Maybe it's my spirit of independance, but I have to believe that there is nothing better than being in control of the details. You've chosen the wedding dress of your dreams. You've found the dresses your bridesmaids will wear and the color you chose for those gowns is a color you've dreamt about forever. Now it's time to find bridal jewelry and bridesmaid jewelry to match, and it's just not easy!

Well, it wasn't easy until now. At Amy's, you not only choose your own color combinations from over 40 different crystal colors, and 5 different pearls, but we'll also send a sample of any color you need to see so you can match the colors up in person! And if you're just not great with color, we'd love to make suggestions!

We have brides calling every day with questions about color combinations. Should I add color to my bridal tiara? Does this pink look good with this brown? Should I mix in the clear crystal with the crystal ab or does that combination not really look right? If you have questions, or need some consulting about the colors in your gown or your bridesmaids gowns, please dont hesitate to contact us. It's what we do!

Here are some suggestions for popular dress colors:

For pink bridesmaids dresses: rose, rose light & crystal clear; fuschia, rose and rosaline; rose, rose light and crystal ab

For periwinkle bridesmaid dresses: light sapphire, tanzanite and crystal ab (or crystal clear)

Cranberry dresses: siam, garnet and ruby; siam, garnet and crystal clear

Apple or Rose Red dresses: siam and crystal clear; siam and jet

For brides using brown and pink: smoky topaz, rose and rose light

Brides using brown with blues or turquoise: smoky topaz and aquamarine (or the closest blue color match)

Mix of greens? Try peridot and chrysolite with crystal clear or crystal ab

Fall colors? Try smoky topaz, light colorado topaz, topaz, jonquil, siam and ruby - gorgeous combination of browns, oranges, pale yellows, and reds.

Christmas wedding? Try siam (red) and crystal ab, or siam and jet for red and black.

Looking for pastel colors? Try light amethyst (lavender), light rose or rosaline (pink), jonquil (yellow), chrysolite (green), light sapphire (blue), light peach (peach)

Just want a hint of reflective color? Try mixing crystal clear with crystal ab.

 

WARNINGS:

(our "what not to wear" as far as color combinations go)

MELLOW YELLOW: Don't choose citrine unless you want bright, fluorescent, canary yellow. Want a softer yellow? Go with jonquil.

BOLD AND.. NOT SO BEAUTIFUL: Be aware that mixing white faux pearls with a bold colored crystal makes the pearls look even more stark white, which we tend to believe makes the pearls look more fake. We always recommend the light ivory freshwater even if your gown is white, but if you have to have stark white, try to stay away from bold crystal colors (i.e. white pearls with sapphire, or white pearls with siam or garnet - it looks... hmmm... how should we say... NOT as good as it *should* on your wedding day.) The freshwater pearls have a more natural soft look and are white enough to use with white gowns. Mixing white faux pearls with more subtle crystal colors is okay (i.e. white pearls with light amethyst, light sapphire, crystal ab etc) but it *always* looks better to use the real pearls.

CONSTRUCTION ZONE DISASTER: Hyacinth is bright bright bright orange. We keep it around b/c occasionally, it works with someone's color scheme, but if you dont want construction orange, dont go with hyacinth. Try topaz for a more pumpkin orange, indian red for burnt orange, or padparadscha for a coral color.

GOLD IS NOT YELLOW: Dont feel you have to use citrine or jonquil in a piece of jewelry when trying to match metallic gold material. Let the 14k gold filled metal (wiring, clasp etc) match the metallic gold, and then stick with clear crystal or golden shadow. Yellow doesn't equal metallic gold.

PEARLS DON'T MIX: Okay, pearls do mix, but real and fake pearls don't. Try to steer clear of ordering a piece of jewelry with freshwater AND faux pearls. On the other hand, mixing any combination of the 3 freshwater pearl colors is beautiful.

 

Here are some commonly asked questions regarding color:

Q: What is the difference between crystal clear and crystal ab and do they look good together?

A: Crystal clear is a clear crystal, no color, no coating. It sparkles like crazy b/c of the CUT and the quality of Swarovski. Most of our designs are shown in clear crystal. It's stunning, and Swarovski crystals definitely dont need color to make them brilliant or sparkly. Crystal ab is a clear crystal with a coating on one side that makes it irridescent. The "ab" stands for "aurora borealis". Irridescent crystals reflect more color and sometimes pick up colors around them, although they reflect more color from light than from textiles. Do they look good mixed together? Absolutely. We usually recommend a bride who wants the crystal ab also mix in some crystal clear, or it can be a little bit too much as far as our tastes are concerned.

Q: I'm using chocolate brown dresses and pink flowers. What colors should my bridesmaids wear?

A: Smoky topaz is chocolate brown. Mix it with any of the pinks and you've got a winner. Our favorites are smoky topaz with rose and light rose.

Q: My gown has no pearls. Can I use pearls in my accessories?

A: Yes. This is a common misunderstanding. The pearls in your jewelry or headpiece match the FABRIC of your gown. Pearls compliment the satin, silk or chiffon.. whatever it is you're wearing. If you like pearls, choose the pearl color that matches your fabric, then choose the crystal colors to match your color scheme, or stick with crystal clear if you dont want a color in your jewelry.

Q: What pearl color matches my gown?

A:

White gowns: white faux pearls or light ivory freshwater pearls.
White silk gowns or other gowns in Diamond white (candlelight white, winter white, off-white): light ivory freshwater pearls.
Creme or deeper ivory: Ivory faux pearls.
Antique gold or champagne: Order samples of pearls to match to your gown, but you may end up with anything from light ivory freshwater to champagne freshwater, depending on the material of your dress. The best thing we've found is to mix light ivory freshwater with a crystal color that accents the gold of your dress - like golden shadow or light colorado topaz.

Q: Do I have to wear gold if I'm wearing an ivory dress?

A: No! Ivory and silver is our most popular combination and it looks great. Use the metal color you like most so you can wear your accessories again!

Q: Is your gold metal bright and brassy?

A: No. It's soft and very beautiful. Not brassy, orangy or offensive like gold-plated jewelry found elsewhere.. uh hem...

Q: I am the bride and am thinking of adding some color to my tiara or necklace. How much should I add or should I just stick with clear?

A: Okay. Here's the thing with color for the bride. If you want color, commit to it! Ask for at least 30% color to 70% crystal clear as opposed to "a few colored crystals in an otherwise clear design". Sprinkling in a tiny bit of a bold color looks like an accident. If you want to add a bold color, then really do it. Mix in the color and maybe a couple others to blend together, but dont ask us to put in 5% sapphire and all the rest clear crystal or everyone will think your tiara crashed into someone elses and you accidentally ended up with a few blue beads. Now if you're talking about a little "something blue" (i.e. light sapphire) or a little bit of lavender or light pink - it's okay to add a little, but I think if you want the color, dont be afraid of it. It is very common now to have some color in your gown as well as your jewelry, so you wont look crazy. But if you're just not sure, stick with the clear crystal so you can be comfortable and not worry that everyone is staring at those 5 olive green crystals in your necklace. ;) Basically, either really do it, or dont do it at all.

 

Ready to order color samples? Click here.