. The wedding ring is also said to symbolise
perfection, perfect unity with no beginning and no end, holiness,
peace, sun, earth, and universe.
In 1549, King Edward VI of England decided that the third
finger of the left hand was to be the ring finger. He believed
that this finger had a special vein called the "vena
amoris", or the "vein of love", which ran directly
to the wearer's heart.
It was not until the 13th century, however, that engagement
rings existed. That was when Pope Innocent III declared that
there should be a waiting period between the engagement and
the wedding ceremony. Hence, he decided that there should
be both an engagement ring and a wedding ring. However, it
was not until the 15th century that the engagement ring was
set with a diamond. The first recorded diamond engagement
ring was given by Arch Duke Maximilian of Austria I to his
fiancée Mary of Burgundy in 1477.
If your fiancé did not give you an engagement ring when he
proposed because he thought it would be better if you got
to choose one yourself, read How
to Choose an Engagement Ring before going shopping.
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