Best Necklaces for your Wedding Dress Style
While every bride has a unique vision for their picture-perfect wedding dress style – it can be difficult to figure out the best necklace to wear on your special day. ‘Something old, something new’ aside, wedding necklaces can be particularly complicated because of their unique relationship with your dress. Your grandmother’s pearls just might not suit it, and the number one reason why simply has to do with your gown’s neckline.
To help bridge the gap between the wedding gown of your dreams and the best necklace to match it – read on.
(Note: these tips work with wedding pantsuits too! If your suit has a jacket that covers your chest fairly modestly, you may just want to adjust for a narrow necklace that compensates for the smaller amount of skin shown.)
Sweetheart Necklines
Sweetheart bodices are a form-fitting design that curves around the bust in two distinct half-circles, lending to the heart nomenclature. On top of being a classic wedding design, this garment style is a lovely formalwear look that exposes the shoulders and allows for a wide variety of necklaces. This style of dress can pull off chokers, but we would recommend using a necklace that occupies more space. Using a pendant that’s around 16 inches in length is going to help keep a visual constant and will be nicely spaced between the collarbone and the dress neckline.
Our recommendation? Try our Grace Birthstone Toggle Necklace for a hint of shine that won’t overpower your dress. Plus, with the right crystal, it can double as your ‘something blue’!
V-Necks
V-necked wedding gowns are equally unique in their styling. While a 16-inch wedding day necklace is also appropriate here, the more closed off nature of this neckline offers an appealing alternative: a wide, v-shaped bib necklace. While brook & york doesn’t currently carry this style, it’s an alluring enough option that we just had to mention it. In the absence of a voluminous necklace, we recommend scaling up the size of your pendant. Using a large monogram or disc pendant can fill in the empty space in a daring way.
Our recommendation? Check out our Catalina Coin Pendant. With intricate ridging and a beautifully inlaid crystal, this wedding piece is a glitzy favorite at any time of year.
Boat Necklines
Boat-necked dresses can be tricky. With most necklaces designed to land just below or at the collarbone, many pendants can end up clashing with or falling under the seam of your garment. Worse still – if your garment has a lace edging, your necklace could tangle or even tear part of your dress. For those reasons, we would recommend shopping for a choker or long necklace.
Choker necklaces particularly complement the cut of boat-necked dresses. With a horizontal splash of texture or color mirrored in both the shaping of the bodice and your simple choker, this paralleled choice creates an elegant, uplifting look. You’ll feel regal walking down the aisle with this classic duo. Likewise, choosing a long necklace to pair with your dress creates a simpler air while maintaining the same loveliness.
Our recommendation? Make things even more personal with the Isla Long Locket. Available in gold, silver, and rose gold, this simple round locket can be filled with the image of a loved one you wish to memorialize or can be custom engraved with your fiancé’s initial.
One Shoulder Neckline
Necklaces for one-shoulder wedding dresses depend heavily on the type of strap used. If your design has a thick strap close to your shoulder, it may be best to go without. In this case, a necklace may only distract the eye away from your dramatic neckline. However, if your shoulder strap is fairly thin with only an inch or two of material, or if it naturally lays away from your neck, closer to the edge of your shoulder, you can try adding a simple choker.
Our recommendation? The Brynn Choker, a beautiful, floral-inspired gold necklace with a unique design you and your bridal party will fawn over.
High Neckline
If your gown uses a high neckline either close around the base of your throat or wrapped around it like a mock-neck – you likely won’t be using a necklace. Similar to the one-shoulder design, the emphasis of the design is on the unique shaping of the neckline and a short necklace may take away from it. However, if you need to add some texture to your dress or just really want to wear a necklace, we can point you in the right direction. Your best bet is going to be a long necklace – something that can mimic the look of the high-neck design. A piece that ends at or below the bust (anywhere in the 24 to 30-inch range) is going to be best for achieving this. As well, if your bodice is detailed, a necklace of this length won’t cover the design.
Our recommendation? The Charlie Pendant. Custom engraved and perfectly wearable for after the wedding too, you’ll adore the classic shape of this round pendant.
Short Dresses – A Note:
One other consideration to keep in mind is the length of your dress. While the recommendations mentioned above look lovely with calf to floor length dresses, those wearing a short wedding dress at the knee or above may want to focus on shorter necklaces. Ultimately your unique dress will impact your decision, but our general advice is to look for narrower jewelry that will remain in proportion with the length of your dress.