Diamonds, platinum, gold, titanium, tungsten carbide…pfft, who needs them! Overpriced symbols of love if you ask me. And don’t even get me started on the over-commercialization of Valentines Day! Hey, you don’t need a special day to express your love (or to buy overpriced flowers). Nor do you need to spend thousands of dollars on wedding rings to show the world your connection to one another. Instead, why not save yourself some time and money with these alternative minimalist wedding rings!

The Coconut Ring

Okay, I’m very biased for this one. When we sold all our stuff and moved to Panama we left our old wedding rings in a safety deposit box at the bank. Yes, we originally fell prey to the gold/diamond rings. But we’ve also since pawned those. Why? Because while in Panama we went without wedding rings for so long. Then one day we went to the local fair in Panama, and a vendor was selling rings made of coconut (made from shell of small coconuts, also known as known as palm nuts). We tried a few on, found our fit, and voila — instant wedding rings. Our gold/diamond wedding rings cost us somewhere north of $2500 (I knew a diamond wholesaler that got me a great deal too). But what did our new coconut minimalist wedding rings set us back? A whopping two bucks! I’m not a financial guru, but I’m pretty sure we would have saved, like, lots of money if we went this route in the first place!

The Tattoo Wedding Band

Pro: A tattoo is forever, for that everlasting love.
Con: A tattoo is forever, for that love that wasn’t so everlasting…see Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie.

While a tattoo is forever, a tattoo isn’t for everyone, especially a visible one like a wedding band. But the good thing is a wedding band tattoo can easily be covered by some other ring…like a coconut ring.

Bone

Cow bone is something that was commonly seen as a necklace charm when we were in Panama. It’s easy to carve, apparently. I’m not condoning the killing of an animal for it’s bone(s) or otherwise, but hey, bones are left over. Why not use that bone as a ring. You’ll save a few bones (money)…no bones about it!

Crystals/Rocks (but not the expensive ones)

Because our coconut wedding rings were so cheap, we decided to snag some hematite wedding rings when we landed in Vancouver. It wasn’t intentional, we just happened to wander into a rock store. They’re pretty fragile, as we found out one day when one was dropped and subsequently shattered on the ceramic tile floor. But hey, they also cost only $2 a piece, so we ventured back to Granville Island to get another one.  Our hematite rings are great because when it come to wedding rings, sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t! Oh, and there’s another benefit of the hematite crystal—it’s said to ward off negativity and helps with creativity. As you can tell, I’m clearly wearing mine right now. Want some other crafty and cheap ideas for minimalist wedding rings? Here’s a handy Etsy list of natural rings.

No Wedding Rings

Yep, that’s right, no wedding rings at all. Why do we need really need wedding rings anyway? You know you love each other (hopefully). You both know you’re married. Based on my math above, going without rings can save you anywhere from $2 to $20,000. And you don’t need to worry about losing diamonds, or taking the ring off to wash your hands and dropping it in the sink then having to take apart your sink drain to find your ring, only to end up vomiting from the rank smell of the other nastiness found in your drain. Reduce your chance of vomiting, go without wedding rings. Those are the ultimate minimalist wedding rings!

I was once asked by a friend; “tell me three things that you think make a great marriage“. In my response, not one of my three answers included “you have to have an expensive wedding ring“.  The thing is, you can put a twist-tie around your partners finger. Rings are a symbol of your connection to each other, not a symbol of how much money you have.

Now go sell all your stuff and discover your own unique minimalist wedding rings!