The excitement of your engagement is still in the air, but it is already time to start planning your wedding. Choosing a color palette is one of the early decisions you and your partner will make. Thankfully, we have shed the narrow conventions that informed the wedding color decisions of the past. Today’s rules are made to break! That said, not all shades complement each other and not all palettes work in the season you want to get married. With a few basic design rules in mind, you can select a palette that enhances the beauty of your special day.
Research current looks
A wedding planner can highlight the colors and themes that are trending, and this can inform your palette selections. Some venues, like The Art Factory in Paterson, NJ, include wedding planning services in the price of their package. The Art Factory has also compiled a look book that catalogs their furnishings and décor, and also includes current wedding color schemes and styles. No planner? No problem! You don’t need a wedding planner to establish a color motif that is elegant and impactful. There are a million free on-line resources, from blogs like Veiled Threat, to wedding-specific websites like WeddingWire. Then there is the most powerful tool of all — your imagination.
Search for inspiration
Nature is a wonderful place to find color inspiration:
- fruits: apple, orange, plum
- flowers: sunflower, peony, sweet pea
- birds: peacock, flamingo, cardinal
- seashore: coral, sea glass, sea shells
- seasonal: fall leaves, winter snow, spring grass, summer strawberries,
Consider your desired wedding date, and the corresponding season. The beautiful hues of rust and gold can evoke a sense of warmth for your October ceremony, while warm greens, soft blues, and lavender complement a Spring affair.
The setting of your nuptials can also lead you to your color destination. A ceremony in Maine might scream for blueberry accents or lobster red color pops. If you’re getting married on the beach and your theme is coastal, choose hues like sea glass blue, or coral paired with a neutral shade like linen, or a deep, nautical blue.
Identify your style
Whether you are conscious of it or not, your attitude and sense of style influence your attraction to specific colors. Test yourself, and see what speaks to your personal tastes.
- Glamorous and opulent — an elegant affair with sparkle: silver, gold, black, jewel tones
- Bold and confident — a wedding statement that pops: red, yellow, royal blue
- Simple and soft — a rustic occasion with natural beauty: sage, taupe, and misty blue.
- Clean and modern — an event with industrial or geometric influence and minimal decoration: mustard yellow, teal, peach, copper, charcoal
- Eco-conscious — an outdoor event with a small footprint and earthy aspects: olive, mint, gray-green, brown, canvas
Select your colors
You may have already had a main color in mind before you even started this journey, but once you and your partner have had an opportunity to reflect on some of these things, chances are you added options, or changed color course completely.
Decide on one or two primary hues and then choose a secondary. Metallic colors, like silver, gold, or copper make excellent secondary color choices, as do neutral tones. The idea is to achieve a balance, and avoid color clashes with hues that are too bold. Also, note the colors of your wedding venue. If your space has a color drape that can’t be removed, it will inadvertently become part of your palette. You should work to match it rather than clash with it. Also, make sure you communicate your color wishes to your florist, so there are no flowers in your arrangements that clash with your palette.
Other tips from design pros:
- Choose classic hues to support a trendy primary color, to ensure that your photos look timeless.
- Balance your palette by choosing light shades to soften bright primary colors.
- Select three or four colors with one or two dominant hues. This will prevent a monochromatic look.
- Keep it simple. Too many colors can be a distraction and detract from the posh ambiance of the occasion.
Don’t forget you are the most important piece of this puzzle. Your wedding hues should compliment your skin tone. Dark or olive skin tones shine in white accented by coral and blush-pink or light yellow. Medium skin tones with pink and golden undertones look amazing in champagne with accents of taupe, green and gold. Finally, the lightest skin tones look best in ivory (to prevent wash out), accented with a metallic pastel or one vibrant color for some pop.
Add color to your event
Once you establish your wedding colors, identify areas to use them. Suggestions for color opportunities include:
- Wedding party accessories: ties, sashes, shoes, pocket squares, jewelry, hair accents.
- Flower arrangements, corsages, and bouquet
- Stationery: invitations, place cards, menus, programs
- Tablescapes and Linens: napkins, centerpieces, votives
- Cake
- Cocktails and drinkware: fruit garnishes, straws, glasses, even the drink!
- Guest book
- Accent furniture
Most of all, choose colors you like. Steer clear of trends if they don’t bring you joy. You can’t go wrong with updated classic colors. You want to cherish the pictures from your wedding, and a beautiful color palette will make them magical for years to come.
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