Buying your bridal jewellery should be a fun and enjoyable shopping experience. To help you save time I’ve put together a three part series to take away some of the guess work. The rest of the guessing you get to do is the fun stuff! Part One looks at researching shops and finding your personal style. Part Two looks at necklaces and necklines, to help you determine if you can match a necklace with your style of dress, or go for an earrings and bracelet set instead. Now that you’ve done some research from Part One and Part Two we can go forward.
5 Things to consider:
• What’s your budget? (allow for an extra 10 – 15% just in case).
• Is matching the style or era of your wedding gown important to you?
• What hairstyle will you be wearing? Will your earrings be visible?
• Will you be wearing a tiara? (If yes choose simple and elegant jewellery.)
• Would you like the jewellery to have after wedding wearability?
Colour me Beautiful
The Dress: The colour of your dress is key to deciding what metal to pair with it. Pure or bright white dresses are perfect with silver and platinum. Gold compliments cream or ivory coloured dresses. And barely off-white dresses, because it’s an in-between colour, can look great with either metal. The undertones of your dress will help your decide, creamy or yellowish (gold), gray or bluish (silver) or neutral (either metal).
Brave Souls: For you ladies who are getting married in a coloured dress (not white, or a shade of white), keep your jewellery simple. The fabric of your dress will determine the metal colour, some silks have an almost metallic undertone so use that as a guide. Don’t overdo it with jewellery in the same colour of your dress, if you want colour try a tint or shade of your dress colour, colourless gems or only metal jewellery.
Accessories: What is the style and colour of your shoes and clutch (or handbag)? You don’t need to be too matchy, you can mix shiny and matte finishes together in silver or gold. If you have silver shoes and a clutch with gold accents you can appease the two with mixed-metal jewellery. It’s easier though to stick to just one metal for such a formal occasion.
Themes & Decor: Your bridal jewellery should reflect the formality of your dress and wedding. Elaborate jewellery is best suited to formal or specially themed weddings. You can choose to match your jewellery with your theme or decor colours (hollywood glam in black and white, enchanted forest in blue and green), it can be obvious, subtle or not themed at all.
Sparkle, Shimmer and Pop
Pearls: From the classic single strand to modern mixed layers, pearls are always welcome at weddings. If traditional pearls aren’t your style look for modern designs that incorporate pearls with metals and gems for a more updated look. Pearls look great with any colour of dress, but true white pearls should be paired with a bright white dress. Cultured pearls are affordable and come a variety of colours, sizes and shapes.
Gems: Coloured gemstones are all the rage right now. Don’t be shy to add some colour to your ensemble. You don’t need to spend a fortune on fine jewellery pieces. Fine-fashion jewellery is an affordable alternative, and heirloom friendly too. No matter what colour your dress is there is a stone or combination of stones that will dazzle. Gemstones are extremely versatile, they come different price ranges, cuts and a rainbow of colours.
Imitation Stones: These man-made stones are quite formal and have high impact sparkle. Swarovski crystals are made of leaded glass, Cubic Zirconia is a man-made diamond substitute, and Rhinestones are made from glass or acrylic. More expensive Rhinestones are coated rock crystal, but these stones are more uncommon now. Imitation stones are an inexpensive alternative to diamond jewellery.
Jewellery Sets
If you’re wearing a medium to bold styled necklace your earrings should be understated. A tiara is a wonderful accessory that demands your other accessories be very simple and elegant. On the other hand if you have a high halter or asymmetrical dress, eye-catching earrings are all you need to complete your look. You can also go for an elegant or elaborate bracelet, or a cuff with short sleeve and sleeveless dresses. The best rule to have is ‘don’t overdo it and try to create a sense of balance’.
“Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance.”
– Jon Franklin
Quick Tip: If comfort is important to you on your wedding day, or you don’t usually wear jewellery, look for earrings that aren’t too heavy and necklaces that are more delicate. Bib, elaborate and layered necklaces might be too hot, especially for a summer wedding.
One-of-a-kind
Despite your planning and searching you may not find the piece you’ve been hoping for. That’s were a Jewellery Artist like me comes in. If you have an idea about what you want – it can be made into the jewellery you’ve always envisioned. You can shop ready to wear bridal jewellery or contact me for more information.
Don’t forgo your personal preferences when selecting bridal jewellery. You should look exactly the way you’ve dreamed. I hope this series has been helpful. Enjoy your special day!
Read Parts One and Two:
Bridal Jewellery Guide: Part 1 – Before you Buy
Bridal Jewellery Guide: Part 2 – Necklace Styles & Dress Necklines
