My First Encounter With White Rhinestones

I had never seen white rhinestones before I spotted this extravagant collar necklace. The rhinestones were a cloudy, white color and didn’t have the usual opaque, diamond-like sparkle. I was well into my collection of Les Néréides, but this piece was like nothing I owned or had seen before. It went beyond costume jewelry – the necklace was clearly meant for a special occasion.

I don’t often dress up, even if as a teen I was perfectly willing to pair rhinestones with jeans or a casual dress. And I am definitely not an admirer of diamonds, but I love to make a statement with my jewelry.

Experts say you should choose your wedding jewelry after the dress.
Here is why I didn’t …

The moment I saw this piece in London in 2012, I knew I had just found my wedding jewelry. No dress. No veil. And no wedding plans. But like my Georg Jensen collar ring (hmmm … I am seeing a trend here), I knew this necklace was somehow going to make its way into my wardrobe.

“Why Don’t We Just Get Married in Vegas?”

My now husband, Gustav, and I had eloped to Vegas almost exactly a year after our first date in 2005. We had kicked the idea around before leaving, but it wasn’t before getting on the plane that we actually took ourselves seriously. We made the decision as we sipped our G&Ts on our flight from Copenhagen to Vegas, it just made sense to tie the knot upon arrival.

And while we were dead-set on keeping the secret from our friends for the first many years, we did agree to tell our parents. But only after the fact! I have said my vows in front of all of my friends and family, and I have said them in front of Gustav alone with only one witness and a judge.

Fast forward 10 Years … No, Make That Nine Years!

Gustav and I had decided early on that if we made it to 10 years of marriage, we knew this would be the moment to celebrate with an over-the-top wedding. That decision was a guiding light that had gotten us through the early challenges of marriage. We knew we were the best version of ourselves together.

Our relationship had lasted through two mortgages, two demanding careers, two kids, two pets (a dog and cat) and the loss of a much-loved parent. We were ready for anything else life was going to throw at us. And we knew it was time to start planning this long-awaited celebration (i.e., the wedding).

When we realized our 10-year anniversary was going to be on a Sunday, we quickly changed our minds and decided nine years of marriage was enough. Our wedding would be a celebration of 10 years together, nine years of marriage and a future that all of a sudden had become unknown.

In early 2015, we got the news that Gustav had been offered a job in Brasilia, Brazil. Our save-the-dates had been sent out, and now we were faced with the fact that we would be moving three days after the wedding. Rather than panic, we embraced our new reality; our wedding was going to be a going-away party, too. And it was going to be an even more emotional celebration.

So not only did we have to plan the wedding, but now we had an international move, a new job for Gustav, Portuguese language classes and the sale of my company to add to our list of things to do before leaving. But true to form, we agreed to just do it all at once.

Preparing for a Wedding

I had the dress, I had the shoes, and amid all the commotion, I realized that I had chosen my wedding jewelry. There really was no choice; I knew it was going to be Les Néréides. I had been collecting their jewelry for many years. Like so many of their pieces, this necklace, with its matching earrings and bracelet, with white rhinestones, was a perfect combination of elegant, quirky and costume. 

But was that coveted Les Néréides necklace that I had seen three years earlier still available? And was it even going to work with my dress?

Even three years after seeing that white rhinestone collar necklace, I knew it was the missing piece. Without knowing it, I had chosen a dress to match the jewelry. Although I had picked out the jewelry years earlier, I had not yet purchased it. Les Néréides collections have a time limit, and I might have missed my chance. Luckily, I didn’t.

My favorite part about the white rhinestones was that they were like diamonds, but not. It felt like a nod to tradition without being traditional. The only diamonds I would wear was a family heirloom ring that my late father had passed on to me, and the ring my husband was about to give me.

In the end, it all came together. The jewelry and the dress. The wedding and the celebration. The move and the new life. And, most importantly, the marriage.