Awww, come on. They’re just earrings, right?! Haha! For some reason, they seemed important. It seemed like they could make or break my whole ensemble. (Once again, what will I obsess with after the wedding is over? Maybe I’ll STILL be obsessing over the earrings, who knows!)

To catch you up to speed…

I wanted earrings that were blingy, had a pearl, and in some way resembled my awesome e-ring (which I realize would only be noticed by me and my mom). I found a gazillion “close but no cigars”. I figured I would just have to compromise on one of the must haves on my list.

But as I entered my Mom’s room the first night I was in St. Louis, my eyes were immediately drawn to a pair of earrings on her vanity. It was “them”. THE earrings. The mystical, magical, clandestine earrings I’d been obsessing over.

They had pearls. They had bling. AND they resembled my e-ring. And went PERECTLY with my bff’s tiara.

I picked them up and said to my mom “What are THESE?”.

And she said “Oh yeah, I was just digging through some of my jewelry and thought you might like them”.

I said “LIKE them? They’re PERFECT”

And she said “I thought so too!”

Turns out she wore them at her 35th wedding anniversary party.

Another Something Borrowed! For which I feel grateful and sentimental and connected to a tradition bigger than myself and my measly wedding! Sorry girls, I couldn’t get a good picture. But they are drop earrings with 3 sections with pearls surrounded by rhinestones… I’m way happy.

1. $55 from LizardiBridal on Etsy 2. $32 from ExquisiteBride on Etsy 3. $38 from EuropeanBride on Etsy 4. $58 from BelCanto on Etsy 5. $30 from Angelique 6. $90 from PerfectDetails 7. $12 from JewelryStylist 8. $28 from Wedding Sparkles 9. $55 from Emitations 10. $99 from Emitations

BUT, I am a bride to be, and I think I deserve a second to fuss….

I can not find bridal earrings ANYWHERE. I have a VERY particular pair of earrings floating around my cluttered little brain and I can’t seem to find them. Maybe they don’t exist. Maybe they are merely a fictitious figment of my wedding obsessed imagination.

Here’s what I’m looking for.

• A decent sized drop earring. NOT a chandelier as I worry that chandeliers will be too 2010.
• Not too big.
• Not too small.
• Plenty of bling.
• With a pearl or two to set them off.
• I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if the drop part of the earring had a big stone surrounded by little ones, like my beautiful e-ring.
• AND I don’t want to spend a fortune. Maybe like $50 or so.

My dear friend and BM Jennifer has graciously lent me her tiara to use as my something borrowed. I’m absolutely overwhelmed at the sentimentality of sharing something so beautiful with a friend I’ve had LITERALLY since birth (our moms met and became bff’s when they were pregnant with us!).

So the earrings I choose must compliment the beautiful tiara. Please, fellow brides to be, do you have ANY ideas???They’d be some sort of amalgamation of these:

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(ALMOST perfect, but no pearl)

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(REALLY almost perfect, but just a week bit too small and a little weak on the bling)

I found a bracelet in the case of the JCP where I work part time as a portrait photographer. I LOVED it. I tried on my left wrist and it sparkled just as much as my e-ring. J offered to buy it for me for Christmas to wear on our wedding day. I was hesitant because it was essentially a FAKE diamond bracelet that was $829! I thought I’d prefer to have a real gemstone (white topaz maybe?) bracelet rather than a fake one. Well, we found out that the ring was 75% off and then they’d give us an additional 40% off for their pre-black Friday sale… on top of my 20% employee discount. So in total the $800 bracelet ended up being $100!! Yay! That’s my kind of sale! And it’s stunning! It is so sparkly and fits my wrist just right.

I’m such a new found fan of DiamonArt that I think I’d like all of my wedding day jewelry to be that brand. Definitely check it out! Today JCPenney.com is having a Cyber Monday free shipping sale and loads of great sales on other DiamonArt pieces. No one will know that you are not dripping in real diamonds!!! I’m thinking about buying these as my wedding day earrings, what do you think???

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Okay 1 guess lol.  Actually, jewelry is one way that brides add often choose to a touch of blue to their wedding ensemble especially if it happens to work with your wedding colors. Of course, there are different shades of blue from soft tiffany blues to dark blue sapphires.  So for today – here are some gorgeous blue necklaces – click on the images to find them online.

Shown Here:  Blue Pearls from AmericanBridal.com ($28), Katie Holmes Inspired Synthetic Sapphire Necklace from Emitations.com ($55), Blue Topaz Rhodium Plated Flower Design Necklace from JewelBasket.com ($79), Colored Pearl & Crystal Jewelry from the Online Bridal Store ($36), Sapphire Chandelier Necklace from Portia Jewelry ($24)

Borrowing jewelry is another great way to save – and celebrities have been doing it for ages! Do you really think they actually BUY those multi-million dollar accessories they wear once down the red carpet?   The great thing is that there are now a number of services that offer jewelry rentals. Some that you may have heard of include Bag, Borrow & Steal and Adorn Brides were you can find designer fine jewelry at a fraction of the cost to rent for your wedding day.

Another service I discovered recently is BorrowedBling. BorrowedBling works a little differently. Members pay a monthly fee starting at $29.95 per month and can then borrow as many pieces from the collection as they wish at no extra cost!   This is a great way to keep yourself decked out in fantastic styles for all of your pre and post wedding events and of course the wedding itself! Here are a few pieces available from BorrowedBling.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a TOTAL Cinderella moment when I found my ring.  I was THRILLED when J presented it to me when he proposed, and still laugh that he said “I hope you’re not disappointed” right before he opened the ring box, in one last miserable attempt to throw me off!

Last May I went to a brilliant bridal show thrown here in Birmingham, Al, called Style in the Sky. Anne Barge (more on my Anne Barge obsession soon!) was there complete with fashion show and seminar and Sylvia Weinstock, and David Tutera were there too.  I was in total and complete bridal bliss!

At this bridal show I entered oodles of drawings.  One of them was for a $1000 gift certificate to Diamond’s Direct, the jewelry store where J bought my e-ring.  Right before they announced the winner I thought to myself “I’m gonna win this”, and lo and behold they called my name!  I couldn’t believe it!  Ah, the power of positive thinking!

I texted J right away and told him the good news.  I was shaking!  Barely able to push the buttons on my phone. Minutes later I got a text back from J that said “Sure you did, Sweetie”.  J, ever the jokester, thought I was playing a joke on him. *Sigh* It wasn’t until he held the gift certificate in his hands that he believed me!!

This Christmas Diamond’s Direct is having a special 20% off Holiday Extravaganza, everything in the store is 20% off, even my wedding band! For a couple of budget snobs like J and I the thought of using my $1000 gift certificate at the 20% off sale to get my wedding band practically makes us salivate.  *I sure hope they accept the gift certificate during the sale! Say a prayer they do!

So for today’s Something New – here are a few of my favorite pieces from Emitations.com.

Repurposed jewelry pieces are often unique statement pieces which is exactly what today’s brides are looking for – jewelry pieces that add a glamorous wow factor to your style. Etsy is a great place to look for affordable repurposed items of any kind so I took a look and here are a few of my favorite repurposed necklace designs.

To find these and other designs visit Etsy and search for Repurposed Necklace.

But pearls are not just for the bride — they’re the perfect accessory for bridesmaids as well. Today, you can find pearls in shades ranging from the traditional white all the way through the color rainbow, including pink, green and black, so they will coordinate with the wedding party’s dresses.

If you’re confused by the different types of pearls on the market, you’re not alone. “Pearls are classified according to their origin and their shape,” says Natalie Parman, vice president of merchandising at Jewelry TV. “Because of the wide variety of pearls available, you can choose a look and a price that is right for you.”

Pearls are formed when a foreign object enters the shell of a mollusk and triggers the release of nacre, which builds layer upon layer until a pearl is formed. Most pearls in retail stores today are cultured pearls. They are less expensive than natural pearls because they are mass-produced with the aid of technology. Instead of waiting for nature to take its course, pearl farmers insert an irritant and a nucleus (often a mother of pearl bead) into an oyster to speed up the process. Cultured pearls come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and many are dyed. As a result you can find almost any color your interested in.

Akoya cultured pearls are produced by the Akoya oyster found in the waters surrounding Japan. They are almost perfectly round and are well known for their high luster and rich color, which can range from white to cream, pink, green, silver and gold. These pearls can vary in size from between 2 millimeters to 10 millimeters. “Cultured Akoya pearls are the quintessential ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ strand in a creamy white color,” says Parman. “Multiple strands or choker styles are hot wedding trends.” Since they are affordable, cultured Akoya pearls also make wonderful bridesmaids and mothers’ gifts.

South Sea cultured pearls are larger than Akoyas, usually more than 10 millimeters. Produced in the warm waters of the South Seas, they come mainly from Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. These pearls are mainly white, yellow or gold. Due to their size and rarity, South Sea pearls are expensive. Exotic golden South Sea pearls in particular have gained popularity in the United States in recent years. “If you’re choosing a special strand of pearls for your wedding, this can be a good jewelry investment,” says Parman.

Tahitian pearls are produced in Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Mexico. They range in color from black, to aubergine, pistachio and many other colors, often with overtones of blue, pink or green. These pearls range between 8 and 15 millimeters and are highly valued because of their rarity. “Wear Tahitian pearls to your rehearsal dinner, or pack them as part of your honeymoon wardrobe,” says Parman.

When choosing pearls, look for nacre thickness and quality. Nacre quality determines how long the pearl will last as well as how light reflects through the pearls. Check for any cracks or peeling in the nacre. Also, look for how the pearls on a strand are matched. Pearl matching affects the value of the piece, as mismatched pearls are not as aesthetically pleasing. Finally, look for pearls that are individually knotted between each pearl instead of just strung one after the other — that’s a sign of quality.

Whatever your jewelry wish for your wedding day, visit www.jtv.com for a great selection of pearl necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Courtesy of ARAcontent