The process of planning a wedding can be stressful at times. You’ve got to choose your caterers, finalise your guest list, discover locations and map out seating plans before you even have a chance to get stuck into the fun parts like choosing your wedding dress or cake!

With this long checklist you’ll be carrying round, you may be tempted to skim over some of the seemingly less important parts of your day; but we’re here to make sure you don’t rush through your, easily overlooked, ensemble essentials – your bridal jewellery. At Wakefields we’ve listed out the top ten most common mistakes made by brides-to-be, so that you can have a little guidance and extra foresight when it comes to purchasing yours!

1. Upstaging the dress

Your dress is the definitive part of your wedding look, whether you decide to opt for a simple yet elegant design, or are looking for the perfect, fairy-tale princess dress, one thing is certain – you’ll want people to remember your outfit over the jewellery you paired with it. When purchasing your wedding accessories, remember to keep in mind that your jewellery should play a supporting role instead of constantly baying for the limelight.

2. Buying accessories before the dress

It can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of shopping for your wedding and end up making an impulse purchase. Many brides find that trying on dresses can completely change the preconceptions of how they envisaged their wedding look; buying accessories and jewellery in advance can cause trouble in the long run, end up feeling mismatched or leave your look incomplete. It’s best to wait and make an informed decision after you’ve selected your dress – even take it with you if you find it hard to visualise the complete look!

3. Not considering coloured accessories

It can be easy to stick to the tradition of wearing a head to toe ivory palette on your wedding day, but you shouldn’t rule out splashes of colour completely! With so many new contemporary designers pushing the boundaries of fashion you shouldn’t be afraid of incorporating your favourite colours into your jewellery and accessories – if you’ve got a colour scheme for your flowers and bridesmaids, why not try injecting the hues into your outfit too.

4. Forgetting about what suits your skin tone

Some people suit the colour yellow, for others it can completely wash them out, leaving them looking pale and tired. This same phenomenon works for jewellery too. Yellow Gold, Silver and Rose Gold all have varying degrees of warmth to their tones, so it’s best to find out the type of metal that best compliments your complexion – Silver jewellery can look truly exquisite on olive skin, but can look a little frosty on a fairer skin tone, so take the time to learn a little about your colour palette as it can really aid you in the long run.

5. Sometimes one isn’t enough

Don’t listen to old wives tales that tell you that Gold and Silver worn together will bring you bad luck, we know these old superstitions certainly wouldn’t be around now when there are so many gorgeous two tone designs out there! If you can’t decide which metals you like best, just combine some delicate designs together – remember rule number one though, don’t upstage the dress!

6. Buying trendy accessories

Your wedding day is going to be a pivotal and cherished moment in your life, you’ll be taking out your photo album to show your friends, family and future grandchildren for years to come. So we’d really advise you to keep your bridal jewellery simple, classic and timeless in their design – you don’t want to be cringing over old photos from your special day!

7. Having everything matching

If you’re a little OCD about everything matching exactly, this rule can be a little tougher to follow. It’s common for brides to receive jewellery and heirlooms from family members to wear on their wedding days, but it’s important to remember that you don’t have to put it to one side just because you can’t find an exact matching set of earrings. Sometimes the most beautiful ensembles are so striking because of their colour clashes and imperfections.

8. Forgetting that sometimes less is more

If your checklist consists of a tiara, veil, necklace, earrings, bracelets, clutch bag and bracelets, all before you’ve even mentioned your bouquet, shoes, dress and wedding ring, it might be time to reconsider the old saying ‘less is more’. It can be easy to get caught up in the excitement and sparkle of choosing the most divine jewellery and accessories, but the wedding dress and glow you’ll be wearing on the day will automatically allow you to shine the brightest out of anyone in the room – this rule is particularly important if you’ve opted for a fairy-tale style dress with a bold silhouette.

9. Getting carried away with the price tag

Beautiful, sparkly jewellery doesn’t always have to come with a large price tag so don’t feel the need to be pressured into purchasing accessories that are outside of your budget – there’s many stunning alternatives to diamonds and platinum that will make you feel a little less guilty about splashing out, just remember to ask a member of staff in store for their recommendations, they’ll be more than happy to share their knowledge with you!

10. Not thinking beyond the wedding day

It’s important to be realistic about the wearability of your wedding gear after your big day. It’s highly unlikely you’ll end up wearing your wedding dress or shoes again, in fact the only time it’s likely to come down from its box in the attic is for a quick try on session or to be altered for your daughter’s wedding – the wonderful thing about jewellery is that it doesn’t have to be that way! Before you buy your accessories, try to think about whether you’ll be able to recycle it again at another party or function – there’s nothing worse than having a beautiful piece of jewellery sitting in a box just waiting to be worn.