One thing I always tell brides is that your wedding day jewellery should feel like a natural extension of you, not just something you add because you feel it’s expected.
At Banks Lyon, we’ve guided thousands of couples through the process of choosing wedding jewellery from our Lancaster showroom for more than 40 years. We focus on you as an individual and elevating what you would typically wear for your wedding day, so that you can curate a collection that you can wear again.
1. Selecting Pieces to Elevate Your Wedding Day Look
When planning your wedding day jewellery, it’s always a good idea to start with your core jewellery and work from there.
Typically, brides will choose a combination (or all) of the following as a starting point depending on their own personal style and the look they want to achieve:
- Engagement ring
- Wedding band
- Bridal earrings
- Bridal necklace or collar
- Bridal bracelet or cuff
The pieces that you choose will depend on your style of dress. For instance, you may opt against a necklace if you have a high neckline, or you may choose a more delicate bracelet if you have long sleeves. But whatever pieces you decide on, it’s important to choose some sort of harmony between them to elevate your bridal look and avoid overwhelming it.
With so many types of jewellery to choose from, you may find our bridal jewellery guide useful to understand the different styles available.
The most important piece of advice I can give is to choose pieces that you’ll want to wear again. The best wedding jewellery doesn’t live in a box, it becomes a part of your wardrobe.
2. Jewellery to Complement Your Engagement Ring
Your engagement ring is, understandably, the centrepiece and so knowing how to style it on the day itself will ensure it gets the attention it rightly deserves.
Traditionally, your wedding band will be placed on your finger first during the ceremony so that it sits closest to your heart. As such, many brides will choose to wear their engagement ring on their right hand so that their wedding finger sits empty for the ceremony. After you’ve exchanged your vows, you can then place your engagement ring back on top.
Choosing a wedding ring that complements your engagement ring is one of the most exciting parts of the jewellery selection process.
Typically, you will select a band that is made from the same material as your engagement ring. This is not purely aesthetic, however, as metals differ in strength and density, meaning that sitting a ‘soft’ metal (such as gold) next to a ‘hard’ metal, such as platinum, will cause the softer material to wear over time.
In terms of design, stacking is something worth thinking about early. A wedding band that mirrors the contours of your engagement ring creates a seamless look, whereas a straight band can create a beautiful contrast.
When building the rest of your jewellery around them, let your rings lead. If they’re detailed, keep other pieces refined. If they’re minimal, you have more freedom to introduce texture or scale elsewhere.
3. Choosing Jewellery for Your Bridal Party
Your wedding day jewellery doesn’t stop with you. Thoughtfully chosen pieces for your bridal party can bring everything together, as well as serve as meaningful gifts for them to wear long after the day itself.
If you have multiple bridesmaids, a cohesive approach rather than identical pieces can allow for some individuality whilst creating a polished look. This could be through the same colour tone, or matching chain lengths for necklace with different pendants, to personalise to each individual style.
Gifts for the mothers of the bride and groom are an opportunity for something more sentimental. A classic pendant or a pair of elegant earrings can feel both appropriate for the day and are able to be worn past the day itself. Paired with a heartfelt note or poem about what their presence means is sure to solidify the jewellery you have chosen as something they will cherish forever.
For flower girls, a simple bracelet or small pendant often becomes a treasured keepsake as they grow older.
4. A Personalised Touch to Selecting Your Jewellery
I’d always recommend beginning your search for wedding day jewellery at least three to six months in advance to allow you to explore different options without pressure. This allows space for adjustments, fittings, and, importantly, confidence in your final choices.
Banks Lyon offers a range of payment options, including 0% finance, so that you can choose a smaller monthly payment to sit comfortably alongside other wedding costs.
At Banks Lyon, we understand that creating the perfect wedding look and selecting pieces that complement each other can feel like an overwhelming task. That’s why we welcome you to visit us at our Lancaster showroom.