Winter is the season where everything in our lives requires extra protection and care. From our hair, skin, and body, to our home and car, everything we own must be well taken care of throughout the season. Including your wedding jewelry.

Most brides-to-be, unfortunately, do not realize that they need to protect their jewelry during the winter season, which is a decision the majority of them end up regretting. As with every other thing you own, your jewelry collection needs the best care during the winter, both, while you wear it on your wedding day or any other occasion as well as while it is in storage.

In this article, we are highlighting five jewelry care ideas that will help you protect your precious pieces during the coldest season of all.

Tip #1: Clean Your Pieces 

First and foremost, if you are a winter bride, you need to be a lot more careful with your bridal jewelry than usual. As mentioned, the freezing temperatures and the cold wind can definitely damage the jewelry forever, so make sure to keep it clean to be able to wear it after your wedding day is over. Grime and dirt can easily build up during this season of celebrations, causing your wedding jewelry and generally earrings, brooches, bracelets, and rings to lose their original shine. 

Our biggest recommendation is to have your jewelry cleaned professionally after the celebrations are over, followed by routine cleaning every six months. In case you want a quick fix, gently clean your jewelry with a toothbrush and toothpaste made of warm water and baking soda. Repeat the process as often as necessary to keep your bridal jewelry and overall collection shining. 

Tip #2: Stay True to Your Size

During colder temperatures, some parts of our bodies, such as our fingers usually constrict, resulting in rings becoming looser. This, however, does not mean that you should buy a ring in a smaller size for your winter wedding. If you wish that same ring to fit when the weather is warm, then you will need to think twice before purchasing. At the end of the day, the decision depends solely on you. 

An amazing way to get rid of the problem known as "yo-yo sizing" is to buy a ring guard that you will use during winter. Alternatively, double the ring with another ring that fits you tighter to prevent the looser one from slipping, losing, or becoming damaged.

On this topic, we advise you to stay true to your size no matter the season because especially when it comes to your bridal jewelry, you will want to wear those pieces for a long time, so you might as well take good care of them.

Tip #3: When Freshening Up, Remove the Jewelry

This piece of advice applies for the whole winter season, but especially for your big day. 

Reasonably, during your wedding, you will want to feel fresh and clean the whole time, considering you and your husband will be the center of attention. This means that you will probably apply perfume quite a few times during the celebration and use a lot more lotion than needed so that your skin can be soft and shiny. Do not get us wrong - nothing about moisturizing and perfuming is bad, as long as you make sure to take your jewelry off first.

Additionally, try remembering to always remove your jewelry whenever you are applying any type of product on your body and face. We advise you to even take off your rings every time you wash your hands. Developing such a habit will allow your jewelry to shine and last longer. 

Tip #4: Layer Cautiously

Since winter is the season for sweaters, we expect and believe that all of your daily combinations involve them. Why wouldn’t they? Sweaters and knitwear, in general, are so warm, cozy and beautiful so there is no wonder why they are people’s favorite wintry clothing items. You may even decide to wear one as a cover-up for your wedding, depending on the wedding theme you are aiming for. 

Needless to say, with all the extra scarves, waffle knits, and sweatshirts, you run the risk of your favorite clothing snagging on gemstones, clasps, and textured metals which endangers the look and quality of both, your jewelry and clothes. Due to this, we recommend being cautious when dressing and undressing because believe it or not, it is extremely easy and possible to damage your favorite sweater or gemstone jewelry when colliding them.

This same rule is quite essential for your wedding day as well. Even if you do not decide to cover yourself up with some type of scarf or knitwear for your winter wedding, some of your guests will, which means that your bridal jewelry is likely to get in contact with such fabrics. Be very careful when you greet family and friends who do opt for more casual wintry materials as you do not want to end up losing some precious stones from your ring or wedding necklace and earring sets.  

Tip #5: Store the Jewelry When Traveling

One thing to remember when traveling during winter months is to pack your jewelry in a padded storage box where it can remain safe and dry. In this sense, we advise you not to travel with your most precious pieces of jewelry on you. What you should do instead is to store them properly so that the weather cannot damage them. 

The same goes for the brides who are traveling to their wedding venue during the winter season. Before leaving your home, make sure to store your wedding jewelry in a specific box. Do not put your jewelry on yourself until you arrive at the destination. In case you absolutely have to be accessorized while outside, for example for your wedding photo shoot, then make sure the process is as quick as possible. 

After the wedding is over, it is also a smart thing to take off your jewelry and put it in the same box before leaving the venue. This method will successfully prevent damaging the jewelry and bridal hair accessories that you love so much.