1. 1Wrong size, discovered on the day. Fingers swell in heat, and a nikah in June in a sherwani is heat. Measure in the evening in warm weather, and if you are between sizes take the larger. A ring that will not go on during the ceremony is a story your family will tell for thirty years.
2. 2Wrong width for a first ring. If you have never worn a ring, a 6 mm band feels enormous for the first month. Comfort-fit interiors help a great deal here — the domed inside is genuinely more comfortable and worth asking for.
3. 3Bought two days before. Rings are the one category where an exchange is likely, and an exchange needs a week. Order a month out.

What works with a sherwani

• Whatever is already part of the outfit — buttons, a kalgi, a brooch on the turban — counts as your metal. Match your ring and watch to it. Gold buttons with a steel watch is the single most common groom clash.
• No chain. The collar closes. It will not be visible and it will feel tight all evening.
• A watch is optional and reads as slightly more western. On a barat it is fine; some prefer none at all with a full sherwani and that is a legitimate choice.
• A pocket square and a shawl are doing the decorative work. Adding jewellery on top of them is where it tips over.

What works with a suit at the walima

A walima in a suit is the one function where the western rules apply, and they are simple: the ring, a watch, and optionally a thin chain under the shirt. Cufflinks if the shirt takes them, matched to the watch tone.

Do not wear a visible chain over a shirt and tie. It reads as a different decade in photographs and there is no version of it that ages well.

Small practical things worth doing

1. 1Wear the ring for a week before the wedding. Get used to it, and find out if it is tight before it matters.
2. 2Have someone specific hold the ring at the nikah. Not "someone will have it".
3. 3Take the fitness tracker off. It is in every photograph and it belongs to a different outfit entirely.
4. 4Check your watch is not scratched. A close-up of your hand on hers is one of the shots that always gets taken.
5. 5Order everything a month out. There is no version of wedding shopping that gets easier in the final week.

Every groom who over-accessorised knew it the moment he saw the photographs. Nobody has ever looked back and wished they had worn one more thing.

1. 1Wrong size, discovered on the day. Fingers swell in heat, and a nikah in June in a sherwani is heat. Measure in the evening in warm weather, and if you are between sizes take the larger. A ring that will not go on during the ceremony is a story your family will tell for thirty years.
2. 2Wrong width for a first ring. If you have never worn a ring, a 6 mm band feels enormous for the first month. Comfort-fit interiors help a great deal here — the domed inside is genuinely more comfortable and worth asking for.
3. 3Bought two days before. Rings are the one category where an exchange is likely, and an exchange needs a week. Order a month out.

What works with a sherwani

• Whatever is already part of the outfit — buttons, a kalgi, a brooch on the turban — counts as your metal. Match your ring and watch to it. Gold buttons with a steel watch is the single most common groom clash.
• No chain. The collar closes. It will not be visible and it will feel tight all evening.
• A watch is optional and reads as slightly more western. On a barat it is fine; some prefer none at all with a full sherwani and that is a legitimate choice.
• A pocket square and a shawl are doing the decorative work. Adding jewellery on top of them is where it tips over.

What works with a suit at the walima

A walima in a suit is the one function where the western rules apply, and they are simple: the ring, a watch, and optionally a thin chain under the shirt. Cufflinks if the shirt takes them, matched to the watch tone.

Do not wear a visible chain over a shirt and tie. It reads as a different decade in photographs and there is no version of it that ages well.

Small practical things worth doing

1. 1Wear the ring for a week before the wedding. Get used to it, and find out if it is tight before it matters.
2. 2Have someone specific hold the ring at the nikah. Not "someone will have it".
3. 3Take the fitness tracker off. It is in every photograph and it belongs to a different outfit entirely.
4. 4Check your watch is not scratched. A close-up of your hand on hers is one of the shots that always gets taken.
5. 5Order everything a month out. There is no version of wedding shopping that gets easier in the final week.

Every groom who over-accessorised knew it the moment he saw the photographs. Nobody has ever looked back and wished they had worn one more thing.