One of the most expensive (and ignored) items on the wedding list is bridal jewellery. While brides tend to obsess over their dress, which they would probably never again, little heed is paid to the bling that can be reused over and over again or passed on as heirloom. Here’s a list of factors that you should take into account before making your gold and diamond purchases.
This is such a basic principle. Wedding jewellery is way pricier than that elaborate dress you’d wear on your D-day. So it makes sense that you get the jewellery first. Also, while it’s easy to customize an outfit based on jewellery, it is very hard to do it the other way around.
You can buy the jewellery first and get the coloured stones/beads installed later after you’ve decided on the colour of your outfit.
First of all, too much matchy-matchy doesn’t look good! Secondly, girls rarely ever wear their wedding outfits again. Unless maybe if it’s their sibling’s wedding. Jewellery, however, is reused a multitude of times! So it’s a wise idea to buy jewellery that is relatively neutral and not an exact match to your lehenga/gharara/sharara. Because in the latter case, your tendency to pair it up with other outfits will be greatly minimized. For example, I attended a wedding this season where the bride wore a distinctive indigo lehenga. Matching coloured stones were encrusted in her jewellery including the karas. How many times will she be able to pair it with another outfit? You can do the math.
This is a mistake brides often make. You have to be careful that the necklace and neckline complement each other or it just looks very distasteful.
Contrasting jewellery looks amazing! Just because your lehenga is red, doesn’t mean you have to wear only garnets. Emeralds look amazing with a red outfit. Similarly garnets look great with other colours like orange and even grey! If your outfit is pastel, stick to colourless stones. If your outfit is a riot of colors- again stick to colourless stones with pearls maybe.
It’s a bad idea to pick one gigantic neckpiece that you will never wear again for the rest of your life and it will just lie in the back of your closet gathering dust. Instead, go for two or three smaller ones that can work together and layer those up. Not only does it look nice, it also leaves you with more options to reuse them later.
Just because a certain type of necklace or mathapatti looked nice on a certain bride, doesn’t mean that it will look the same on you. A choker will make a round face rounder and a long necklace will an oblong face appear even longer. Do try out different pieces at the store and pick one that suits your facial structure.
Bridal earrings are generally pretty heavy. If the weight is uncomfortable, do get a support chain along. Your ears will thank you on the wedding!
It’s okay if you’re picking up a lot of jewllery, but not when you’re picking up one or two sets as an investment, which are probably be the only big sets you’ll even own! Buy timeless pieces which can be worn even twenty years later.
If you intend on wearing diamond jewellery do not pair it up with a shirt that is heavy on gold embroidery. This combo just doesn’t blend!
For brides who have a tight budget, girls, there is no compulsion to buy real gold! You can buy imitation jewellery and trust me it will look just as good as the real thing! Another option is to mix and match. You can buy the main items i.e. neckpiece and earrings in gold, while the extras like maangtika and jhoomar can be bought in silver with gold plating. Many jewellery stores these days provide customers with this option.
So you might have a serious love affair with gold, but please DO NOT wear an entire jewellery store on your wedding. It not only looks super distasteful, it’s also uncomfortable and a potential security threat!
Islamabad Wedding Diary 