You would think that picking a wedding color palette would be easy. You simply pick your favorite colors, and then you’re set—right? Sadly, it isn’t always that straightforward. With so many different color combinations (and so many opportunities for colors to clash!), it can be difficult for couples to decide on one cohesive look. If you are having a hard time picking out your wedding color scheme, try out some of these tips to lead you to your perfect palette.
The Basics of Building out Your Palette
When it comes to creating a wedding color scheme, you need to keep two components in mind. The first will be your base color. This color will be the strongest, most predominantly featured hue throughout your wedding decor and details. Once you have your base color, you can start filling out your palette with complementary, accent colors. You’ll generally pick two to three of these colors. As you can guess, these colors complement your base color and help you create a well-rounded color palette.
Start with Your Initial Ideas
Before being influenced by any other people or ideas, turn to yourself. Have you been toying with the idea of a certain color, but you’re not totally sure how to execute it? Get fabric or paint swatches of multiple hues of different colors you are thinking of. This will help get the ball rolling on choosing a base color and some potential accents, and you’ll better be able to see how certain colors and hues tie together.
Research Tried-and-True Color Schemes
Look into resources around you to find color palettes other couples have successfully used for their weddings. Magazines, Pinterest, wedding websites, and the photos from weddings you’ve attended can all be great sources for inspiration. You’ll likely find some unexpected color combos that will spark your interest.
Turn to Your Venue for Inspiration
If you’ve already picked out your venue, you can make note of any colors that already exist in the space, and see how you can play on them. Throwing an outdoor celebration in a venue surrounded by beautiful forest greenery? Use dark green as your base color, and then find accents that will complement that aesthetic, like berries, silvers, or creams. Hosting a bash in a sleek city loft? Cater to the urban vibe with reds, charcoals, or golds.
List Out Your Favorite Flowers
If you’ve always dreamed of walking down the aisle with a beautiful bouquet of your favorite flowers, you’ll probably want a color palette that meshes well with them! Make a list of some of your favorite flowers that you can envision using as part of your wedding decor, and use them to influence your color scheme. You can use one or two of those colors as the base, and then branch out from there. Or, you can use these colors as an accent—just make sure you pick a base color that complements them!
Take Note of the Season
One of the easiest ways to pick out a wedding color scheme is to draw inspiration from the season. Summer weddings look great with brighter colors, like yellows, fuchsias, oranges, and teals. Spring celebrations look lovely with lighter pastels, peaches, and lavenders. Fall weddings create the perfect opportunity for couples to play with jewel tones and palettes inspired by fall leaves, while winter weddings look great with silvers, golds, reds, and greens.
Go with an Ombre Effect
If you’ve chosen a base color but can’t decide on accent colors to fill out the palette, go for a modern gradient effect. This allows you to pick out different hues of your base color, and play with those different levels throughout your space. For example, if you’ve chosen a dark magenta as your base color, you can fill out the palette with a medium pink, a baby pink, and a cream.
Turn to What You Already Own
Still feeling stumped on color choices? Take a look at what is already in your own home. Chances are you love the accent colors in your living room, or the tones that show up repeatedly in your closet. Put an analytical eye to the items you own in your home, and see if any color ideas pop out at you.
If you are in the process of planning your wedding, come to the next Georgia Bridal Show near you. You will have the chance to meet with wedding professionals from Georgia and the Southeast who can help bring your vision to life!
Georgia wedding vendors, as well as other wedding professionals across the Southeast, can contact us about opportunities for exhibition and online marketing with Georgia Bridal Show.