Engagement Rings & Weddings
A Former Wedding Editor on the Bridal Jewelry That Really Matters
A career in weddings taught me one thing: nothing beats diamond heirlooms.
July 9, 2025
Written by: Shelley Brown
I led the fashion, jewelry and beauty verticals at a major wedding publication for nearly a decade. In that time, I styled countless magazine covers, appeared on national TV to talk wedding dress and bridal jewelry trends, and hosted panels and events during Bridal Fashion Week. I could (and still can!) name almost every designer who’s ever created a wedding gown or engagement ring.
So naturally, when I got engaged, friends and colleagues assumed I’d wear something completely over-the-top on my wedding day: maybe rainbow ombré, a massive gilded crown, or a custom gown embroidered with corgis and mermaids (two of my favorite things). But here’s the thing. Being immersed in wedding fashion for so long and witnessing so many fleeting trends had the opposite effect on my personal style. I didn’t want to look back on my wedding photos and think, Wow, that was so 2020s. I wanted to look timeless. Chic. Not timestamped by a specific era. A simple gown and heirloom bridal jewelry were my vibe.
Meet the Expert
- Shelley Brown is a seasoned editor with over 15 years of experience covering fashion, engagement rings, bridal jewelry, and diamond trends.
- She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from New York University.
- She was previously the Senior Fashion Editor at The Knot and has been quoted as a bridal and jewelry expert by Good Morning America, Vogue, Refinery29, and more.
A Nancy Meyers-Inspired Setting Shaped My Bridal Jewelry
The setting of my wedding also played a major role in shaping both my fashion and bridal jewelry vision. My then-fiancé, Max, and I were getting married at his family’s country house in Connecticut, and I dreamt of a tented backyard celebration straight out of a Nancy Meyers film: sailcloth tent, fluffy white hydrangeas, blue-and-white china, a champagne tower, Ruinart bubbles flowing, and a jazz trio crooning in the background. My look needed to feel at home in that world—classic and quietly glamorous.
How I Found the Perfect Dress and Bridal Jewelry to Match
Despite the extraordinary number of gowns I’d seen over the years, finding mine was surprisingly easy. The moment I saw the Luna dress by Danielle Frankel in press images from Bridal Fashion Week, I knew. Crafted from hand-crinkled silk wool and cut with a sculpted strapless neckline, the gown hugged my curves in all the right places. It also struck the perfect balance: elegant enough for a black-tie wedding in Connecticut, yet effortlessly unfussy. I tried it on at the Danielle Frankel atelier in New York not long after getting engaged, and that was it.
As for bridal jewelry, I had a few non-negotiables. It had to feel like me, it couldn’t be too matchy-matchy, and it absolutely had to feature natural diamonds—I’m a loyalist, after all. For my ceremony, I worked with designer Mindi Mond to borrow the Deco Gala chandelier earrings, a pair I’d admired for years. The vintage-inspired design, with its cascading pearls and dozens of old mine cut diamonds, felt like the perfect blend of statement and subtlety. The pearls echoed the texture of my silk wool gown, while the vintage diamonds added just the right amount of sparkle: traditional, but far from expected.
Aside from my engagement ring and new wedding band—a natural diamond eternity band with east-west set baguettes to complement my Asscher-cut engagement ring by Ashley Zhang—I wore just two additional pieces of bridal jewelry for the ceremony. One was a diamond pinky ring I bought myself once I started making grown-woman money. The other was a diamond tennis bracelet I borrowed from Verstolo. I’d worked with Verstolo’s wonderful team for years in my previous role, and they treated me like a true VIP. Their Vice President of Public Relations, who also happens to be a dear friend, even hand-delivered the jewels to me on the morning of my wedding.
My Unexpected Reception Dress and Bridal Jewelry
Now, for all this talk of tradition, I did have one surprise planned: a second dress for the reception. To shift the tone, I changed into a custom white sequin column gown by Rodarte, complete with a halter neckline and an oversized sequin flower at the collarbone to play off our table florals. I also switched up my bridal jewelry with bold diamond chandelier earrings from Verstolo, a sparkly wink to the after-party spirit.
Honoring My Late Father Through Meaningful Jewelry
Of course, my wedding day wasn’t just about me. (I swear!) The most meaningful jewelry worn that day came from my late dad. While he wasn’t there to walk me down the aisle, we honored him in two very personal ways. In lieu of a father-daughter dance, my mom and I danced to their wedding song, Our Love Is Here to Stay, and both she and Max wore pieces from his jewelry collection.
My dad loved jewelry almost as much as I do. He wore diamond cufflinks nearly every day and had a particular talent for gifting beautiful pieces to my mom, my sister, and me. For the wedding, my mom wore a sapphire and diamond necklace with matching earrings that he gave her on their 30th anniversary to match her navy velvet gown. She also wore a stunning four-row diamond tennis bracelet, another gift from him. As a kid, I used to call it “the cat collar,” a nod to both my obsession with The Aristocats and my dad’s devotion to James Bond and Diamonds Are Forever.
As for Max, who doesn’t even like wearing a watch, it meant the world to me that he chose to wear a pair of my dad’s favorite cufflinks: Victorian-style yellow gold ovals with delicate diamond stars in the center. I have vivid memories of those cufflinks catching the light when I was little, always paired with one of my dad’s perfectly pressed Balenciaga shirts with French cuffs.
My dad passed away before I met Max, but I know they would’ve loved each other. Seeing Max wear his cufflinks on our wedding day felt like a quiet connection between them, an unspoken gesture that brought my dad’s presence into the room.
Connecting Generations Through Bridal Jewelry and Memory
And that’s really the magic that both natural diamonds and weddings have in common, isn’t it? Both are steeped in tradition. Both carry meaning that lasts generations, rich with memory, sentiment, and ritual.
Right now, my dad’s diamond cufflinks rest in my jewelry box, nestled beside the heirlooms he gave me over the years.
One day, I’ll slip on my mom’s four-row diamond tennis bracelet and remember that October night in Connecticut, under a sailcloth tent, when she took my hand and twirled me around to the sound of Ella and Louis, both of us laughing like mad.
At some point in the future, someone I love will keep these beautiful pieces safe, too.
More than trendy gowns or flashy bridal jewelry or Instagram photos, that’s what really matters: what we carry forward, and what we pass down.
