You've said yes, you've found the dress, and now everyone is asking you about jewellery. The good news is that choosing your bridal jewellery should be one of the more enjoyable parts of wedding planning and it genuinely is, once you know what you're looking for.
The even better news is that you don't need to spend a fortune to get it right. The pieces that tend to work best on a wedding day are often the ones with a bit of thought behind them rather than a big price tag. And if you choose wisely, they'll be pieces you reach for long after the confetti has been swept up.
Here at Ethica Diamonds in Newquay, we have a beautiful collection of lab grown diamond and gemstone pendants, earrings, and bridal pieces alongside our engagement rings and wedding bands. So we think about this stuff quite a lot. Here are our six tips for getting it right.
1. Start With the Dress
This sounds obvious but it's the one thing most people get the wrong way round. Falling for a pair of earrings and then trying to make them work with your dress is a very common mistake, and one that causes a lot of unnecessary stress down the line.
Your dress should always lead. Once you have it, everything else follows naturally. Here's how the main neckline styles tend to work:
High necklines
A high or heavily detailed neckline and a necklace tend to compete rather than complement. Keep the neck clear and let the neckline do its thing. A beautiful pair of earrings or a simple bracelet will finish the look without cluttering it.
Low or open necklines
This is where a pendant necklace really comes into its own. A sweetheart, V neck, or off the shoulder neckline practically invites a delicate pendant to sit in the space. Take a look at our lab grown gemstone pendant collection for ideas.
Dress colour
This one is worth knowing about. Crisp white gowns tend to sing alongside silver or platinum pieces, while ivory and champagne shades warm up beautifully with gold. Blush dresses? Rose gold is made for them.
Dress detail
A heavily embellished or intricately detailed dress generally works best with simpler jewellery. Let the dress be the statement. If your gown is clean and minimal, that's your invitation to wear something with a bit more personality.
2. Less Really Is More
We know. Everyone says it. But on a wedding day it is genuinely true and worth repeating.
The temptation to wear everything at once is real, especially if you have a matching set or you've been gifted pieces especially for the day. But a veil, a tiara, a statement necklace, chandelier earrings and a stack of bracelets is a lot to ask of one outfit.
A good way to edit yourself is to put everything on together in front of a mirror, then start removing pieces one by one until it feels right. Have a trusted friend or family member with you for this bit. Someone who'll actually tell you the truth rather than just saying it all looks lovely.
The pieces that photograph best are almost always the ones that have a little room to breathe around them.
3. Think About Your Skin Tone
If you're genuinely unsure whether to go gold or silver, your skin tone is a helpful guide. Cool toned and darker complexions tend to be flattered by silver and white gold, while warm and lighter skin tones are often beautifully complemented by yellow gold.
That said, this is a guide, not a rule. If you've worn silver your whole life and you love it, wear silver. If yellow gold is your thing, wear yellow gold. The best jewellery on a wedding day is the jewellery that feels like you.
4. Stay True to Your Own Style
Your wedding day is not the day to become a completely different version of yourself. If you never wear big statement earrings, this probably isn't the occasion to start. You'll spend the whole day feeling unlike yourself, and that will show.
The most beautiful brides we see are the ones who look like themselves, just a little more polished. If you normally wear a simple pendant and small studs, a beautiful lab grown diamond version of exactly that will look stunning. You don't need to reinvent the wheel.
This is also why we love designing bespoke bridal pieces at Ethica. Something made specifically for you, around your taste and your story, will always feel more right than something chosen off a shelf in a hurry.
5. Consider Your Hair
Your hairstyle on the day has more impact on your jewellery choices than most people realise.
- Hair worn down tends to obscure earrings, especially anything detailed or dangling. If you're keeping your hair down, simple studs or small hoops will still catch the light without disappearing into your hair.
- An updo is basically a showcase for earrings. If you're putting your hair up, this is your moment to wear something with a little more sparkle or length. Our lab grown gemstone earring collection has some beautiful options for exactly this.
- A veil or headpiece already adds visual interest above the neckline, so keep earrings understated to avoid the whole thing feeling too busy at the top.
6. Buy Pieces You'll Actually Wear Again
This might be the most practical tip on the list, but it's one we feel strongly about. If you're investing in a piece of jewellery for your wedding day, make sure it has a life beyond it.
A pair of beautiful diamond studs, a simple lab grown gemstone pendant, an elegant bangle these aren't just bridal pieces. They're pieces you'll reach for on anniversaries, on evenings out, on days when you just want to feel a bit more put together. That's proper value.
And there's something rather lovely about wearing a piece of jewellery from your wedding day in ordinary life years later. It carries the memory with it without making a fuss about it.
Never underestimate a simple pair of diamond studs. They work with everything, they last forever, and they photograph beautifully from every angle.
Our Bridal Collection at Ethica Diamonds
Alongside our engagement rings and wedding bands, we have a carefully curated collection of pendants and earrings featuring lab grown diamonds and ethically grown gemstones. Every piece is made with recycled precious metals and independently certified stones, so you know the full story behind what you're wearing.
If you're looking for something a little more personal, our bespoke design service lets you create something entirely your own. Whether that's a pendant that matches your engagement ring, earrings with your wedding date hidden inside, or a piece that tells a specific story, we'd love to help you make it.
We work with brides across Cornwall, Devon, and the wider UK, both in person at our Newquay studio and virtually. We promise we make the whole thing feel far less overwhelming than it sounds.
The Evie
Browse our full range of lab grown diamond and gemstone pendants and earrings at ethicadiamonds.com, or book a bespoke consultation with our team to create something made just for you.
