My mother wears a simple gold wedding band, whereas some of my married friends wear decorative wedding bands featured with stones, engravings and unique designs. So what is considered trendy these days? What does your wedding ring look like or what do you want your ring to look like when you get married?

In earlier decades, women, like my mother, opted for the traditional wedding band, noting simplicity and low-maintenance. Perhaps there weren't many options of bands back then, other than just being silver or gold.

Today, many young people anticipating marriage are thinking outside the box, being open to a collection of unique wedding bands. Well-traveled or exposed to different cultures, engaged couples might not follow earlier generations with the simple wedding bands. Here are just a few close ups of cultures that offer distinctive wedding bands.

The Russian Wedding Band-Designed with three rings intertwined to form a single ring, the Russian wedding band adds thickness and texture to its appearance. With Russian wedding bands, you can diversify the rings with multi-color tones, adding a colorful touch to your wedding band.

The Claddagh Ring-Popular in Irish culture, the Claddagh ring is composed of three symbols; a heart, held by two hands, and topped with a crown. The heart represents love, the hands mark friendship and the crown denotes loyalty, three elements that symbolize a devoted commitment to each other.

Hawaiian Wedding Band-With a Hawaiian wedding band, your spouse's name is embossed on the ring, commonly engraved in Old English font. You can opt for a more visible view with the name in black lettering or just keep it blended in with the band. What better design than having your spouse's name engraved?

Symbolism of the wedding band
After discussing the several possibilities of distinctive bands, it's important to shift emphasis on the symbolism of wedding bands. The wedding band represents a love that has no end. Despite global cultures that reflect their own unique décor to a band, the idea of a wedding band is universal.

So whether or not you decide on a traditional or cultural wedding band, keep in mind of the true importance of wedding band symbolization; that is the never-ending love that you will share with your spouse.