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It's clear that if you carefully choose your wedding accessories it can change your wedding look into something that is unique and personal to you. It does not matter how elaborate or simple, it only takes one item to make your entire outfit work together.
WEDDING VEILS
Although tradition says that Veils were to ward off evil spirits, then much later it was suggested it was to hide the brides face from the groom before the ceremony as it was seen as bad luck. We still follow that tradition as such, whereby we don't see each other the night before, but generally most brides will go unveiled walking down the aisle.
This is now just become an optional accessory over any kind of tradition. Some choose to wear the veil over their face, but more often it just falls over the back of the hair and dress via a clip in the hair.
Generally there are around 4-6 common lengths, the most popular is the waist length (known as 54 inch). Then also more popular are finger tip length (72 inch), chapel Length (126 inch) and the cathedral Length (144 inch). They also come in ivory or white and some do the odd blush colour too. Plus you can have lace or embellishments. So many options, its a shopping process on its own. Generally brides only get their veils from the shop they get their dress from because whilst they have the dress on they can see what to buy, but that does not mean that you can't shop around still online once you know the length, colour and style that you like.
TIARAS
I had a tiara when I got married back in 2007, but I rarely see them so much nowadays. If you want to follow tradition to the enths degree, then tiaras are worn by brides on their wedding day as tiaras were seen as the emblem of the loss of innocence Walking down the aisle) to the crowning of love (walking back up married). Just about any hairstyle can carry off a tiara and will set off veil perfectly, not to mention probably make you feel like a proper princess. I remember I paid around £180 for mine but you can get some beauties from Esty from around £50.00 so it does not need to break the bank.
WEDDING HAIR VINES
Personally, I do like a hair vine. For those of you new to wedding planning some of you may not know what a hair vine is. It is a delicately wired decorated accessory that has twisted sprays and branches of various materials, like pearls, crystals and can be shaped liked flowers and all sorts of patterns. It is very easy to get one made bespoke for you. The metals can come in silver, rose gold, gold, basically all different types of metallic to suit your style.
Some of them are fixed in place at either end using grips and others you can just pin them into your hair wherever it suits your hairstyle. They are the most flexible hair accessory and can be worn anywhere on the hair. If you go to Pinterest and type in Hair Vines, be prepared to lose yourself for a while in hair vine heaven.
Hair vines are such a beautiful accessory to wear when choosing your hairstyle, you may even find yourself having a hairstyle specifically so you can wear one. There are 100's to choose from, from vintage style, to bohemian, there will be one to suit every bride and near enough every hairstyle.
SLIDES & COMBS
If you are not the kind of person that will wear a Tiara, or a Hair Vine, then you still have choices left if you want to jazz up your hairstyle. There are again 000's of hair slides and combs that you can choose from and again that will suit any style.
There are some beautiful accessories that you can wear that are simple yet effective that can pull your whole wedding look together.
You can choose from vintage design, intricate flowers, or if like me you like a bit of bling, they come in Swarovski too. If you are unsure then turn to ebay where you can buy some really pretty hair combs from as little as £1.80 to have a little play around with your hair and how they will work for you, then once you have decided you can look to buy something more elaborate that will suit you.
Whilst we are talking hair accessories, we have just written a blog on how to get great hair for your wedding day, it covers how to get your hair healthy for your wedding day, some great diy hair masks you can do at home before your special day and and what wedding hairstyles that work best with the face shape. It also covers how to find the perfect hairstyle for your wedding day that suits the style of your dress the best. Its basically all about hair, so go check that out later. Click here for the blog
Wedding Jewellery
We always say less is more. It is easy to get carried away, after all it's your wedding day, but if you can stick with one or two key pieces that will compliment your style, especially if you already have a hair accessory. we always say try and avoid wearing a watch too. Always hard to match a watch to your wedding outfit.
Obviously its personal choice and what makes you feel good. We wrote a blog earlier about choosing the perfect jewellery for your winter wedding, but still has some great tips that would work for any time of year. Click Here
So earrings will give you that finishing touch to your look, but if you are wearing a Tiara then refrain from wearing big dingle dangles as it will just look over accessorised.
Look for a pair of simple studs that will match your Tiara. If you are wearing a low neckline then you may want to consider a necklace, especially if you have an up-do. Just don't go overboard to detract from the dress. If you have a high neckline on your dress then realistically you will not need a necklace at all and you can go all out on the earrings instead.
WEDDING BELTS
So having had a stint working in a couple of bridal shops, I realise the power of a good belt and it's not something that normally is in anyone's mind!
You would pick a dress and you may be wavering, then the shop assistant brings out a killer belt and be wrapped around your waste and suddenly the light bulb goes on and you found your dress, it can have that much impact. A belt is definitely a game changer, so just because your dress does not come with one, does not mean you can't have it attached.
So you can either have the belt change its entire look and can also often give the straightest of waists a slightly more curvy look, or you can do what the lovely Arriana did above, she wore her dress normal during the day and then added a beautiful diamante belt to the evening festivities to jazz it up.
These style of belts come on a mesh with the embellishments added on. It either will come with some ribbon attached to tie behind, or comes without and your seamstress can add on to your dress very easily.
TOP TIP: Here is where I say allow ebay to be your friend, you can pick up a lovely belt for less than £10.00. You do not have to spend £100's on a belt from a wedding shop, ebay is just as good. Here is a link to some belts here.
I had a wedding awards back in 2018 one year and my dress was really missing something, so I bought a wedding belt from ebay at a complete steal. It was amazing. It changed the entire look of the dress. I only wish I hadn't worn a necklace, it didn't need it s the belt had plenty of embellishments. So also think about how things will look in your photos.
WEDDING SHOES
I am the BIGGEST shoe hoarder. I have shoes that are older than some students, and I cannot let go of them despite they are probably too high for me to even consider nowadays.
I often find that buying shoes is a major deal, in fact I just wrote an instagram post about all the emotions you go through when buying your weddings shoes. Let me quickly share this link with you here, go and have a read when your done on this blog. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the process.
So firstly don't think for a minute that you have to choose the generic white or ivory just because that's what the wedding shops sell. Be brave, be bold and look to match it with your theme. So if you have a beautiful emerald green theme or electric blue then why not find a killer pair of shoes in that colour. You should be able to match your shoes with most colour themes.
Realistically if you have a long dress, the shoes will go missing from eyesight to many of your guests a majority of the time, but you should still consider them just as much of an accessory to your day that is another thing that can match your theme. Also chances are you will get to wear them time and time again too as they wont look like a "typical" wedding shoe.
Handbags
Gosh, another one of my passions, a Handbag. Although I can say that I do have a style and if you look through my wardrobe I have a gazillion clutch bags all with wrist straps. So I have a style as you will too. Now unless you have pockets in your dress, which I think is the best invention dress designers have come up with since sliced bread, you are not going to be swaying down the aisle with your bag in hand. It'll be thrown on your chair ready for when you sit down for your wedding breakfast, or you'll have one of your bridesmaids walking around with it all day so you have quick access to lippy, smokes or even tampons! Just don't think too big. A really nice clutch bag is all that is needed to keep your overall look looking intact when its on your person.
One of my personal guilty pleasures is Katie Loxton. They do amazing clutch bags that are beautifully made, excellent quality, and really inexpensive.
She has a nice bridal section, PLUS you can find some great gifts for your bridesmaids too that wont break the bank. Here is a link to their website.
So there you have it, we have covered head to toes. You now have lots of things to think about and lots of accessories to shop for!
Just remember to make sure that you choose carefully that will reflect your overall wedding look, whilst being personal to you.
Happy Shopping people!