No matter how beautiful your wedding dress is, your look is incomplete without accessories. Choosing the right pieces to accentuate your dress can be tricky with so many great jewelry choices out there. Well, with a few rules to keep in mind, you should be able to choose the perfect finishing touches for your dress.
Match the Jewelry to the Wedding Dress Style
When it comes to jewelry, every bride has a myriad of options which makes accessorizing a bit more complicated. When things get overwhelming (and confusing), let the style of your wedding dress be your guide.
As a general rule, your jewelry should complement your dress, not distract your look. Certain fabrics create a certain style, along with the dress shape and embellishments.
Fabrics like silk, chiffon, or organza all suggest a classic style of wedding dress. They are gorgeous enough on their own to make you look fab, so you can skip elaborate jewelry pieces like rhinestones. Instead, lean towards simpler pieces like pearls and diamond pendants.
Wearing a lace dress? Laces create a romantic, vintage-inspired look. They are best paired with pearls and diamonds, as well as floral-shaped gemstones.
Ornate dresses like ball gowns or dresses with crystal embellishments already have lots of sparkle and glamour on them. Therefore, you don’t need jewelry with so much bling. Give your dress the attention it deserves by wearing toned-down pieces, such as drop earrings or an understated necklace.
Meanwhile, a simple dress calls for a more exquisite, attention-grabbing piece. You can add extra sparkle to your dress by wearing bigger pieces like chandelier earrings or a chunky diamond pendant.
Mind Your Dress’s Neckline
Symmetry is an essential factor to consider when choosing jewelry for your wedding dress. Your dress’s neckline plays a major role in framing your face. Here are the most common necklines and how to accentuate them.
Strapless
You can add a dramatic element to your dress by wearing statement earrings. Feel free to play with textures and colors if your neckline is clean.
V-neck
This works great with a choker or pendant. You can try layering both if you have delicate pieces. Pair your necklace with small stud earrings or simple dangling earrings.
Halter/Reverse Halter
Instead of highlighting your neck, focus on accessorizing your hair. Play with pins, combs, stones, or vines. You can also wear a bracelet or a cocktail ring.
Balance Out Your Dress’s Neckline and Earrings
Heart-shaped or strapless necklines work wonderfully with long diamond earrings. High necklines paired with stud earrings will draw attention to the face. For dresses with modern and chic necklines, pearls and crystal studs are the best options.
A sweetheart neckline is so versatile, you can pair it with almost any type of earring. However, if you are wearing an elaborate headdress, such as a crown, you want to stick to stud earrings. Skip the necklace too.
The Rings
Now let’s come to the most important pieces – the rings!
Your engagement ring and wedding ring also play a big role in the types of jewelry you wear. Thankfully, these days it’s easier to find engagement ring designs that pair perfectly with different styles of wedding dress.
In most cases, you’ll take into account the style of your engagement ring when choosing other accessories. If you’re wearing a classic round diamond ring, you’re lucky. It’s the most versatile ring you could ever wear, which means it perfectly blends with any metals and precious stones.
You want to wear no other ring than your engagement ring (which should be put on your right ring finger). During the exchange of vows, your groom will put on the wedding band on your left ring finger. After the ceremony, you can slip your engagement ring on top of your wedding ring.
Don’t Forget About Sleeves Before Choosing a Bracelet
A separate sparkler for your wrist is always a great idea as it doesn’t usually compete with your dress, unlike necklaces and earrings. You can choose a bracelet that has a different style and metal than the rest of your accessories.
You can even pair a couple of bangles. If you’re wearing a pearl necklace and earrings, you can match them with an equally stunning pearl bracelet too. However, if you’re wearing a bracelet, consider the sleeves of your dress. If you’re wearing a wedding dress with long sleeves, you may want to omit the bracelet.
Avoid Mixing Colors and Metals
Again, you’re aiming for a balanced look. You want to avoid mixing colors and metals that will draw away the focus from your beautiful dress.
Certain metals pair nicely with different shades of white and ivory. Generally, yellow gold complements ivory while platinum suits bright white. Meanwhile, rose gold looks dazzling with blush wedding dresses.
Platinum and silver work best with pure white dresses, creating an elegant allure to your look. Pearls also work like magic when used to accentuate a white gown.
If you’re wearing a champagne dress, opt for gold jewelry as it beautifully complements the warm tone. Same with an ivory dress. Gold metals blend nicely with its creamy shade.
These are just a few of the combinations you can try that are guaranteed to look great on you. However, you can always go bold. Just try to achieve harmony in any pairing you choose.
Final Words
Accessorizing the wedding dress is something that many brides find challenging. With so many great blings out there, which one perfectly pairs with your dress?
Fortunately, there are just a few things you have to remember to ensure that you’re choosing the best accessories to match your look.
Always consider your dress throughout the process. Your goal is to accentuate your look with a few sparkling pieces, not outshine your dress. Your dress still needs to be the main focus here.
Your dress’s neckline has a big role too. So as the color of your dress. It’s okay to experiment with your jewelry choices as long as you strive for a balanced look.
Breanna Howell is the public relations specialist at Claremont Diamonds living her dream of promoting positive public awareness of the company. As a freelance blogger and mom of two millennials, she’s also passionate about providing inspiration and support to everyone on their journey to a fantastic marriage.