Matching Your Jewellery To Your Wedding Dress

The Franc Guide to… Matching Your Jewellery To Your Wedding Dress

As women we dream of our wedding day — from what we’re going to wear, what the venue will look like, what bouquets will accompany the dresses and what table settings we’ll have.

But when it comes to bridal jewellery and matching your jewellery to your wedding dress, it tends to get forgotten or left as an afterthought, instead added to a long ‘to-do’ list at the end.

However, in reality, choosing the right jewellery is what will make or break your look - it’s the key element that either thread together your dream bridal look or leave you looking tacky, understated or *shudder*...‘plain.’

And as a bride, you can be chic, classy, sophisticated, but ‘plain’ should never be up there as a wedding day goal. 

Which means matching your jewellery to your wedding dress is essential to nailing your dream look and factoring into your wedding day prep.

As a brand that specialises in bridal jewellery —with our co-founder Hannah designing a whole bridal jewellery collection alone for her wedding day —it’s safe to say, at Francesca  we’ve got you covered.

In the lead up to your wedding day we want you to feel empowered, inspired and of course beautiful, so to help you choose and curate the best bridal jewellery for your big day we’ve compiled some useful tips on how to match your designer jewellery to your wedding dress.

Read on for our Francesca  edit of the best designer jewellery (think everything from earrings, necklaces, bracelets, solid gold and diamonds) to pair alongside your specific wedding dress style.

The strapless wedding dress

When it comes to bridal dresses, pondering what jewellery to wear with a strapless wedding dress can be quite overwhelming. A dress with a bare neckline essentially means open to interpretation. So the question is —do you go a necklace and make a statement or keep to highlighting the strapless wedding dress neckline and opt for beautiful earrings or a diamond bracelet instead?

Well, while there is no right or wrong with wedding jewellery, when it comes to matching your jewellery to your wedding dress we’d recommend either going big with a feature necklace or statement earrings.

What jewellery to wear with a strapless wedding dress you ask? Read on for our strapless wedding dress jewellery edit.

Necklaces we’re loving
...with a strapless wedding dress

• Pearl necklaces - For a bride who wants to keep it chic and subtle, a pearl necklace is a beautiful choice to wear as a statement with a strapless wedding dress.
  
  Within our Francesca range we have three beautiful designs - the Keshi pearl necklace (a natural, imperfect spherical shape), the River pearl necklace (a more natural, oblong shape) and the Ivory pearl necklace (a classic round pearl shape).

Earrings we’re loving
...with a strapless wedding dress

• Stud earrings - A sophisticated look that won’t throw off a bold strapless wedding dress neckline, stud earrings are the perfect jewellery to wear with a strapless wedding dress.
  
  Within our Francesca range, the stud earrings we are loving with wedding dresses right now include - Radcliffe stud earrings (for the bride who likes bling!), the Harriet stud earrings (for a glitzy tear drop look) or the Nora stud earrings (for the bride who prefers a square cut shape).

The off-the-shoulder wedding dress

Different to a strapless dress that often comes with a harsh straight neckline, matching jewellery for off the shoulder wedding dress can be much more fun and open to interpretation.

With a billowing neckline and decent space to flaunt that decolletage, you have a beautiful blank canvas to work with and all of the designer jewellery options. But of course, when the sky's the limit, it can be overwhelming to know what jewellery to choose. Read on for our edit of what we think works beautifully when it comes to jewellery for off the shoulder wedding dress.

Necklaces we’re loving

...with a off-the-shoulder wedding dress

• Pendant necklaces - Whether you choose from solid gold or silver, a long pendant necklace is a beautiful way to draw attention to the decolletage and also create a modern, whimsical bridal look. Either wear the pendant necklace as a stand alone piece or layer the look with shorter delicate chain or plain pendant necklaces.
  
  Within our Francesca range, the pendant necklaces we love with an off-the-shoulder wedding dress include - the Fleur De Lis necklace (for a modern antique look), the Aurora necklace (for a shorter style chain necklace you can layer), the Behold necklace (for the hopeless romantic!) or the Malo necklace (for a beautiful gemstone touch!).
  
  

Earrings we’re loving

...with an off-the-shoulder wedding dress

• Chandelier earrings - could there be anything more stunning than an open neckline with long chandelier earrings? We think not! There is something so stunning about diamond encrusted earrings that drip down the neckline and bridge the gap beautifully between face and decolletage. 

Within our Francesca earring collection, the chandelier earrings we are currently obsessed with, that work so well with an off-the-shoulder wedding dress include - the Myrtle teardrop earrings (for classic elegance!), the Astoria chandelier earrings (for an elaborate statement look!) and the Radcliffe statement earrings (for extra glitz and sparkle!).

The high neck wedding dress

When it comes to high neck wedding dress jewellery, it’s less about a statement necklace and all about beautiful earrings and a statement bracelet or two!

As a high neck wedding dress is a statement in itself and generally covers the entire neckline, the main thing is to be mindful of with high neck wedding dress jewellery is that you select designer jewellery pieces that compliment your bridal look and subtly add to the charm rather than distract or overload it.

Afterall, the most beautiful bride is one that can play up her natural features and let the jewellery and dress compliment her naturally.

Earrings we’re loving

...with a high neck wedding dress.

• Stud earrings - When it comes to high neck wedding dress jewellery, you need look no further than stud earrings. While chandelier earrings work well with an open neckline, when it comes to a covered neckline, it’s more about stripping it back and rocking a more understated chic look. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it though! There are still so many stud earring designs to choose from depending on your style.
  
  Within our Francesca stud earrings collection, the two main styles we love for brides opting for a high neck wedding dress are pearl stud earrings and diamond inspired cubic zirconia encrusted stud earrings.
  
  Pearl earrings wise, the stud earrings we love right now are the Mae pearl earrings (a slight tear drop stud earring with solid gold or silver backing that will take you from day to night) and the Keshi pearl stud earrings (for an ever so subtle elegant touch).

Bracelets we’re loving...
...with a high neck wedding dress.

• Beaded bracelets - Nothing could possibly compliment high neck wedding dress jewellery more than a divine beaded bracelet —be it a pearl bracelet, solid gold or sterling silver bracelet or a gemstone bracelet.
  
  Lucky for our beautiful brides-to-be, at Francesca our beaded bracelet collection has something for every bride.
  
  The Francesca bracelets that we recommend adding to your high neck wedding dress jewellery look include - the Rochelle bracelet (for brides who like a modern twist of both solid gold and pearls), the Pearl Charm bracelet (for a classic pearl look), the Ana bracelet (for an all solid gold or silver bracelet) or the Lumier bracelet (for a beautiful, semi precious gemstone touch!).

The black dress 

This is more for the modern bridesmaid or wedding guest, when considering jewellery to wear with black dress for a wedding it can be a challenge to know just how glitzy to go.

Sure black is a beautiful backdrop for any jewellery, but in our experience when choosing jewellery to wear with black dress for a wedding it has to be done tastefully, as a wedding is much more than a girls night out affair. The jewellery you choose needs to be tasteful, chic and in line with the wedding dress code. With that in mind, here are our designer jewellery recommendations.

Earrings we’re loving…

...with a black dress at a wedding...

• Solid gold and sterling silver earrings - When it comes to choosing the right jewellery to wear with a black dress for a wedding, you can never go wrong with solid gold or sterling silver jewellery. By choosing a metal that compliments your skin tone and contrasts against the black dress backdrop, it’s safe to say you’ll naturally add glamour to your wedding dress in a tasteful, elegant way.
  
  At Francesca, we’re all about metals and have a range of beautiful solid gold and sterling silver earrings we think work perfectly as jewellery to wear with black dress for a wedding.
  
  The current solid gold and sterling silver jewellery to wear with a black dress for a wedding we love include - the Ascot stud earrings (for those looking for luxe glamour), the Stellar stud earrings (subtle, sophisticated and also available in rose gold) and the Black Howlite or Black Agate stud earrings (for the woman who likes to coordinate her black dress hue with her jewellery).