The bridal accessories worth buying start with what you already own. Decide on any family tiara, jewellery set or pearls first, then buy fine earrings you will wear again, ceremony shoes before the hem is cut, and a clear decision on the veil. If you buy only two new pieces, make them the earrings and one hair piece.
The seven pieces below run in buying order, from the gown outwards, and each maker's delivery terms are noted where they matter. Prices are as each maker's site listed them on 20 October 2026, and your checkout shows the currency, duties and returns. Local makers, dates and traditions follow under "Where you marry".
Start with anything you would wear because of who it belonged to, because a family piece sets the metal and the mood for everything else, and choose new pieces in the same metal colour so the family piece stays the strongest thing you wear.
Take it to a jeweller about 12 months before the wedding; The Jewellery Editor warns that adapting a family tiara could take months. Ask for a clean, a check of the claws and settings, and a written condition report that records any hallmark or maker's mark. Agree a reset only if the jeweller says it is needed, with photographs of the original setting, a written quote and the original parts returned. With less than 12 months to go, reset only if the jeweller confirms in writing that the piece will be back before your hair trial.
Before the piece leaves the vault, get the owner's agreement and a current written valuation. Then ask two questions: does the jeweller's cover protect the piece in the workshop, and does the owner's policy follow it to the venue and abroad? If either answer is no, arrange cover for those days before the piece moves.
Earrings are the piece you are most likely to wear again, so unless a family set leads, most of the new money goes here. Beside an antique diamond tiara, a plain pearl or diamond drop in the same metal sits with it rather than copying it.
What separates a pair worth keeping from a cheaper copy is solid gold or platinum rather than plating, stones held by claws rather than glue, and a back that locks. A changeable drop gives you two looks from one pair: the drop for the ceremony and the hoop alone for dancing or another day. Kiki McDonough's Kiki Classics Pearl and Diamond Detachable Earrings hang pearl drops from 18ct yellow gold diamond hoops, at £1,500.
With any pearl, the GIA's pearl buyer's guide calls lustre possibly the most important value factor, so look for sharp, bright reflections. A dull, chalky look points to thin nacre.
Your hem is cut to your heel height, so the ceremony shoes go to the first fitting with the foundation your gown is fitted over. Walk in them for an hour on the surface you will marry on: on a lawn, a block heel sinks less than a stiletto.
Emmy London's Harriet Ivory Suede Bridal Mid Block Heel, 85mm, is £595 and made to order, with four weeks allowed. Bring a flat pair you would wear again for the second half of the night. For fit, see getting bridal shoes to fit, and if heels aren't for you, shoes for brides who don't like heels.
Let the back of your gown decide. With a low or open back, choose one of three: no veil, with the earrings and one hair piece carrying the look; a sheer veil placed high, so the back shows through; or a short veil that ends above the lowest point of the back, so it frames the back rather than covering it. With a high, sleeved gown, the veil frames your face and hair, and any length works.
Outdoors or in wind, a short veil on a comb moves less than a long one. For a cathedral length outside, ask your hairstylist to anchor the comb into a pinned base, and have one person lift the train clear of grass and gravel.
Grace Loves Lace ships worldwide. Its Posey Short Veil, 125cm of layered tulle on an 8cm gold comb, is AUD 380 on preorder with no dispatch date shown, so get one in writing before you pay. A made-to-order veil needs weeks of production, then delivery, so order three months out at the latest. For a family veil, ask a textile conservator to look at it before anyone cleans or presses it; our wedding veil guide covers every style and length.
A hair piece stays put only if your hairstylist builds a base for it, because freshly washed hair lets a comb or barrette slide. Ask for a small braid or a set of crossed pins under the spot where the piece will sit, and wear it at the hair trial for at least an hour, not just for the photo. Choose one deliberate piece and let it lead: a silk bow, a millinery headband or a comb, never all three.
Gigi Burris's Amelia Band tufts illusion tulle onto a rhodium-plated headband, and its tails can hang behind the ears or tie below the hairline, at US$365. A headband sits on the crown and needs only a light base, which suits a bride who wants her hair down, and as a millinery piece it isn't sold as fine jewellery, so its plated band is not the false economy the skip list warns about. Gigi Burris ships internationally, with duties paid on arrival and no international returns, so order early enough to try it at the trial.
On silk satin or crepe, run a finger along every comb, earring back and tiara claw, because a rough edge can pull a thread or catch the veil. Our round-up of bridal hair accessories has more styles.
With a heavily beaded or high-necked gown, a low, fine tiara sits better than a tall one. Lace and Favour's veil guide puts the tiara in first, flat with its sides tucked into your hair, then the veil's comb behind it. Ask for a hairstylist who has built a cathedral veil and a tiara together, and trial both at once.
Hancocks lists its Victorian Diamond & Turquoise Ivy Leaf Convertible Tiara, about 1890, which breaks down into a bracelet, a brooch or pendant and earrings, at £49,500. Delivery to Australia, the UAE and the US is insured, with duties included.
Sweetheart, V and open necklines can take a pendant, a fine strand or a lariat. High, sleeved and modest necklines hand the lead to earrings, a family piece or a gold set, so skip the necklace there rather than fight the fabric. Our neckline jewellery guide goes shape by shape.
A low back is the other place a necklace earns its keep, because guests see your back for the whole ceremony. Grace Loves Lace's Paris Backpiece falls in three tiers of fine sterling silver chain and glass beads, at 39, 53 and 78 cm, for AUD 330. Fasten it before the gown goes on, then check it in a mirror at a fitting: a visible clasp or a drop that swings against bare skin pulls the eye the wrong way.
Our guide to bridal accessory mistakes has more; start with these:
A belt on a clean column: It breaks the line, unless the designer specified one.
A new matching set beside a family piece: One fine piece beside what you own reads as yours. A gold set that is your family's tradition is the exception, and leads.
A necklace under a tiara: It gives the eye two subjects at once.
Plated or costume pieces sold as fine: Ask for the metal, its karat or fineness and any hallmark in writing before you pay.
Take each maker's lead time, add delivery and a month for a late parcel, and count back from your final fitting:
About 12 months out: Family pieces go to the jeweller with the valuation and insurance agreed, and any custom piece starts with a written quote and lead time.
First gown fitting: Bring the foundation and the ceremony shoes.
Hair trial, three to four months out: Have the veil or a sample, the hair piece or tiara, and the earrings in hand.
Three months out at the latest: Order a made-to-order veil.
Final fitting, four to six weeks out: Try everything together, cover-up included, under light close to the venue's.
Last two weeks: Break in the shoes at home, and give the headpiece one more long evening.
Give a small kit to your maid of honour or planner, whoever stays near you all day:
Spare locking earring backs
Pins that match your hair
Double-sided tape
A lined pouch for each fine piece you take off
Choose that person a month out and walk them through each piece, so nobody is learning a clasp on the morning. They sign each fine piece out and back in, keep it in the venue's safe overnight and return any heirloom to its owner the next day. If you fly, fine pieces travel in your hand luggage, each photographed beside its valuation. Tell your photographer which pieces are borrowed, so the detail shots are taken before they go back.
Hardy Brothers lists Australian South Sea Pearl Stud Earrings, 10 to 11mm pearls from Kimberley waters in 18ct yellow gold, at AUD 2,390, and Shepherd Hook Akoya Pearl Earrings in 18ct yellow gold at AUD 1,590. Ernesto Buono Fine Jewellery in Parramatta, listed on Wedded Wonderland, makes custom pieces in 18ct gold and platinum. Kiki McDonough ships to Australia by DHL Express, with duties and taxes billed to you by DHL on import.
For a high or covered back, Tania Maras's Australian-made Dewberry veil, 230cm chapel length, is AUD 945 with six weeks' production plus delivery; orders are paused and taken case by case, so email first. Shoe Renew fits bridal shoes with grip soles for a vineyard lawn. In the Hunter Valley in October, Cessnock averages fall from 25.4°C by day to 10.0°C at night, so bring the cover-up. Have the earrings by the hair trial, three to four months out, and order the veil at the same time.
Al Romaizan writes that 21K and 22K remain the gold standards for UAE bridal jewellery, and names the Marsa necklace and the Habbah pendant among family heirlooms. On a high, sleeved gown, let the gold set lead and choose a headpiece that pins flat rather than a tiara, so the two don't compete. For a diamond piece beside the gold, Mouawad takes appointments at its Dubai boutique or by video call, and its bespoke service works in 18K gold or platinum.
For the henna night and the Azza, Al Romaizan suggests lighter pieces, building to the statement set for the wedding; choose a different stone, not a smaller copy of the set. Damas lists its 21K Floret Necklace at AED 3,270. Al Romaizan's matching sets can be customised; ask for the weight in grams and the lead time in writing, and ask each maker to keep your names and venue private. Start a year before the wedding.
Riwaya suggests headbands or crowns over the hijab, secured with pins. For one piece worn covered and uncovered, choose a band that pins at the sides rather than a comb that needs hair to grip, and trial it both ways.
For an heirloom tiara, Bentley & Skinner remodels inherited jewellery, and Garrard begins bespoke work with a one-on-one appointment at its London flagship and can modernise an existing Garrard piece, so ask there first if the tiara carries its mark. Gold over 1 gram sold in the UK must carry a full hallmark, so check the marks against the condition report, and ask to see where the work is done. A tiara being remodelled goes to the jeweller about 12 months before the wedding.
Bentley & Skinner also has antique tiaras to buy or hire. Its hire terms are 1% of the retail value plus VAT for every 24 hours, with a minimum of £200 plus VAT a day, a refundable deposit of the full value and temporary insurance recommended; on its £32,500 late Victorian diamond tiara, that is £325 plus VAT a day. Hancocks, which lists the convertible tiara in item 6, is at 62 St James's Street, so ask to see it there. Victoria Fergusson's Kew Hair Comb is £270, handmade to order.
Emmy London delivers free in the UK, and Grace Loves Lace ships duties paid on orders in pounds. At a country house, ask whether a marquee floor is boarded before you choose the heel.
For a City Hall wedding in New York, where the City Clerk's Marriage Bureau sees couples by appointment only, keep to one hair piece and the fine earrings. Gigi Burris makes its Rachel Veiling, French veiling on a grosgrain headband, in New York City, at US$310 with two weeks' production. Its silk Moire Audrey Bow is US$375 for the civil ceremony and its feathered Biot Band US$370 for a later celebration without a veil, with the same earrings at both. Orders shipped abroad are final sale, so have them delivered in the US before you fly.
Have the hair pieces in hand for the hair trial, three to four months before the wedding. Central Park's June normals run from 26.5°C by day to 18.0°C at night, so keep the cover-up for the evening. If the celebration is abroad, the TSA advises keeping valuable jewellery with you, and you can ask for you and your valuables to be screened in private.
Before you buy shoes or bring a family piece, ask your Wedded Advisor at Wedded Concierge three things about the venue. Does it keep an overnight safe, does its insurance cover valuables kept there, and is the ceremony on lawn, gravel, stone or a ballroom floor? Your Wedded Advisor can then source jewellers and hair and makeup artists where you marry, and the Wedded Marketplace lists more.
For this year's looks, see our 2026 bridal jewellery trends and our Wedded Week experts' accessory trends.
Written by
Content and Creative Manager
Joseph Joshua is the SEO & Content Manager at Wedded Wonderland, bringing an editorial and search strategy perspective to the publication’s coverage of luxury weddings, destination celebrations and bridal lifestyle. His approach to content centres on helping readers move from inspiration to informed decisions, with attention to the design, craftsmanship and personal details that give a celebration its character.
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