Any bride who has found their dream wedding dress and is wondering what comes next is not going to want to miss this week’s advice post. When you are out shopping for your wedding dress, don’t forget about bridal accessories! From wedding veils, bridal belts, wedding dress overskirts, bridal jewelry, and wedding day shoes, there are so many accessories to consider when it comes to your wedding day outfit. Bridal accessories are a great way to really complete your bridal look for wedding day and can be a fun way to showcase your own personality and sense of style.
If you are wondering how to accessorize your wedding dress, then this post is for you. We are going to give our best tips and advice for accessorizing your bridal gown and completing your wedding day look. We’ll share some of our go-to styling items so brides can complete their bridal fashion look for wedding day- no matter what style wedding dress you are wearing.
Dress First
Before you focus on any bridal accessories for wedding day, brides should have their wedding dress selected first. You have to know what wedding dress you will wear on wedding day before you can move on to selecting what accessories you will wear on wedding day. You want to make sure all of your finishing touches compliment and work with your wedding dress. If you are thinking of wearing a wedding veil, you want to make sure the fabric of the veil goes with the fabric of your wedding dress.
A general rule of thumb we share with our brides at Lovella is to choose your wedding dress first followed by your wedding veil. From there, select your bridal headpiece, earrings and lastly choose your bracelet. These are the main accessories we recommend brides consider for their wedding day look, but it is of course up to you and can be completely customized for your desired bridal style.
This general formula of selecting bridal accessories can apply to any style of wedding gown and will work with dresses that are simple as well as more elaborately detailed.
For more styling tips on wedding veils, be sure to read our past post on how to select the right wedding veil.
Wedding Veils
After you have chosen your wedding dress, the first bridal accessory you should consider is a wedding veil. It is totally up to you as the bride to decide if you want to wear a wedding veil or not. We love the tradition of wearing a wedding veil, and it is an easy way to elevate your wedding day look to be truly bridal. When it comes to wedding veils, there are so many different options to consider. Different fabrics or materials and different lengths will give you a different overall bridal look.
When shopping for wedding veils, be sure to try them on when you are in your chosen wedding dress so you can ensure the fabrics and materials compliment each other. Accessorizing your wedding dress is a great opportunity to really make your wedding dress your own and to have the chance to style your dress however feels the most authentic to you. Now a wedding veil may not feel authentic to you because you have likely never worn one before. You may have a little sense of discomfort when first trying on wedding veils or selecting your bridal accessories because they aren’t items that you wear in your day to day life on a regular basis. But this is what makes it exciting, too! So even though it may feel out of the norm, have some fun with your bridal accessories. You can go as simple or as detailed as you like. And if you ask us, you can never have too much detail when it comes to bridal looks!
Video: How To Accessorize A Wedding Dress
To see some helpful examples of different styles of bridal accessories, be sure to watch this week's advice video all about how to accessorize a wedding dress. You can see first hand how to coordinate all your different bridal accessories into a cohesive bridal look.
Bridal Headpieces
After you have picked your wedding dress and wedding veil, the next bridal accessory we recommend brides choose is a headpiece. If you are thinking about your bridal accessories or wedding day jewelry, you might be wondering why we haven’t mentioned necklaces. In our opinion, we like to style brides with a veil and headpiece in lieu of a necklace. If you have a wedding veil, earrings, a necklace, and your bridal bouquet, it can just become a lot of components all in one line. Now this doesn’t mean that necklaces are bad on wedding day. We have many brides who opt to wear a necklace on wedding day, but some brides perfect a cleaner look and choose a more dramatic earring that frames the face. This is where personal preference really comes into play, and the neckline of your wedding dress may change your opinion of choosing a necklace for wedding day.
Going back to wedding headpieces, there are a few considerations when it comes to the different styles of headpieces you can choose for wedding day. Keep in mind how your headpiece is going to look in photos and video, because at the end of the day, that is what is going to stick around after wedding day and last forever. Because of this, we prefer a headpiece that is more symmetrical in nature and one that goes all the way around or is worn from the front so you can really show case this accessory. If you prefer to wear a headpiece that is on one side only, that is personal preference, but it can also be nice to have a headpiece that is more visually symmetrical from every angle.
The first type of bridal headpiece we want to discuss is a crown. Many brides think they need a big, full ball gown style wedding dress to wear a crown or need to wear their hair up to wear a crown on wedding day and that is just not the case. A bridal crown looks amazing with all different styles and silhouettes of wedding dresses and with many different types of bridal hairstyles, including wearing your hair down. One way we see brides wearing their crowns on wedding day is kind of a two for one look. They will wear the crown facing forwards with their veil for the ceremony and then once they remove their veil for the reception, they flip the crown around and wear it along the back of their head for a second bridal look. Be sure to tune in to this week’s video for an example of this look!
Next up is a bridal headband that wraps all the way around your head and just sits at the top of your head. This is a good example of a symmetrical piece because it adds nice balance all the way around. A bridal headband is a great way to add a little sparkle or embellishment to your bridal look if you want something a that is a bit more subtle than a crown or tiara. Headbands also look great with all styles of dresses and any way you want to style your hair on wedding day.
All in all, bridal headpieces are an accessory you can have a lot of fun with. We encourage you to try on different types of headpieces when shopping for your wedding dress. Another great thing about headpieces is that you still have a beautiful accessory for your wedding reception once you have removed your veil.
Earrings
The next bridal accessory to choose after you have your wedding dress, wedding veil and bridal headpiece is your earrings. You want to select your earrings based on the headpiece to make sure they match and are cohesive.
If you are a bride who thinks they want a more subtle earring, that is not necessarily a bad choice, but there are a few things to keep in mind when going this route. If you have a stud or cluster style earring in mind, know that these may not translate as well from a distance, like in your wedding photos or video. They likely look gorgeous when you are looking at yourself in the mirror, but they won’t make much of an impact from far away on wedding day. If you plan on wearing your hair down, you likely won’t see your earrings at all, unless your hair is styled in a way that is held back to show off your earrings. Again, this is not a bad thing depending on your style and the bridal look you want to achieve, but are things that brides should keep in mind when considering their wedding day earrings.
Now if you are a bride that wants something to frame your face and really bring the attention and eye level up to your face that will also stand out in photos, you are going to want a more dramatic earring. Perhaps you want a simple hanging pearl or something that’s a bit of a larger drop earring. The style choices with earrings really are endless and it all comes down to the look you want to achieve for your wedding day.
Bracelets
The last accessory we recommend for wedding day is a bracelet. We encourage brides to wear a bracelet on wedding day, even if it’s a thinner one and even if you are wearing a wedding dress with sleeves. When it comes time to cut your wedding cake or drink champagne, it’s a really nice element and detail to have on your wrist for your photos.
When it comes time to choose which wrist to wear your bracelet on for wedding day, we usually recommend the right wrist even if you are left-handed because your wedding ring goes on the left side. It will give you a little balance to keep your bracelet on the right wrist and your engagement ring and wedding band on your left wrist.
More Wedding Dress Styling Advice
We hope you found these tips for accessorizing your wedding dress helpful so you can feel confident and ready to walk down the aisle with a completed and beautiful bridal look. For more helpful wedding dress and bridal styling advice, be sure to read our past posts:
- When Should I Order My Bridal Accessories & Veil?
- How To Maneuver In A Wedding Dress and Veil
- How To Choose The Right Wedding Veil
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
About Wedding Fashion Expert
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.