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When it comes to choosing bridal jewelry, today, almost anything goes. From traditional to ultra-modern to fairytale, on your wedding day you can wear the bridal jewelry that's perfect for you.
Determine Your Style
No matter how casual she is in daily life, almost every bride chooses to wear some sort of decorative jewelry on her big day. You may want to go all out with earrings, necklace, a bracelet and a tiara, or you might choose to wear just one special piece of jewelry.
If you'd like to wear earrings but don't have pierced ears, there is a wealth of choices in clip-on, pierced-look earrings for the modern bride. You may have one feature you'd like to accentuate--a graceful neck; slender wrists. Highlight these attributes with a well chosen piece of jewelry in your style, be it traditional, casual, BoHo (bohemian/artistic), modern or jewelry from a certain ethnicity or era.
Jewelry Materials
Pearls are still the most popular item to wear around one's neck, on the ears and around the wrists. They are frequently chosen to highlight seed or cultured pearls sewn onto the wedding gown.
Running a close second to pearls are rhinestones. Rhinestones achieve all the glitter a princess-for-a-day could want, at a fraction of the cost of precious gems. Try rhinestone drop earrings or a sparkly bracelet.
Some brides choose metals, such as gold, silver or even platinum. Match your metal to your engagement and wedding ring for a pulled-together, sophisticated look.
Creative and "natural"-oriented brides might choose glass or polished/painted (or natural) wood for their wedding jewelry.
Match Your Jewelry to your Gown
While wedding jewelry shopping, keep the style of your wedding gown in mind. For example, if you are wearing a scoop neck or v neck gown, a simple necklace will highlight the effect, while the same piece will merely be distracting and uncoordinated on a high-neck gown.
A popular retro style is to wear a rhinestone bangle over a white glove, but most brides only choose bracelets if their lower arms will be bare.
Choose larger or longer, dangling earrings for an upswept hairdo or a formal evening wedding. You can select smaller styles for a more casual daytime affair.
You may choose to highlight one portion of your gown by repeating the style with your jewelry. For example, try floral earrings to repeat a floral-shaped seed pearl pattern in your gown bodice. A strip of satin edging the skirt of the gown is accented beautifully by a satiny white pendant on a simple gold or silver chain necklace. Another option is to copy the style of your shoe clip-on--such as a simple gem butterfly on the shoe toes and hanging around your neck.
Heirloom Jewelry
Don't forget Mom or Grandma--your relatives may have a treasure chest of beautiful bangles to choose from to complement your gorgeous gown. As an added bonus, they'll be flattered that you love their style and wish to wear it on your own big day. Be careful with these precious relics; you may be passing them on to your own bride-to-be daughter, or daughter in law, in the future.