How to pick a necklace to wear with your wedding dress

So you’ve said ‘yes’ to the wedding dress, but finding it hard to settle on the jewellery? Don’t worry – there’s a simple technique to help you find a perfect match. 

Certain necklace styles pair beautifully with particular necklines of a wedding dress. Luckily for you, we’ve got the lowdown on style matches and a wide range of unique, bespoke necklaces, made by the UK’s best small brands...

Should you wear a necklace on your wedding day? 

‘Should I wear a bridal necklace on my wedding day?’, we hear you ask. Well, the answer is that it’s completely up to you. Some brides want to wear a necklace, and some don’t, and that’s totally your choice. Need a little guidance? We’ve got some handy tips below.

• High-neck dress: If a necklace won’t be seen, has a lack of space, creates visual imbalance or clashes with your dress, perhaps it’s best to skip and choose earrings and a bracelet instead.

• Halterneck dress: Similarly to the above, only choose a necklace if it complements the neckline.

• One-shoulder dress: Just like a high-neck or halter-neck style, a one-shoulder wedding dress often won’t work well with a necklace, unless it’s something understated. Perhaps focus on a statement pair of earrings instead.

• Illusion dress: It’s best to avoid a necklace with this style of dress, in order to avoid distracting from the visual detail.

What you could wear instead:

If a necklace won’t work with your bridal dress, other jewellery designs that might work include…

• Statement earrings: The good thing about not being able to wear a necklace is finding a beautiful pair of bridal earrings instead – think statement, bespoke or handcrafted designs.

• Hair accessories: Another great option for bridal jewellery if you can’t wear a necklace is hair accessories, from stunning clips to personalised bows.

• Bracelets: Pearl, gemstone, precious metal… bracelets are another easy, meaningful way to complement dress designs instead of a necklace.

• Hidden sentimental necklace: Heart set on a necklace, but your neckline doesn’t work? No problem. Get creative with a personalised necklace.

Quick rules that make choosing your wedding necklace easy

Need a little cheat sheet? Follow these simple rules to narrow down options:

1. Start with the neckline

The neckline is the foundation of your wedding dress and often gives you the biggest clue as to whether a necklace works for the design. Will it cover the necklace? Will it clash? Will it detract from the design? Does it complement?

2. Choose one focal point.

Often, less is more. Which is more important to you? A stunning necklace design or a gorgeous pair of earrings. 

3. Find a balance

After finding the perfect wedding dress, you don’t want your necklace to be the star of the show. Think about balancing simple jewellery with embellished wedding dresses. Take a look at our bridal necklaces designed for your big day for more inspiration.

Why not shop our necklaces by style? 

Consider necklace length and placement

It might sound obvious, but the length of your bridal necklace will change how the overall look feels and looks – it can add balance, draw the eye to a certain area or frame the neckline of your wedding dress.

A handy way to test this is by using a piece of string to test different lengths when standing, sitting and moving.

The best bridal necklace for your wedding dress neckline

Remember, the key to knowing if a necklace works with your wedding dress is to think about matching it to the neckline. You want it to be the perfect accompaniment and not overshadow or detract from the style of your dress.

Sweetheart neckline

Sweetheart dresses call for either chokers or shorter necklaces, as you’ll want to make sure nothing breaks up the beautiful line of your dress. For an elegant touch, opt for pearl jewellery.

V-neck

Whether you’re going with a classic V-neck or a plunge dress, a drop pendant makes a great choice as it really plays to the shape of your dress. Find something extra special with our bespoke and handmade drop pendant designs.

High neck

With high-neckline dresses, it can be tricky to find a necklace that sits well. So, we think it’s better to go for a pair of statement earrings instead, whether it’s oversized bows or something subtler, like these gorgeous mixed-metal hoops (which are very on-trend, btw).

Strapless

Strapless dresses give you a lot of options to play around with length and design – meaning you can go for almost any style. Though the only advice we’d give is to avoid necklaces that are on the longer side so that they don’t distract too much from the neckline.

Bardot neckline

For a Bardot style, go for something that sits higher up to really show off the neckline of your dress. Shorter and choker necklaces work well here and can be found in a variety of designs, from classic freshwater pearls to dazzling Swarovski crystals. Oooh.

Boat neck
For boat necks, you’ll want to avoid jewellery like chokers and pick a long pendant that falls well beyond the neckline. You could even nod to the date of your special day with this stunning, personalised calendar date necklace from small brand, LILY & ROO.

Halter neck

Wondering what necklace to wear with a halter neck? We’ve got you. To be honest, it all really depends on the cut of your dress, as some will have a space at the front and others won’t. If there’s a gap for one, a long pendant is a great choice or choose some earrings.

Square neckline

Necklaces with a shorter length work particularly well for square necklines. And, it can also be the perfect opportunity to tick off your ‘something blue’ with an aquamarine or sapphire pendant.

One-shoulder

Because of the unusual neckline of a one-shoulder wedding dress, you may want to skip a necklace and choose a pair of earrings instead. Heart set on a necklace? Consider the chain length and make sure it works well with the neckline of your dress.

Illusion neckline

An illusion dress is often a statement in itself. So our advice? Skip the necklace and go for minimal jewellery instead. But minimal doesn’t have to mean boring – we’ve got sentimental, bespoke jewellery designs to suit all wedding dress types.

Backless

If you have a backless wedding dress, why not make a statement with a backdrop necklace? Thanks to our brilliant small brands, we’ve got hundreds of creative designs to choose from.

Don’t forget dress details

The neckline isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to wedding dress styling…

• Consider the fabric and embellishment of your wedding dress – if you’ve got a lot of it, think about toning down the jewellery or necklace so your dress can take centre stage. 

• Think about your sleeve length and volume, and how they affect wrist jewellery

• Finally, the silhouette of your dress will have an impact on accessories. Ideally, it’s best to create a visual balance that works.

Make it feel like you

Although we’ve listed lots of recommendations in this guide, ultimately, personal style and comfort matter way more than rules. If something makes you happy and you feel good wearing it, it’s a great indicator of what you should wear on your big day. 

It’s also worth considering pieces you can wear again and again. Our small brands create heartfelt, high-quality necklaces made to last long after the first dance.

Need some inspiration? Personalised necklaces are a brilliant way to add extra meaning to your bridal look – from wedding dates, coordinates or initials. We love the creative ways our small jewellery brands bring birthstones to life with their thoughtful jewellery designs – the perfect partner to your bridal dress. 

Lastly, it’s an oldie but a goodie. Locket necklaces are the charm-filled, timeless way to add a special piece of jewellery to your wedding look. Small and delicate or bright and beautiful? We’ve got thoughtful designs for every love story.

Final checks before your big day

Get prepped ahead of the big day with a wedding dress rehearsal. Try on everything together to see if each piece works well together.

• Try on your full outfit – from shoes to wedding dress and accessories

• Take photos from all angles

• Test the movement

• Check the clasps

FAQs

Can I wear a necklace with a high-neck dress?

Necklaces often detract from the style of a high-neck dress or could be ill-fitting. We say ditch the wedding necklace and choose a stunning pair of earrings instead.

What necklace works best with a strapless dress?

Apart from being a beautiful design, the best thing about a strapless wedding dress is its versatility when it comes to jewellery styles. From choker-style necklaces to slightly longer lengths, find a meaningful design you’ll love.

What about a veil?

Most necklaces are unaffected by the design of a veil, apart from backdrop necklaces (as you won’t see the design). But it’s worth considering the balance of your look together and pairing back one piece so you don’t create too many distracting focal points. For example, if you want a detailed, embellished veil, consider a delicate necklace for your wedding dress.

What about backless dresses?

We love the unexpected detail of a backdrop, or lariat-style necklace, for a backless wedding dress. You’ll find hundreds of unique designs, thanks to our talented small brand partners.

Ready to tackle the rest of your wedding planning? Explore our wedding edit and find even more inspo – all from the UK’s best small brands.