You bought the perfect wedding dress and now you’re wondering how to accessorize it with the proper bridal jewelry. Been there! There’s nothing quite like wanting to choose the right jewelry to wear and wanting it to properly accessorize your neckline.

Bride-to-be Tessa wrote to us with this question: “Can you recommend bridal jewelry for a strapless dress? Also, what kind of bridal jewelry do I wear, a necklace? A necklace and earrings? Thanks!”

Hi Tessa, great question! I wore a strapless wedding dress for my wedding, so I know exactly how you feel. In regards to your question… what should you wear, a necklace by itself or with a pair of earrings? The answer: definitely a bridal jewelry set with a necklace and earrings. And keep it simple: if you go with a glamorous and sparkly necklace, go easier on the earrings (and the other way around).

As a rule of thumb when picking out wedding jewelry for a strapless dress… less is more!

Here are some tips to keep in mind while picking out jewelry for a strapless dress.

Don’t overwhelm your dress.

When you’re choosing bridal jewelry for a strapless neckline — or any neckline, really — the key is to never interfere with the dress. You’re not trying to compete with the look of your dress, but accent it in a subtle way.

A simple strapless dress looks elegant paired with something sparkly and glamorous, like a bib necklace.

Moreover, if your dress is formal, the wedding jewelry should be glamorous, but not overwhelm it, like a pendant necklace or pearl necklace with less sparkly accents. A choker necklace, like this orchid jewelry set as one example, is a beautiful choice for accentuating your dress without overpowering it.

If you like a little sparkle, this dainty round crystal necklace is a beautiful option.

Or a marquise cubic zirconia bib necklace that isn’t overly dramatic, but adds just the right amount of sparkle.

Or go bold with a less formal strapless dress, like this incredible bib necklace with crystals.

For a strapless dress, I love the look of a crystal necklace and matching chandelier earrings, like this jewelry set.

And if your wedding dress is on the casual side, the jewelry should follow suit in a similar level of formality. A simple pendant necklace with a little sparkle goes a long way.

For a strapless dress for a beach wedding, add a little color to your jewelry. This blue pendant necklace is a nice choice… and checks off Something Blue from your list.

Consider the formality of your dress.

A strapless gown is stylish and chic, giving your neck and collarbone full attention with an open neckline. The best jewelry to pair with a strapless dress is something sparkly, like diamonds or crystals. As long as the length of the necklace falls between your neckline and the collarbone, or slightly above it, this necklace style will not overpower your dress and will instead balance out your look.

If you wear a very glamorous statement necklace or bib necklace, choose a simpler earring set like a pair of simple studs or pearl drop earrings instead of a chandelier style earring.

On the other hand, if you’re wearing a simple necklace choose fancier earrings like chandelier or statement earrings. These rose gold earrings feature leaf pearls on a large chandelier hoop; these are stunning! By Queen Me Jewelry.

When in doubt, classic pearls are always a nice touch! A simple strand of pearls with a crystal is a perfect bridal accessory.

If you would like to see more examples of bridal jewelry like the pieces shown above, check out Queen Me Jewelry. Lee is amazing!

Do you need more wedding jewelry advice? Read: 7 Rules to Know Before You Pick Wedding Jewelry.

I hope it helps and thank you, Tessa, for writing! :)

Happy Planning!

xo
Emma