Wedding Jewellery Timeline: What to Order and When
Most wedding jewellery problems are scheduling problems. The ring is beautiful, the engraving is what you wanted, the size is right, and the piece is still on our bench the week of the wedding. Every stage of jewellery work has a real duration, and several of them have to happen in a fixed order. Here is the calendar we give couples in Coquitlam, counting backwards from the wedding date.
Why counting backwards works better
Forward planning hides the dependencies. Engraving cannot start until sizing is finished, and sizing cannot be confirmed until you have worn the ring for a week. Counting backwards puts the fixed date at the end and the true start date appears on its own. Every number below is our own bench practice at Vanhess. A shop that sends work out adds shipping time in both directions.
The calendar
| Months before | Task | Why this timing |
|---|---|---|
| 12 to 9 | Start a custom engagement ring | Design, CAD or wax, casting, setting and finishing run one after another. Sourcing a stone adds more. |
| 9 to 6 | Bring in any heirloom piece to be reset | Worn prongs, old solder or a chipped stone each add one to four weeks once the piece is opened. |
| 7 to 5 | Order custom wedding bands | Same casting and finishing stages as any custom piece. |
| 5 to 4 | Order stock wedding bands | Sizing is five business days, and matching a band to an engagement ring is bench work. |
| 4 to 3 | Order personalised bridal party gifts | Six gifts means six sizings and six engravings. Supplier orders take two to three weeks. |
| 3 | First ring sizing and fitting | Leaves room for a second adjustment without pressure. |
| 2 | Book the engraving slot | Hand engraving takes two to three weeks and the bench books up. Machine engraving needs two to three days. |
| 1 | Re-check ring size | Finger size moves with season, salt and stress. A January size can feel tight in July. |
| 3 to 4 weeks | Engraving and rhodium plating | Engraving follows the final sizing. Plating lasts months, so fresh is better. |
| 1 to 2 weeks | Final clean, polish and pick up | A buffer for anything needing a second pass. |
Custom engagement rings: give it the most room
A custom ring is five jobs in sequence. Drawing the design with your feedback takes one to two weeks. Building a computer model or carving a wax takes two to three weeks. Casting, filing the seats and cleaning up takes two weeks. Setting the stones takes one to two weeks. Polishing and final checks take a week.
That totals eight to eleven weeks of bench time with no waiting, no revisions and no stone sourcing. Real projects have all three, which is why we ask for nine to twelve months. Our custom engagement ring process guide shows each stage with photographs, and the custom jewellery page covers how a project starts.
Wedding bands: stock is not instant
People assume a stock band is a shelf pick. Sometimes it is. More often the band needs sizing, which means cutting the shank, adjusting the metal, soldering, reshaping on a mandrel and refinishing. That is five business days on our bench.
The other common request is a band that sits flush against an existing engagement ring. A straight band against a low-set head or a curved shank leaves a gap, and closing it means shaping the band to the contour of the ring.
Engraving: the step everyone leaves too late
This is the first of the two mistakes we see every year. Someone collects their bands two weeks before the wedding, remembers the engraving, and asks for it on Friday.
Machine engraving on a plain band takes two to three business days. Hand engraving takes two to three weeks, because a person cuts each letter with a steel graver and has jobs booked ahead of yours. Neither fits into a Friday.
The harder problem is order of operations. Engraving has to follow the final sizing. Resizing stretches the metal on the outside of the shank's curve and compresses it on the inside, which is where your engraving lives. Evenly spaced letters come out crowded at one end and stretched at the other, and a letter near the solder joint can be cut through. Fixing it means polishing the old text away, which thins the band. Our guide to engraving and sizing order covers the mechanics.
Heirloom resetting: the riskiest item to leave late
Putting a grandmother's stone into a new ring is the most common custom request we get, and the one with the widest range of outcomes. Nobody knows the condition of a fifty-year-old piece until a goldsmith opens it up.
What we find, and the time each adds: prongs worn thin enough to rebuild, one to two weeks. Old solder repairs cut out and redone, one to two weeks. A chipped girdle that forces a design change, two to four weeks. A stone cut to an old size that needs a custom head, two to three weeks.
None of these are disasters. All of them are weeks. Bring the piece in nine months out and you will know what you are dealing with while there is still room to move. An assessment is free and takes twenty minutes.
Final sizing: the January ring and the July wedding
This is the second mistake. A couple gets sized in winter, the ring is made to that number, and on a warm day in July the band will not pass the knuckle or it spins loose, depending on which way the body moved.
Heat makes hands swell. Salt and alcohol cause water retention. Stress and poor sleep both show up in your hands, and a wedding delivers both. On our own customers we see a quarter to a half size of movement between a cold morning and a warm afternoon on the same person.
The fix is free. Size the ring early so the shape and comfort are right, wear it for a week, then come back two to three weeks before the wedding for a re-check. Five business days covers any adjustment, and the engraving has not happened yet. For the detail on what moves and by how much, read our guide to ring sizing, swollen fingers and time of day.
Rhodium plating: a finishing step, not an early one
White gold is gold mixed with white metals and still carries a faint yellow tone underneath, so a thin layer of rhodium is plated over the top to make it bright white. GIA states that rhodium plating wears away gradually and the ring needs replating occasionally. The finish lasts months rather than years, so plating nine months before the wedding wastes it. Book it three to four weeks out, after sizing and engraving are done, so the white is fresh for the photographs.
Bridal party gifts
Gifts get treated as an afterthought and then behave like six separate orders, because that is what they are. Six bracelets in six wrist sizes is six sizing jobs. Six pendants with initials is six engraving jobs. Anything out of stock takes two to three weeks from a supplier. Collect every name, initial, date and measurement before ordering, because one missing wrist measurement holds the whole batch.
Wedding bands from our cases
Women's bands currently in the shop. Most can be sized on our bench in five business days.
Key Takeaways
- Start a custom engagement ring nine to twelve months out. Design, model, casting, setting and finishing total eight to eleven weeks of bench time before any revisions.
- Bring heirloom pieces in nine months ahead. Worn prongs, old solder or a chipped girdle each add one to four weeks.
- Engraving comes after the final sizing, always. Resizing distorts letters that are already cut.
- Machine engraving takes two to three business days. Hand engraving takes two to three weeks and the bench books up ahead of time.
- Re-check the ring size two to three weeks before the date. We see a quarter to a half size of movement on the same finger between a cold morning and a warm afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far ahead should I order a custom engagement ring?
Give us nine to twelve months if you can, and four months at the absolute minimum. A custom ring moves through stages that cannot run in parallel. Drawing the design with your feedback takes one to two weeks. Building a CAD model or carving a wax takes two to three weeks. Casting, cleaning up and filing the seats takes two weeks. Setting the stones takes one to two weeks. Polishing and quality checks take another week. Then you still have to wear it, size it and engrave it. Sourcing a specific stone adds time on top, because we may be waiting on a supplier. Our walkthrough of the custom ring process from sketch to finger shows each stage with photographs.
When should wedding bands be ordered?
Four to five months before the wedding for a stock band, and seven to nine months for anything custom. A stock band already in your size can be ready in a week, and that is the least common situation. Most bands need sizing, which takes five business days on our bench. Many people want a band that matches an existing engagement ring, and matching means shaping the band to sit flush against it, which is bench work rather than a shelf pick. A custom band gets cast, finished and set on the same schedule as any custom piece. Ordering in month five leaves room for a second fitting, an engraving and a final polish. We wrote about matching a band to an engagement ring in detail.
How long does ring engraving take?
Machine engraving takes two to three business days on a standard band. Hand engraving takes two to three weeks, because one person cuts each letter with a graver and has other work booked ahead of yours. The style matters more than the number of characters. A block script by machine is fast. A flowing hand-cut script with flourishes is slow. The part people get wrong is the order of operations. Engraving happens after the ring reaches its final size, never before. Resizing means cutting the shank, removing or adding metal, soldering it closed and reshaping it on a mandrel, and that stretches and compresses the inside of the band. An engraving that was straight and evenly spaced comes out distorted.
Why must engraving come after sizing?
Because resizing deforms the inside surface where the engraving sits. To make a ring smaller, a goldsmith cuts out a section of the shank, brings the ends together and solders the joint. To make it larger, they cut the shank and solder in a new piece of matching metal. Either way the band gets reshaped on a steel mandrel under pressure, which stretches the metal on the outside of the curve and compresses it on the inside. Evenly spaced letters end up crowded in one place and stretched in another, and a letter near the cut line can be sliced through. Re-engraving after a resize means polishing out the old text, which thins the band. Size first, wear it a week, confirm the fit, then engrave.
Is it safe to size a ring months before the wedding?
Size it early to confirm the shape and the fit, then re-check two to three weeks before the date. Finger size moves with temperature, salt, water retention, exercise, medication and stress, and a wedding supplies plenty of the last two. Nothing is wrong with an early sizing, and skipping the second look is where people get caught. We see a quarter to a half size of difference between a cold January morning and a warm July afternoon on the same person. A ring sized in winter for a summer wedding can feel tight on the day. The re-check costs nothing and takes five minutes, and five business days covers any adjustment. Our guide to how swollen fingers, temperature and time of day change ring size explains what moves and by how much.
How long does heirloom resetting take?
Plan six to nine months, and treat that number as firm rather than padded. Resetting an inherited stone surprises everyone, because nobody knows the condition of an old piece until it is opened up. We remove the stones and find worn prongs that need rebuilding, a chipped girdle that limits which settings will work, solder repairs from decades ago that have to be cut out, or a stone sized for no modern head. Each adds one to four weeks. Sentimental pieces carry a decision cost too. Families talk it over, change their minds and want options, and that takes weeks on its own. Bring the piece in early. An assessment is free, takes twenty minutes, and tells you what you are working with.
How long does rhodium plating last on white gold?
Months rather than years, which is why we treat it as a finishing step near the wedding date. White gold is gold alloyed with metals like palladium or nickel, and it carries a faint yellow cast on its own. A thin layer of rhodium, a white metal in the platinum family, is plated over the top for the bright white colour people expect. GIA notes that rhodium plating wears away gradually and the ring needs replating occasionally. On a ring worn daily, the inside of the band and the high points go first, because those surfaces rub against skin and against other rings. Book plating three to four weeks out so the finish is fresh in the photographs. Read more on why white gold turns yellow.
What if my wedding is in eight weeks and I have nothing?
We can work with eight weeks, with real limits. Stock bands that fit, or need one size of adjustment, are achievable: five business days for sizing, three days for machine engraving and a week of buffer. A plated finish fits too. What does not fit is a custom design from scratch, hand engraving or an heirloom reset, and we would rather say so on day one than disappoint you in week six. There is a good middle path, and plenty of couples take it. Buy simple bands you both like now, wear them on the day, and start the custom piece afterwards as an anniversary ring with the time it deserves. Call us at +1 (604) 653-6449 and we will tell you honestly what fits in the weeks you have.
Sources
- GIA 4Cs: Choosing Between White Gold, Platinum, Palladium and Silver
- Statistics Canada, The Daily: Historic decline in new marriages during the first year of the pandemic (98,355 marriages registered in 2020, down from 146,121 in 2019)
Data sourced September 2026. All lead times are our own bench practice in Coquitlam and reflect work we do in house. If your timeline has already slipped, tell us and we will give you a straight answer about what still fits.
Visit Vanhess
We are a family-run studio at 2929 Barnet Highway in Coquitlam, and we designed and made most of what sits in our cases. Bring your date and any heirloom piece you are considering, and we will build the calendar backwards with you on paper before anything gets ordered. Sizing checks and heirloom assessments are free and take twenty minutes. Call us at +1 (604) 653-6449.
