The Best Ways to Choose Your Wedding Colour Palette!
A cohesive wedding colour palette is crucial to set the right tone for your wedding. While it’s easy to identify your favourite colour, there are many other factors to consider, such as season, location and ambience. But before you dive into a rabbit-hole of overwhelm, let me divert you down an easier route with some helpful tips to get you started.
By the end, you’ll be ready to pull together your perfect colour scheme. One that’s alluring, memorable and personal to you.
What is a Wedding Colour Palette?
A wedding colour palette is a group of colours that will feature throughout every visual aspect of your wedding. It would run right from your stationery, your bridal party’s attire, table-settings and of course the floral arrangements.
All of the colours chosen in this collection will reflect your personalities both individually and as a couple, will therefore cast you in a very flattering light. Furthermore, the overall look of your wedding will be cohesive and sophisticated.
A good wedding colour palette consists of three to six colours, although I prefer to stick to odd numbers, which strikes a comfortable balance.
You will need a dominant colour, up to four secondary colours and an accent. The accent could be a complimentary colour, a metallic tone, or just a clashing one. The latter is my favourite, as I love the unexpected, plus it adds even more “zhuzh”.
Consider How to Use a Color Wheel or How to Choose Colors (all links below) , if you want to get into the science of it.
This is the opulent colour palette I proposed for my Dark Wedding styled shoot:
Look at more photos from this shoot on my gallery.
Why do you need a wedding colour palette?
Having a wedding colour scheme sets the identity of your wedding. You might see it as your wedding “brand”, thus personalising and setting it apart from other weddings.
When all the elements of your day are in perfect colour harmony, the effect is sophisticated and luxurious. Moreover, the colour palette will generate a mood that will reflect you as a couple. In this way, your guests will step into your world.
Moreover, this magic isn’t limited just to the actual event, hell no! The anticipation starts to build months ahead of your celebration! As soon as a “save the date” card in your chosen colours lands on your guests’ doorsteps, they are teased with a flirty sneak peek of what’s to come!
In this way, your wedding colour scheme not only creates the mood, but also generates excitement. It states. “this event is going to be monumental. You don’t want to miss this.”
How to choose your wedding colour palette:
Initial things to consider:
-
- What time of the year are you are getting married? – Each season exudes it’s own ambience, in terms of weather, light and natural foliage. I recommend you work with this, rather than against it. A misty Autumn evening would suit a gothic wedding perfectly and suggests a wonderful array of colours, while that golden sunshine of a late Summer afternoon begs you to use warm blush tones and apricots in your palette.
-
- The backdrop created by your chosen venue – does it have boldly coloured carpets or furnishings? Which floral colours will prevail in the surrounding gardens at the time of your wedding? Ashridge House, for example has strong architectural features, which may suggest tones that are evocative of a certain era? You could lean towards either classic serenity or dramatic bold tones. Also, look at what how lighting will affect the scene, be it candlelight, or a chandelier or dimmable spotlights.
-
- Which flowers will be in season at the time of your wedding? Be advised that flowers have shot up in price over the past year, so you might want to avoid blooms that are harder to procure. Your florist will be able to show you examples of past commissions at your venue, which will be helpful. I will come back to florists again a bit later…
The Wedding Colour Scheme Starts With You
This is your wedding, and as such, this colour theme should be a reflection of you as a couple. To keep things simple, you need to firstly identify your main colour.
Let’s start with the obvious question; which colours do you and your partner feel the most comfortable wearing? If it’s black, then consider which other colours feature frequently in your home interior or among your accessories.
Remember – Colours generate emotions.
Your home furnishing choices should give you a good idea of what ambience you find most preferable. Is it lively and bold, or understated and calm?
And you yourselves – do you wish to express your strong visual identities, in glorious technicolour? Perhaps you are a bride who has her heart set on a royal blue wedding gown? This immediately presents us with the hero colour in your scheme. All the other colours in your collection must be chosen and balanced to give your royal blue wedding dress centre stage.
Great! You’ve made a start!
Get in touch if you would like a bespoke wedding gown like Christina’s!
Wedding colour palette to Generate a Mood
Think of adjectives to describe your ideal wedding theme, such as “moody”, “romantic”, or “quirky”. What mood does your theme conjure up? Here are some suggestions:
Dramatic – While black is an obvious choice, consider replacing it with a very deep plum or midnight blue tone. The drama comes from the “shock ” juxtaposition of a sharp accent colour. I love a bright fuchsia or a burnt orange, with a clashing wine. I used this approach, when designing Christina’s darkest blue silk wedding dress for her Hallowe’en wedding (pictured above).
Chilled – A muted sage summer meadow, cool aqua blues or warm golds through to apricot and blush are all great starting points for fuss-free ambient events.
Glamorous – Uncomplicated neutral tones with just the right amount of sparkle, respectfully set the stage for the happy couple to exude style and class….ready for their close-ups!
Regal – try jewel tones, with gold highlights and bright gem-stone accents. Combining them with a variety of textures, such as velvet, satin, damask and metallics gives more visual depth. My Dark Wedding inspirational shoot is
Vibrant – conjures up a bold rainbow of colours, which are playful and unapologetic. Guaranteed to get smiles and laughter all day!
These are mere suggestions, There is a mood available for every colour in the rainbow, it’s just about finding the right shade.
For ready-made colour palettes, try Sunset Download Co on Etsy – link below.
Variations of texture and finish enrich the colour palette even more!
Throw it to Your Wedding Suppliers!
The Wedding Dress designer (me!)
Many wedding creatives curate a mood board for each client, which clearly displays the colour goals for each project. I like to compare mine with those of the other suppliers, thus ensuring continuity of theme and colour in a wedding. My brides find this especially helpful if they have not engaged the services of a planner.
Want to know how else I can make your wedding planning journey easier and more memorable? Head over to my about page.
The Wedding Planner
Wedding planners are highly trained and experienced experts in pulling together the perfect look for weddings. Here are some top tips from the gloriously techni-coloured Jodie from Ella Bella Events:
“When I first sit down with the couples and discuss their colour palette for the day, we chat about their favourite colours and what they are both envisaging on the day and start from there. A great platform for couples who like to see visuals is Pinterest, which can give you a huge variety of colours and be able to see them together. Then if they find any images they both like, we go to imagecolorpicker.com (links below) to pull the exact colours from the images. I can then create a colour board for them. Top tip: Try not to overthink it and once picked try not to get overwhelmed with other influences, it is your day, so do it your way!”
The Florist
These wedding creatives are geniuses with colour!
As mentioned earlier, your florist will guide you towards the most abundant blooms for your wedding. There is sure to be a hue that appeals to you among them. They will talk to you about what mood you want to create and show you their portfolio of work. From there, they instinctively assemble the perfect combination of colours, to exude the perfect look.
Alternatively, artificial or dried floral arrangements could give you more colour variety if you’re after something unusual!
So now you’re well-informed about how to choose a wedding colour palette, you know which suppliers to tap for help and where to find inspiration.
Don’t overthink or become overwhelmed – just be yourself. Choose what you love.
Go forth now with confidence and create a memorable and most importantly, personal wedding colour scheme for your big day!
Interested in working with me? Enquire here!
Sunset Downloads Co.
Credits
Handmade wedding dresses for all boards: Caroline Versallion
Monet board
Sophie O’ Keeffe Floral Design
Stationery by Ellie and Liv
Place-card holder by Hatchfully Yours
Jewel Toned Gothic Board
Acorn & Oak Inclusive wedding planner and stylist
Sophisticated Hallowe’en Wedding Board
The Best Ways to Choose Your Wedding Colour Palette!
A cohesive wedding colour palette is crucial to set the right tone for your wedding.
While it’s easy to identify your favourite colour, there are many other factors to consider, such as season, location and ambience. But before you dive into a rabbit-hole of overwhelm, let me divert you down an easier route with some helpful tips to get you started.
By the end, you’ll be ready to pull together your perfect colour scheme. One that’s alluring, memorable and personal to you.
What is a Wedding Colour Palette?
A wedding colour palette is a group of colours that will feature throughout every visual aspect of your wedding. It would run right from your stationery, your bridal party’s attire, table-settings and of course the floral arrangements.
All of the colours chosen in this collection will reflect your personalities both individually and as a couple, will therefore cast you in a very flattering light. Furthermore, the overall look of your wedding will be cohesive and sophisticated.
A good wedding colour palette consists of three to six colours, although I prefer to stick to odd numbers, which strikes a comfortable balance.
You will need a dominant colour, up to four secondary colours and an accent. The accent could be a complimentary colour, a metallic tone, or just a clashing one. The latter is my favourite, as I love the unexpected, plus it adds even more “zhuzh”.
Consider How to Use a Color Wheel or How to Choose Colors (all links below) , if you want to get into the science of it.
This is the opulent colour palette I proposed for my Dark Wedding styled shoot:
Look at more photos from this shoot on my gallery.
Why do you need a wedding colour palette?
Having a wedding colour scheme sets the identity of your wedding. You might see it as your wedding “brand”, thus personalising and setting it apart from other weddings.
When all the elements of your day are in perfect colour harmony, the effect is sophisticated and luxurious. Moreover, the colour palette will generate a mood that will reflect you as a couple. In this way, your guests will step into your world.
Moreover, this magic isn’t limited just to the actual event, hell no! The anticipation starts to build months ahead of your celebration! As soon as a “save the date” card in your chosen colours lands on your guests’ doorsteps, they are teased with a flirty sneak peek of what’s to come!
In this way, your wedding colour scheme not only creates the mood, but also generates excitement. It states. “this event is going to be monumental. You don’t want to miss this.”
How to Choose Your Wedding Colour Palette:
Initial things to consider:
- What time of the year are you are getting married? – Each season exudes it’s own ambience, in terms of weather, light and natural foliage. I recommend you work with this, rather than against it. A misty Autumn evening would suit a gothic wedding perfectly and suggests a wonderful array of colours, while that golden sunshine of a late Summer afternoon begs you to use warm blush tones and apricots in your palette.
- The backdrop created by your chosen venue – does it have boldly coloured carpets or furnishings? Which floral colours will prevail in the surrounding gardens at the time of your wedding? Ashridge House, for example has strong architectural features, which may suggest tones that are evocative of a certain era? You could lean towards either classic serenity or dramatic bold tones. Also, look at what how lighting will affect the scene, be it candlelight, or a chandelier or dimmable spotlights.
- Which flowers will be in season at the time of your wedding? Be advised that flowers have shot up in price over the past year, so you might want to avoid blooms that are harder to procure. Your florist will be able to show you examples of past commissions at your venue, which will be helpful. I will come back to florists again a bit later…
The Wedding Colour Scheme Starts With You
This is your wedding, and as such, this colour theme should be a reflection of you as a couple. To keep things simple, you need to firstly identify your main colour.
Let’s start with the obvious question; which colours do you and your partner feel the most comfortable wearing? If it’s black, then consider which other colours feature frequently in your home interior or among your accessories.
Remember – Colours generate emotions.
Your home furnishing choices should give you a good idea of what ambience you find most preferable. Is it lively and bold, or understated and calm?
And you yourselves – do you wish to express your strong visual identities, in glorious technicolour? Perhaps you are a bride who has her heart set on a royal blue wedding gown? This immediately presents us with the hero colour in your scheme. All the other colours in your collection must be chosen and balanced to give your royal blue wedding dress centre stage.
Great! You’ve made a start!
Get in touch if you would like a bespoke wedding gown like Christina’s!
Wedding colour palette to Generate a Mood
Think of adjectives to describe your ideal wedding theme, such as “moody”, “romantic”, or “quirky”. What mood does your theme conjure up? Here are some suggestions:
Dramatic – While black is an obvious choice, consider replacing it with a very deep plum or midnight blue tone. The drama comes from the “shock ” juxtaposition of a sharp accent colour. I love a bright fuchsia or a burnt orange, with a clashing wine. I used this approach, when designing Christina’s darkest blue silk wedding dress for her Hallowe’en wedding (pictured above).
Chilled – A muted sage summer meadow, cool aqua blues or warm golds through to apricot and blush are all great starting points for fuss-free ambient events.
Glamorous – Uncomplicated neutral tones with just the right amount of sparkle, respectfully set the stage for the happy couple to exude style and class….ready for their close-ups!
Regal – try jewel tones, with gold highlights and bright gem-stone accents. Combining them with a variety of textures, such as velvet, satin, damask and metallics gives more visual depth. My Dark Wedding inspirational shoot is
Vibrant – conjures up a bold rainbow of colours, which are playful and unapologetic. Guaranteed to get smiles and laughter all day!
These are mere suggestions, There is a mood available for every colour in the rainbow, it’s just about finding the right shade.
For ready-made colour palettes, try Sunset Download Co on Etsy – link below.
Variations of texture and finish enrich the colour palette even more!
Throw it to Your Wedding Suppliers!
The Wedding Dress designer (me!)
Many wedding creatives curate a mood board for each client, which clearly displays the colour goals for each project. I like to compare mine with those of the other suppliers, thus ensuring continuity of theme and colour in a wedding. My brides find this especially helpful if they have not engaged the services of a planner.
Want to know how else I can make your wedding planning journey easier and more memorable? Head over to my about page.
The Wedding Planner
Wedding planners are highly trained and experienced experts in pulling together the perfect look for weddings. Here are some top tips from the gloriously techni-coloured Jodie from Ella Bella Events:
“When I first sit down with the couples and discuss their colour palette for the day, we chat about their favourite colours and what they are both envisaging on the day and start from there. A great platform for couples who like to see visuals is Pinterest, which can give you a huge variety of colours and be able to see them together. Then if they find any images they both like, we go to imagecolorpicker.com (links below) to pull the exact colours from the images. I can then create a colour board for them. Top tip: Try not to overthink it and once picked try not to get overwhelmed with other influences, it is your day, so do it your way!”
The Florist
These wedding creatives are geniuses with colour!
As mentioned earlier, your florist will guide you towards the most abundant blooms for your wedding. There is sure to be a hue that appeals to you among them. They will talk to you about what mood you want to create and show you their portfolio of work. From there, they instinctively assemble the perfect combination of colours, to exude the perfect look.
Alternatively, artificial or dried floral arrangements could give you more colour variety if you’re after something unusual!
So now you’re well-informed about how to choose a wedding colour palette, you know which suppliers to tap for help and where to find inspiration.
Don’t overthink or become overwhelmed – just be yourself. Choose what you love.
Go forth now with confidence and create a memorable and most importantly, personal wedding colour scheme for your big day!
Interested in working with me? Enquire here!
Courtesy of Sunset Download Co
Credits
Handmade wedding dresses for all boards: Caroline Versallion
Monet board
Sophie O’ Keeffe Floral Design
Stationery by Ellie and Liv
Place-card holder by Hatchfully Yours
Jewel Toned Gothic Board
Acorn & Oak Inclusive wedding planner and stylist
Sophisticated Hallowe’en Wedding Board