אני לדודי ודודי לי. I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. It comes from Shir HaShirim, Song of Songs 6:3, and it is the line Jewish couples put on wedding bands more than any other.
The Honest Jeweler makes it two ways, and engraves it to order on a third.
Why this verse and not another one
Song of Songs reads as love poetry and has been understood for centuries as something larger than that. The phrase itself is symmetrical in Hebrew, which is part of why it works on a ring: the two halves mirror each other the way the band closes on itself. It also compresses to six words, and six words fit on jewelry where a longer verse will not.
You will also see it written Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li, Ani Ledodi Vedodi Li, or shortened to the initials אלו״ל, which is the same letters as the month of Elul. That wordplay is old and deliberate, and it is why the verse gets associated with the run-up to the Yamim Noraim as well as with weddings.
The pieces we make with it
The Ani Ledodi V'Dodi Li spinner ring carries the verse on a band that turns. That combination is more useful than it sounds at a wedding, where the hands have nothing to do for long stretches. Sixty-eight dollars, made to order.
The Ani Ledodi bangle puts the same line across the wrist. Forty-nine dollars, and the one people tend to buy for a kallah rather than for themselves.
If you want it on something else, we engrave it. The Hebrew rings and bangles for weddings are the engravable pieces this verse usually ends up on.
Fitting six Hebrew words on a ring
It fits, but only just, and only on a band with enough face to work with. Narrow stacking bands cannot hold it legibly. If you want the verse on a slim ring, most people split it: אני לדודי on the outside, ודודי לי inside, so the second half sits against the skin. That is a nice idea rather than a compromise, and couples ask for it often.
We proof the Hebrew with you before cutting. Vowels, finals and spacing all get checked, because this is a ring somebody wears for decades.
Who buys it
Kallah gifts, mostly. A chatan buying for his kallah before the wedding, or her mother or a close friend. It also turns up as an anniversary gift, and occasionally as a vort present. If you are shopping the wider occasion rather than this specific verse, our guide to Jewish wedding gifts covers what people actually give.
Common questions
What does Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li mean? I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, from Shir HaShirim 6:3.
Can you engrave it inside a wedding band? Yes, and inside is the traditional placement. Tell us the ring's internal measurement and we will tell you whether the full verse fits or whether splitting it is better.
Do you sell matching pairs? Not as a set. Buy two of the same piece in different sizes, or two different pieces with the two halves of the verse. Customers do both.
Is it appropriate as a gift from a friend rather than a spouse? Yes. It is a wedding verse, not a private declaration, and it is given to a kallah by family and friends all the time.
Can you write it in English instead? We can engrave the English translation, though most people who want this verse want the Hebrew.
