How to Choose Pearl Jewelry for Your Wedding

Choosing pearl jewelry for your wedding is harder than it looks, mostly because pearls are the default. A necklace that fights the neckline, earrings that compete with the necklace, and a strand that looks like everyone else's are the usual ways to spend a few hundred dollars and still feel like something is off.

It comes down to four decisions: what your dress leaves bare, which type of pearl you like, which single piece leads, and what you're willing to spend. Every piece named below is in our Bridal Edit, with the price and specs from its page.

Start with the neckline

Look at the dress before you look at any jewelry. What it leaves bare decides what works.

• Strapless, sweetheart, or off-the-shoulder: the collarbone is open, so a necklace has room. This is where a statement piece works: the Rajola aquamarine multi-strand ($925, about 2½" wide at the front), the white Bam Bam double strand ($375), or the Allegra ($280).
• V-neck: a pendant follows the V. Try the Ziio white pearl necklace with silver pendant ($240) or the 18k diamond accent pearl pendant ($429). Earrings alone also work.
• High neck or closed neckline: a short necklace has nowhere to sit. The long multi-strand pearl and gold bead necklace ($600, 24" with a 3½" front drop) can hang over it. Otherwise, skip the necklace and put the effort into earrings.

The pearls you'll run into

Akoya. Cultured saltwater pearls from Japan, and the classic round white pearl most people picture. The Sunburst studs ($850) use 8.5 to 9mm Akoya pearls on 14k yellow gold posts and backs, 5/8" across, handcrafted in the U.S. by Brenda Smith.

Freshwater. Grown in freshwater mussels, in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors, and usually the most affordable way to get real pearls. The Ziio button earrings ($125) are a single white freshwater pearl framed by two rows of white Murano glass beads. The Bam Bam necklaces from Girl With A Pearl are chunky freshwater cultured pearls hand-knotted on silk, in white and in pink.

Baroque. Baroque describes shape, not origin: irregular, not round. That's the appeal. No two are alike, so nobody else's will match yours. The Ziio single strand ($210) is the nearest thing here to a traditional strand, in white baroque pearls framed with golden Murano glass seed beads. The Frida earrings ($235) are about an inch long, with zircons set into the pearls.

Edison. Freshwater cultured pearls grown larger and rounder than most, which makes them the pearl for a big stud. The Sun Spoke studs ($230) have a round white Edison pearl, 10 to 11mm, ringed with rays of zircon in sterling silver. For solid gold, see the 14k spiral Edison earrings ($569) and the 18k diamond and Edison pearl earrings ($625).

Mother of pearl. Not a pearl. It's the iridescent lining of the shell, the same material pearls are built from. It can be cut into shapes a pearl can't, which is why the JJewels earrings ($2,295) are laser-cut into an open drop, topped with 0.14 total carat weight of diamonds and finished in brushed 18k gold. They're 2" long, on lever backs.

Pick one piece to lead

Choose one statement and keep the rest quiet. A big necklace with small earrings works. Big earrings with no necklace works. Both at full volume can work, but it's the version where you'll want a second opinion.

• Necklace leads: the Allegra, the Rajola aquamarine multi-strand, or a strand like the Ziio single strand for something closer to classic. Pair any of them with small earrings, such as the champagne and tourmaline pebble dots (7/8" long) or the Ziio button earrings (5/8" wide).
• Earrings lead: the Sun Spoke studs, the Frida earrings, the citrine and pearl chandeliers (2½" long), or the Sunburst studs for the gold, classic version. No necklace, hair up.

Match your metal

Match the metal to your ring, or at least don't fight it. Yellow gold with pearls is the warmer look. Silver and white gold are cooler and crisper. Rose gold suits pink pearls.

• Yellow gold: the Sunburst studs (14k), the spiral Edison earrings (14k), the Edison and diamond earrings (18k), the citrine and pearl chandeliers (18k), the mother of pearl earrings (18k, brushed), and the pink Edison and crystal drops (14k).
• White gold: the Rajola aquamarine multi-strand and the grey pearl and pink quartz multi-strand (both 18k white gold).
• Rose gold: the pink keshi earrings and the baroque pearl halo earrings (both 18k).
• Sterling silver: the Sun Spoke studs, the Ziio button earrings, and the Ziio pendant necklace. The Kate earrings are silver-plated sterling silver.
• Somewhere in between: the Ziio single strand has a sterling silver closure and golden Murano beads.

If white isn't the plan

Pearls come in colors, and a wedding is a fine place to use one.

• Soft pink: the Kate earrings ($130) stack two pink pearls in a double drop. The pink Edison and crystal drops ($220) hang a 12 to 13mm pearl under a square-set Swarovski crystal. The Ziio Shinju necklace ($273) mixes water pearls and mother of pearl with pink morganite. The pink quartz and diamond pearl drops ($1,270) set a white freshwater pearl over a faceted pink quartz, with a pavé diamond crown.
• Champagne, cream, and grey: the pebble dot earrings ($122) pair a pale champagne pearl with pink tourmaline. The Rajola mixed necklace ($250) runs cream, soft pink, and light grey. The grey pearl and pink quartz multi-strand ($720) goes further.
• Something blue: the white pearl and aquamarine drop earrings ($325) put a white freshwater pearl under a starburst of aquamarines. The Rajola aquamarine multi-strand ($925) does the same in five strands of white and soft grey pearls.
• For the bride who wants something sharper: the pink keshi earrings ($2,695) and the baroque pearl halo earrings ($4,575) both use black diamonds in rose gold. Neither is traditional, and that's the point.

Pearl jewelry for your wedding, by budget

Everything below is in the Bridal Edit, sorted here by price.

Under $150

• Champagne and tourmaline pebble dot earrings: $122. Champagne pebble pearl tipped with pink tourmaline, 14k gold over brass, 7/8" long.
• Ziio white pearl button earrings: $125. White freshwater pearl in two rows of white Murano glass beads, sterling silver posts and backs, 5/8" wide.
• The Kate earrings: $130. Two pink pearls in a double drop, 1" long.
• Cleopatra freshwater pearl earrings: $135. White freshwater pearls, 9 to 10mm, with crystal-studded roundels, gold filled, 1½" drop. Handcrafted at Mabel Chong's San Francisco atelier.

$150 to $300

• Pink Bam Bam necklace: $195. Chunky pink freshwater cultured pearls, hand double-knotted on silk, rhodium-plated magnetic closure, 18".
• Ziio single strand white baroque pearl necklace: $210. Golden Murano seed beads, sterling silver button closure, adjustable from 16" to 18", made in Italy.
• Pink Edison pearl and crystal drop earrings: $220. 14k yellow gold, 1½" long.
• Sun Spoke Edison pearl studs: $230. Sterling silver with zircon.
• Frida baroque pearl earrings: $235. Made in Italy by Buccarello Jewellery.
• Ziio white pearl necklace with silver pendant: $240. White pearls framed with white Murano glass beads, sterling silver pendant (½" wide, 1¼" long), adjustable from 16" to 19", handcrafted in Italy.
• Rajola mixed freshwater and baroque pearl necklace: $250. Pearls from 5mm to 17mm on a 17.5" strand, handcrafted in Italy.
• Ziio Shinju pearl and morganite necklace: $273. Golden Murano beads, gold plated sterling button closure, adjustable from 16" to 18", 1" wide at the front, made in Italy.
• Allegra baroque pearl necklace with gold zircons: $280. Made in Italy by Buccarello Jewellery.

$300 to $700

• White pearl and aquamarine drop earrings: $325. Gold-filled sterling silver, 1½" long, made in the U.S. by Silver Pansy.
• White Bam Bam double strand necklace: $375. Chunky white freshwater cultured pearls, hand-knotted on silk, gold-plated magnetic closure, 18" to 20".
• Citrine and pearl chandelier earrings: $385. 18k yellow gold chain drops, one holding a white pearl (about 12 to 13mm) and one a golden citrine. 2½" long, made in Italy by Mattia Mazza.
• 18k diamond accent pearl pendant: $429. White Edison pearl on a solid 18k gold pendant with 0.025ct of diamonds, on a vermeil and sterling silver chain.
• 14k spiral Edison pearl earrings: $569. Solid 14k gold, 8mm round Edison pearls, zircon.
• Long multi-strand pearl and gold bead necklace: $600. Seven strands of seed pearls and 10mm freshwater pearls with 14k gold plated beads. Made in Rome by Anticoa.
• 18k diamond and Edison pearl earrings: $625. Solid 18k gold with 0.030ct of diamonds and a white Edison pearl.

$700 to $1,000

• Grey pearl and pink quartz multi-strand necklace: $720. Five strands of light grey freshwater pearls with pink and grey cloud quartz and a hint of hematite, 18k white gold, 18", lobster clasp.
• Sunburst Akoya pearl studs in 14k gold: $850.
• Rajola white pearl and aquamarine multi-strand necklace: $925. Five strands of white and soft grey freshwater pearls with aquamarine and hematite, 18k white gold, 18", lobster clasp.

Over $1,000

• Pink quartz and diamond pearl drop earrings: $1,270. 18k gold drop, 14k gold post, 0.30 total carat weight of diamonds, 1½" long, handmade in Italy by JJewels.
• Mother of pearl and diamond earrings: $2,295.
• Rock crystal, diamond, and pink keshi pearl earrings: $2,695. 18k rose gold with 0.46 total carat weight of black diamonds, 2¼" long, on lever backs.
• Baroque pearl and diamond halo drop earrings with pink quartz: $4,575. Irregular baroque pearl in a scalloped black diamond halo (0.85 total carat weight), 18k rose gold, 2¾" long.

For more in the middle, browse Jewelry Under $150 and Jewelry Under $250.

Beyond the necklace and earrings

• White sapphire and coin pearl charm bracelet: $540. White freshwater coin pearls and keshi pearls with white sapphires, 925 sterling silver, toggle clasp, by Silver Pansy.
• Calla Lily biwa pearl ring: $156. An adjustable gold-filled ring with a biwa pearl at the center of a calla lily, a wedding bouquet flower. It's a fashion ring, not a wedding band.
• Krystal clutch in mother of pearl: $295. A metal clutch finished with mother of pearl and crystal stones, 7" by 4" by 1", with a detachable chain strap. It fits a phone.

Put them on last

Pearls are soft and react to hairspray, perfume, and makeup. Put them on after you've finished all three. When you take them off, wipe them with a soft, dry cloth and store them on their own so nothing scratches them.

Bridal party gifts

The four pieces under $150 are the easiest bridesmaid gifts here: the champagne and tourmaline pebble dots ($122), the Ziio button earrings ($125), the Kate earrings ($130), and the Cleopatra freshwater pearl earrings ($135). Small, wearable, and priced so a set of them stays sensible. More ideas are in the Gift Guide.

For a deeper look at the different types of pearls, read The Pearl Edit, or shop the full Bridal Edit or the Pearls collection.