Wedding Fever!

With a few weddings coming up this summer (after June, I am the last man standing, the only remaining 'unmarried' among my friends - I feel like that girl at the end of 'Invasion of the Bodysnatchers) I have been inspired to broaden my selection of wedding jewellery. I have made some wedding jewellery in the past, sticking to the classical and traditional, but having had a look around at lots of wedding jewellery, it really seems there is a lack of choice for brides.

I have found that there are super-traditional styles of bridal jewellery - single string of pearls sort of thing, or really expensive, classic diamond solitaire on a gold chain sort of style, or these uber-modern, proper trendy, 'I spent 10 grand just on the dress' sort of styles. What if you just want something thats looks pretty, wont kill your budget, and is unique?

With this in mind, I've tried to do a couple of different styles of wedding jewellery that wont melt your credit card.

This one above - 'Something Blue' necklace, is made from amazonite ovals, with white rice pearls and tiny little Swarovski crystals inbetween. I love this colour of blue - it looks really summery and fresh, and compliments a summer tan really well. It works on the idea of traditional, with the white pearls, but I think the amazonite make it just a little bit different. The crystals give it just a hint of a twinkle, so it looks glam, without looking too 'Studio 54'. This wont break the budget at £55, and if you want to go for an all matching set, there is also a bracelet and earrings to match. The full set would only cost £110, which I think isn't too bad for your wedding day, and they are made from genuine pearls and stones, rather than being costume jewellery. I think they are all pretty wearble pieces (I made myself a similar pearl and amazonite bracelet which I wear loads!) so at least they would be worn again after your wedding. This necklace and it's family are all available at Artery Gallery in St Andrews - see http://www.arteryuk.com/ .

I also wanted to make something that was really feminine and summery. I think if you get married in the summer, it gives you such a wide choice in terms of what you can do with your hair, jewellery and accessories. I was trying to think of what summer conjures up for me, and butterflies were one of the first things that popped into my head. Butterflies can look a bit full-on girly, so I kept it simple in just an outline of silver. This makes it look really modern, and then strung it onto white rice pearls. I've picked up the silver with little accents of silver interspersed the string of pearls. This necklace is for sale at £60, and as it's just plain silver and white pearls, it would be easy to match up to other silver jewellery. This one is also for sale in Artery Gallery just now.

I also will make jewellery to order, so if you had a particular idea for your wedding jewellery, I could always make it for you - I'm sure I could satisfy even the most demanding bride-zillas out there!