Bridesmaids' Jewelry - Choosing Colors

When choosing jewelry for bridesmaids, the sky is the limit when it comes to colors, stones, shapes and overall design. While the most important decision will always be the dress, smart jewelry choices can complement that choice nicely on your wedding day.

Matching Dress Colors to Jewelry

Before you select your bridesmaid's jewelry, you will first need to pick out the perfect dresses. When choosing bridesmaids' gowns, take the Maid of Honor along. She will have ideas as to what will work for all of the bridesmaids and will also be available to try on some of the available dresses. Remember, dresses look very different on the rack than they do on a person.

Once a decision has been made on the bridesmaids' dresses, make sure to get a fabric swatch from the boutique. When choosing jewelry, you cannot rely on memory or even photographs to serve as a true color reference. There truly is no substitute for the actual fabric when trying to match the colors in the dresses with the colors in the jewelry.

Using your fabric swatch, you can compare the fabric to different stones at the jeweler and find hues that work with your dresses. When it comes to color, it is less important to find something that matches the bridesmaid dresses than to find complementary colors. Choose monochromatic dresses and choose several shades of stones together that go nicely with the dress. This makes for a more interesting look and eliminates the need for a perfect match.

Another way to create interesting palettes is to have each bridesmaid wear a different colored stone. Many jewelers have color charts for their semi-precious stones and crystals, and would be glad to loan them to you so that the bridesmaids can even choose their own complementary colors.

Matching the Design with the Jewelry

When choosing the type of stones the bridesmaids will wear on the big day, you need to consider the design as well as the color. The cut and design of the dresses can be important factors when deciding whether to go with semi-precious stones, crystals, pearls or even simple pendants on satin cords.

It is also important to decide on the style of the overall look of the jewelry the bridesmaids will wear. While necklaces can be more ornate, it's nice to include some extra complementary pieces such as bracelets. Remember that the bridesmaids will keep these pieces after the wedding and will be able to get more use out of the less ornate pieces in the future. One option is to go with layered strands of the same stones worn around the neck. After the wedding, the bridesmaids can wear the individual strands as more simple necklaces.