Wedding Rings

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Do Catholic wedding bands need to be made of a precious metal?
 
Archangelic said:
Do Catholic wedding bands need to be made of a precious metal?
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Rings are a custom, not a requirement of the Church. A Catholic need not have a ring at all.

If a Catholic couple does intend to exchange rings, they will be blessed by the priest or deacon. Therefore, they should be of a suitable material for blessing and becoming a sacramental.

What material did you have in mind.
 
1ke said:
Rings are a custom, not a requirement of the Church. A Catholic need not have a ring at all.

If a Catholic couple does intend to exchange rings, they will be blessed by the priest or deacon. Therefore, they should be of a suitable material for blessing and becoming a sacramental.

What material did you have in mind.
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Are there really limits to which materials can be made into sacramentals? And if so, does that mean it is wrong for people that use cheap plastic and metal to make rosaries?
 
thewanderer said:
Are there really limits to which materials can be made into sacramentals? And if so, does that mean it is wrong for people that use cheap plastic and metal to make rosaries?
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Inexpensive metal rosaries and plastic rosaries (typically for children) are fine. Plastic for a wedding ring would seem to be practically inappropriate as a wedding ring would be expected to last one’s lifetime.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Inexpensive metal rosaries and plastic rosaries (typically for children) are fine. Plastic for a wedding ring would seem to be practically inappropriate as a wedding ring would be expected to last one’s lifetime.
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Actually, some plastic is extremely durable. That’s not to say I think plastic wedding rings are OK though. This is an honest question though, if there are restrictions on the kinds of materials used for sacramentals ** because** they are used for sacramentals (as 1ke, whose opinions on I trust claimed) then the same restrictions should apply to ** all** sacramentals. So either the bar for what qualifies is extremely low (ie. it permits cheap plastic and metal) or else it is wrong for people to make rosaries out of those materials. I am curious to know which is the case.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Inexpensive metal rosaries and plastic rosaries (typically for children) are fine. Plastic for a wedding ring would seem to be practically inappropriate as a wedding ring would be expected to last one’s lifetime.
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Presumably though a ring could be made of a base metal, or another long-lasting material such as horn. There are some very attractive copper options out there.
 
Buy your bride a tin one and stand back. (Tin rings should never be held by children in case of expected explosion. 😉
 
thewanderer said:
Are there really limits to which materials can be made into sacramentals? And if so, does that mean it is wrong for people that use cheap plastic and metal to make rosaries?
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Well, sure. I don’t believe a priest or deacon would bless something cutesy that a couple had seen in a movie-- cigar bands, candy ring, ring from a gumball machine.

That is beneath the dignity of the sacrament of marriage.

It is completely in the discretion of the priest or deacon what he blesses or does not bless. And I would suggest that a priest would not be amused at a cheap plastic ring and would likely reject it for inclusion in a Catholic wedding ceremony.

Your attempt to extrapolate that into an “all or nothing” sacramental blessing approach, as if a priest “must” bless a plastic wedding ring because he blessed a plastic rosary, is pointless. It is the priest’s prerogative and he can say no if he does not deem it appropriate.
 
1ke said:
Well, sure. I don’t believe a priest or deacon would bless something cutesy that a couple had seen in a movie-- cigar bands, candy ring, ring from a gumball machine.

That is beneath the dignity of the sacrament of marriage.

It is completely in the discretion of the priest or deacon what he blesses or does not bless. And I would suggest that a priest would not be amused at a cheap plastic ring and would likely reject it for inclusion in a Catholic wedding ceremony.

Your attempt to extrapolate that into an “all or nothing” sacramental blessing approach, as if a priest “must” bless a plastic wedding ring because he blessed a plastic rosary, is pointless. It is the priest’s prerogative and he can say no if he does not deem it appropriate.
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It sounds like the issue is more that the priest would not want something that appeared to promote a frivolous approach to the sacrament. So a better comparison might be, if I chose to make a rosary out of mickey mouse beads, the priest would be within his rights to refuse to bless it, because that would be a good indication it was being treated as a toy rather than a sacramental.

I suspect that a ring of base metal, or of another material such as bone or wood, would be perfectly acceptable so long as it appeared dignified enough. They might even be a good option for a couple worried about finances and not desiring a plain ring. There are stories through history of metals such as bronze, copper, and even iron used by those too poor to have anything else. I could certainly see such a desire even now, especially as in some circles the lack of a ring would cause some talk and possibly even whisperings about chastity.
 
1ke said:
Well, sure. I don’t believe a priest or deacon would bless something cutesy that a couple had seen in a movie-- cigar bands, candy ring, ring from a gumball machine.

That is beneath the dignity of the sacrament of marriage.

It is completely in the discretion of the priest or deacon what he blesses or does not bless. And I would suggest that a priest would not be amused at a cheap plastic ring and would likely reject it for inclusion in a Catholic wedding ceremony.

Your attempt to extrapolate that into an “all or nothing” sacramental blessing approach, as if a priest “must” bless a plastic wedding ring because he blessed a plastic rosary, is pointless. It is the priest’s prerogative and he can say no if he does not deem it appropriate.
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1ke, you are very knowledgeable about church laws and you are usually very precise in the way you phrase your posts. Because of this I assumed this was the case with your first post on here, in other words, I assumed that there were certain materials which were not fit to be sacramentals. Because of that I started to wonder about all the rosaries that were made and whether or not they would be in violation of this rule. It was an honest question, but I take it from your response that you did not mean to say in your first post that certain materials are unfit to be made into sacramentals, but rather that rings made from certain materials (such as candy rings etc) are not fitting for the dignity of the sacrament of marriage and so a priest may not be willing to bless them. Is that correct?
 
DarkLight said:
It sounds like the issue is more that the priest would not want something that appeared to promote a frivolous approach to the sacrament. So a better comparison might be, if I chose to make a rosary out of mickey mouse beads, the priest would be within his rights to refuse to bless it, because that would be a good indication it was being treated as a toy rather than a sacramental.

I suspect that a ring of base metal, or of another material such as bone or wood, would be perfectly acceptable so long as it appeared dignified enough. They might even be a good option for a couple worried about finances and not desiring a plain ring. There are stories through history of metals such as bronze, copper, and even iron used by those too poor to have anything else. I could certainly see such a desire even now, especially as in some circles the lack of a ring would cause some talk and possibly even whisperings about chastity.
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👍

OK, yes, this makes a lot of sense to me.
 
One of my nieces’ finance had a father who did metal work. I don’t know if it was his profession or a hobby, but he and his DS together made the couples’ wedding rings from stainless steel, IIRC. I thought it was a lovely sentiment, and the priest who married them had no problem in blessing the rings.
 
Our rings are made of titanium and there was no issue on our big day. I’d suggest you pick a material and/or design that symbolizes what you expect from your union.

For us, titanium is a strong metal that resist corrosion. Representing the strength of our bond and the long lasting nature. Other than cost I saw gold as soft and not symbolizing or strength, not to knock anyone with gold rings.
 
Book_Worm said:
One of my nieces’ finance had a father who did metal work. I don’t know if it was his profession or a hobby, but he and his DS together made the couples’ wedding rings from stainless steel, IIRC. I thought it was a lovely sentiment, and the priest who married them had no problem in blessing the rings.
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I desperately want a crucifix and cannot afford a white gold one to match my wedding band, which is my only jewelry. I am not a fan of silver and I don’t want a yellow gold one, either. I’ve been looking at some made of stainless and there are nice options out there for very little money compared to the standard gold.
 
We have titanium wedding rings.

I don’t wear precious metals for several reasons.

The priest didn’t even ask us about the material.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who said that in the Church, traditionally, wedding rings should be made of a precious metal. My fiancee and I have already ordered them made from tungsten, so I was just making sure!
 
thewanderer said:
1ke, you are very knowledgeable about church laws and you are usually very precise in the way you phrase your posts. Because of this I assumed this was the case with your first post on here, in other words, I assumed that there were certain materials which were not fit to be sacramentals. Because of that I started to wonder about all the rosaries that were made and whether or not they would be in violation of this rule. It was an honest question, but I take it from your response that you did not mean to say in your first post that certain materials are unfit to be made into sacramentals, but rather that rings made from certain materials (such as candy rings etc) are not fitting for the dignity of the sacrament of marriage and so a priest may not be willing to bless them. Is that correct?
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Correct I wasn’t implying anything about other sacramental a like rosaries and such.
 
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