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Although it is not possible to prove exactly how long the custom of the wedding ring has existed, it can probably be traced back to antiquity and the ring has been an integral part of the church's wedding rite since around the 13th century. The ring, without beginning or end, best symbolizes the infinity that the love sealed with it should experience. In many southern countries and Switzerland, the ring is worn on the ring finger of the left hand, giving it its name, just as it was worn by the Romans and the ancient Egyptians in the past. This is explained by the belief that a vein from this finger leads directly to the heart, the source of love. In many southern countries as well as in Germany, Austria, Norway, Poland and Bulgaria, however, the wedding ring is worn on the right ring finger. In any case, the use of the wedding ring differs according to religion, region and time. While in ancient Rome only women wore a wedding ring, women of the Jewish faith still place the wedding ring on the index finger of the right hand as a ritual object during the wedding ceremony and take it off again after the ceremony.

Although the wedding ring spread through the Christian church in the West, it is not of Christian origin. The ring as a symbol of fidelity is not mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, although the Church analogizes marriage in particular to the New Covenant between Jesus Christ and the Church as his bride.