Like its name, Myra Callan’s Oregon-based Twigs & Honey takes its inspiration from nature. Hair accessories come in categories like flora (silk blooms) and fauna (goose, pheasant, ostrich feathers), while belts and jewelry blend flowers and feathers with crystals, pearls and faux berries.
If you’re planning to wear a simple, sophisticated, unadorned bridal gown, or one of those currently coveted ethereal, diaphanous styles we all know and love, Twigs & Honey’s enchanting bridal accessories will add a little something extra special to your bridal look.
PS: Twigs & Honey just debuted its brand-new collection, available on its brand-new online store, so be sure to check it out!
It’s no secret that the Houston Wedding Blog has some serious love for haven-of-all-things-handmade, Etsy. And now we have yet another reason to love the ubiquitous online artisans’ marketplace. You see, the Etsy Wedding Team Shop has launched a team event to raise money for Haiti, which, as we all know, was devastated by a massive earthquake, and subsequent aftershocks, on Jan. 10.
Here’s how it works:
Members of the Wedding Team—these are artisans who make wedding-related items, from jewelry to favors to décor, and more—have donated a selection of their wares to the event. Purchase a donated item and the proceeds (minus Etsy and PayPal fees) will go directly to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. It’s that simple.
The items themselves, on the other hand, are intricate, elegant, fanciful, fun and unique. Check out, for instance, this delightful floral headband—perfect for your most fashionable flower girl.
Flower Headband
Or how about these filigree and glass-pearl earrings? We think they’re a very pretty pairing for an ivory bridal gown, and also great for a bridesmaid gift.
Filigree and glass-pearl earrings
And weren’t we delighted to find this clay-flower accent arrangement from DK Designs (remember when we blogged about Martha Stewart discovery Diane Phillips way back in November?). Those peach-hued English roses and creamy magnolia blossoms? Hard to believe they’re not real flowers!
Clay Flowers
You’ll also find cupcake pick tags (cute!), wedding signs (handy!), coffee cup corsets (darling!) and other wonderful wedding extras. So check it out and pass the word along. Haiti needs our help, and Etsy’s got a terrific opportunity to give it.
This spring and summer’s bridal gowns are all about the right to bare arms, and we support it! But bare doesn’t have to mean naked. At your wedding, Houston bride, those pretty arms and hands of yours are going to be on constant display (holding your bouquet, exchanging rings with your beloved, cutting the cake, etc., etc…). We recommend you dress your wrist appropriately, with a beautiful bridal bracelet that catches the light just so.
A couple of things to consider when choosing a bridal bracelet:
Matching is not required. Sure, you can select a coordinating set that includes necklace, earrings and bracelet. But it’s equally fine (and even a little more fashion-forward) to go with mismatched pieces, like chandelier earrings and a chunky, bejeweled bangle, or an Art Deco pendant and a filigree cuff.
Don’t get snagged. Make sure to take into consideration your gown material when choosing a bridal bracelet. If the skirt of your gown is tulle or lace, you may want to avoid gem-encrusted bracelets, and bracelets with sharp edges or catches, and instead stick with smooth bangle styles. If, on the other hand, your skirt is sleek satin or silk taffeta, you can get away with just about any bracelet construction.
Buy for the future. Choose a bracelet that you really love, and that you will want to wear over and over again. This may mean selecting something that complements your ring set, or an heirloom or vintage piece that makes an enduring statement, and that you can pass down to future generations. Your wedding-day jewelry is special, of course, but that doesn’t mean it has to be stuck in a safe or jewelry box once you’re wed.
OK, now for the fun part. Our best local jewelers offer a spectacular selection of bracelets from classic to ultra-contemporary, so drop in and try on a few styles.
Beyond Houston’s borders, here are a two more fabulous bracelet finds to tempt you:
Bride and press fave Tejani has a big, beautiful selection of bridal bracelets that are not just stunning, but surprisingly affordable, too. Among our most coveted styles is this 1½-inch-wide sterling silver, zircon and crystal bangle…but you can have your pick from bracelets grouped by categories including Daring, Dainty and Antique.
Tejani Bangle
On the edgier side, there’s Melinda Maria, whose statement pieces have won celebrity fans including Vanessa Hudgens, Anne Hathaway and Faith Hill. We’re crazy about the Infinity Pod Bangles, and slightly daintier Mini Pod Bangles. But with a drapey, stately goddess gown, nothing would be more beautiful than this lovely leaf bangle, don’t you agree?
You’d never settle for the first guy you met. So why would you settle for the first engagement or wedding ring you see? After all, you and those rings are going to have a long, sparkly future together. Shouldn’t you wear a ring that screams your name? One that reflects your great taste and style?
That’s what we thought.
Whether you’re scoping out engagement rings (you know, so you can start dropping hints) or you’re looking for special wedding bands for you and your fiancé, we recommend a visit to Select Jewelers.
Wedding band from Select Jewelers
For more than a decade, this hometown favorite has been making Houston brides’ dreams come true. By bringing in diamonds and jewels from around the world, Select Jewelers offers Houston brides with some of the sparkliest and—dare we say—prettiest wedding and engagement rings around. More than a few of those are from the Hearts on Fire line, which sets the bar for perfection in diamond cuts. And if you need a necklace, bracelet, or earrings to wear with that gorgeous wedding dress of yours, this family-owned store offers plenty of irresistible options.
Men's wedding band from Select Jewelers
It’s not just the ladies who get lucky here, though. Select Jewelers also sells a variety of men’s diamond wedding bands. You know, in case your guy gets jealous that you get to wear all those pretty diamonds.
Of course, there are more gems here than meet the eye: From the moment you walk into Select Jewelers, you’ll receive personal attention and all the help you need to pick out or design that stunning ring your want. Even better: Select Jewelers offers some seriously fabulous deals, so you (or your honey) can save a little dough.
We here at the Houston Wedding Blog love diamonds. Know what we love even more? FREE diamonds! That’s why we’re so excited about Whiteflash.com’s Valentine’s Day giveaway contest, which you can enter to win at celebrity style site Stylit.TV.
Here’s the scoop: Whiteflash is giving away two gorgeous diamond pendants, both created with “A Cut Above” conflict-free diamonds. These brilliant diamonds are cut so precisely that their facet reflections overlap, creating distinct heart-and-arrow patterns when seen through a special viewer. One lucky entrant will win the stunning “One Heart for Two” platinum-diamond pendant (worth $1,100!), and another will score the dazzling “Essence II” diamond pendant (worth $395!).
Check out this video for more details…and don’t forget to email a link to your fiancé!
Thomas Markle Jewelers may not be giving away bling, but your groom-to-be sure can pick up a little some’n some’n sparkly from TMJ—if you point the way. So drop a subtle hint that you wouldn’t mind, say, a Diamond Key Pendant from TMJ’s Thomas Markle Couture collection. Or casually mention that you’re a fan of the lovely Lagos Key Pendant (both come with a complimentary box of Godiva chocolates to sweeten an already yummy deal). He gets help figuring out what to give you on this all-important Valentine’s-Day-before-the-wedding, you get, you know, GORGEOUS JEWELRY, and we get to say we told you so! Smiles all around…
Nobody loves her bling more than a Texas bride. But today’s tough economy has put a damper on many a gal’s diamond dreams. So it is with great excitement that we direct you to Adorn Brides. If you think you can’t afford red-carpet diamonds for your white-wedding day, Houston bride, Adorn is here to tell you, “Yes you can!”
Adorn’s selection of jewelry for rent includes pendant necklaces, chandelier and drop earrings, and bangle and cuff bracelets. These are extraordinary pieces with retail values that range from $5,000 to more than $100,000—and you can “borrow” them for a tiny fraction of the price. How’d you like to sport the spectacular Spencer Necklace—a brilliant lace-pattern drop necklace featuring clusters of round bezel diamonds that sells for almost $10,000? Well you can, for a few days at least, for a mere $360 (including insurance!).
Spencer Necklace at AdornBrides.com
Looking for a serious statement piece? You can’t do much better than the gorgeous Adkins Pendant—an Art-Deco-inspired diamond beauty. To buy the $7,300 Adkins necklace, you might have to give up a little something—like, say, your gown. But if you’ve got $190, you can rent it from Adorn, and wear it with, rather than instead of, your dream dress. Another $190 gets you the matching earrings.
Adkins Necklace at Adornbridal.com
Adorn items are shipped to arrive two days prior to your wedding, leaving lots of time to admire your borrowed bling. Can’t find what you like on the Adorn site? “If a customer doesn’t find exactly what they are looking for, we encourage them to call us. Often times we are able to access more jewelry styles and options then are listed on the Web site,” says Adorn vice president of marketing Laura Carrington. What a gem!
When it comes to wedding bands, Houston brides love the look and feel of platinum. Who wouldn’t? That cool white luster, that substantial heft, that incredible durability (it’s the strongest of jewelry metals)—platinum just seems so perfectly suited to weddings.
We even like platinum’s relative softness: Platinum “scuffs” easily compared to gold, which means that platinum wedding bands tend to fossilize the many little moments of daily married life (running your hands through Hawaiian sands on your blissful honeymoon, moving furniture around in your newlywed love nest, preparing dinner parties as husband and wife, etc.). Of course, if you crave precious platinum but still prefer an unblemished look, you can always take your band to your jeweler for periodic polishing.
Here’s the thing: While we are crazy for wedding platinum, we aren’t quite as nuts about platinum’s traditionally sky-high cost—as much as five, six or many more times that of an equivalent gold band. Ouch!
Good news: In the last year, platinum prices, always volatile compared to many other jewelry metals, have plunged about 50% from early 2008. Since forecasts are predicting a rebound in platinum’s price in 2010, right now looks like a very good time to get a very good price on a pair of platinum bands.
To find the right platinum pieces for you and your betrothed, better start with the best. Click here for a directory of Houston’s top wedding jewelers, and start testing your metal, Houston bride!
It’s a common bridal conundrum: You want to accessorize your gown with jewelry, but you’re worried about going overboard. After all, you don’t want to eclipse your beautifully bejeweled bodice with a heavy choker or pendant. Neither should you overload your crystal-encrusted updo with an elaborate pair of chandelier earrings.
The perfect solution? A statement bridal bracelet. All you have to decide is what you want your wedding-day wrist adornment to say.
For modern glamour with vintage touch, nothing holds a candle to a jeweled cuff. Today’s most stylish brides are sporting thick cuffs that get their delicacy from intricate filigree work and pavé gems, which catch the light magnificently.
We adore this brilliant specimen from Jude Frances, available through Thomas Markle Jewelers
Meanwhile, the Art Deco elegance of the Mystery Liner Cuff by designer Debra Moreland for Paris is perfect for slender wrists, refined gowns and white silk or satin.
Also in vogue is the jeweled bangle, worn either alone or in groups of three (or more!).
Simple, sumptuous, spectacular—that’s this white gold, white diamond bangle by Simon G (style MB 1432), available from Thomas Markle Jewelers.
For the contemporary, less traditional bride, there is the cubic-zirconia-accented, conversation-worthy Wavey Bangle, which gives the impression of multiple bangles in a single piece.
And, for our final pick, we are fans of this absolutely unforgettable bracelet from Select Jewelers, a traditional style that combines clusters of round diamonds with fabulous baguettes in a piece that will make a treasured heirloom as well as a gorgeous gown accessory.
