Perhaps the most sought-after quality of any wedding is uniqueness; every bride abhors the idea that her wedding is nothing more than a cookie cutter mould of another, wanting her wedding to stand out while delivering an authentic wedding experience.
Brides go to extraordinary (and often very expensive) lengths to ensure this but some overlook bridal jewellery sets and thus miss out on the impact that these can have- the majority however spend the extra time upfront to add the right amount of accessories and reap the rewards on the day and years later in the beautiful photos.
Jewellery that has been handmade is more suitable for a wedding for a number of reasons: the personal touch, cost, materials and practical issues– particularly when it comes to your bridesmaids accessories and wedding hair accessories.
The Personal Touch
Given that uniqueness is desirable for weddings, it seems a shame to adorn a handmade gown with a piece of jewellery mass-produced on a production line in a factory.
Good quality handmade goods are, by their very nature, at least limited edition if not one-off designs!
Cost
“Designer” jewellery often comes with a very high price tag and as much if it is factory produced, it’s just a carbon copy. Handmade jewellery is very often less expensive.
Materials Quality
Beware of mass-produced articles that use plated materials, this means that they only shine because of a very thin layer of precious metal over dull base (non-precious) metal. The top layer wears off over time and will eventually ruin the look of the piece, which is fine if you want to throw away your wedding day jewellery, but if you want to keep your bridal pieces safe and pass downs a keepsake then steer clear of plated items and find a designer who uses solid precious metals.
This way you can polish it to make it shine like new again.
Practical Issues– Bridesmaids Necklaces
If you’re having a few bridesmaids with different styles of dresses, then the chances are that these dresses will have varying necklines- perhaps a V-neck, a round neck, a bandeau style. No matter what jewellery you have chosen, it’s incredibly unlikely that one style of necklace can suit all of these different necklines. The smart answer is a handmade designer, who, depending on his/her level of experience and skills, will be able to produce for you different bridesmaids accessories that
1. complement the necklines of the dresses
2. maintain the same over-all style
3. make for presents that are more personalised for each bridesmaid.
Practical Issues– Bridesmaids Bracelets
If you’re using bracelets as your bridesmaids accessories then sizing becomes an issue. At my sister’s wedding last year there were four bridesmaids, the smallest wrist was 16cm and the largest was 21cm. The average bracelet size tends to be 19c; buy four of those from a shop and at least two will be unusable as one will fall off and the other will be too small. The answer to this is to find a handmade jeweller who can custom-make bracelets to your specifications.
Wedding Hair Accessories
Wedding headbands are becoming very popular as bridal accessories and especially for bridesmaids as they add a uniform touch to the ladies and are easy to wear in just about any hairstyle. Ask your handmade designer if he/she can make wedding headbands that match the materials of the other accessories as these wedding hair accessories will give a very unique and coordinating look to the wedding party.
Bridal jewellery sets made by a handmade designer can often be customised to your needs. It’s like getting jewellery commissioned for you, as you would with a work of art!
I believe that if you’re willing to spend time and money creating a unique look for your wedding then applying a little thought and extra effort to the jewellery upfront will add a very special finishing touch.
