Color casts a spell…
…and sets the tone for your entire wedding day! The use of color in a wedding can and will convey meanings to you and your guests as none of us are immune to its power. Color will affect the atmosphere of a room and the mood of a moment.
Do you want your wedding to be tranquil and calming? Have you always dreamed of an elegant black-tie affair? Perhaps you’ve always wanted a wedding that is refreshing, happy, and bright? All the details from the wedding invitations to the dresses, neckties, vests, shoes and ribbons, and the wedding reception decorations, table linens, wedding flowers, and candles are vehicles for color. The colors chosen for these items should work flawlessly together to leave a lasting impression of your special wedding day.
So, where do you start? Proper color choice should solidify YOU, the bride, as the center of attention. All elements around you should work with you and not against you. If you select a dominate color that looks great on you and build from there you will be assured that your wedding will make you glow!
Choose colors you love but consider:
♥ What colors work best with YOU? Think: Your hair color, Your skin tone, and Your eye color.
♥ What colors work best with the hair colors and skin tones of your bridesmaids?
♥ What mood or emotions are you trying to create or evoke? Vibrant colors will add drama while softer colors will create a more romantic feeling.
♥ What time of year are you getting married: spring, summer, fall, winter? Christmas colors in the spring would feel harsh and summer colors at Christmas time would look weak. Don’t fight Mother Nature! Celebrate her colors of the moment! Remember, spring and summer colors tend to be lighter and brighter, while muted colors work best for fall and jewel tones are the choice for winter. However: considering changing the shade, tone, or brightness of a color if needed. For example, if your favorite color is red, and your wedding is in the spring, a softer shade of red would still be an excellent choice. Or use bright red as an accent color against other spring colors such as bright yellow and green.
♥ What flower types and/or flower colors are available for that particular time of year? Roses are available year long, but long stemmed red roses at Valentine’s Day would be expensive and hard to come by.
♥ You will want to choose colors that complement the carpeting, draperies, walls, etc. of the wedding reception venue. If the venue has Dark Blue Carpets and Hunter Green Drapes for example then soft pinks and light yellows would most definitely clash! Also, be sure to ask if the venue is planning to do any redecorating before your reception will take place so you know your colors will still look good on your special day. It would be a disappointment to pick colors that match the current walls, floors, and drapes of the venue, only to find out at the last moment that the venue’s colors have changed and now clash with your carefully planned color choices. If your wedding reception is going to be outside consider what colors are already present.
For example, at the beach you’ll want colors that match the sea and the sand or coral; in a garden setting, consider the colors of the flowers that will be present at that time of the year. If your reception will be held in a cultural hall, most walls and floors are a neutral tone, so your color choices are endless.
You may already have a favorite color in mind. If not, think about a favorite piece of art, or a favorite room in your home. Perhaps your fiancé has a favorite color. Because most colors convey meanings, you may want to consider what your color choices mean. And once you have your primary color chosen you’ll want to consider your secondary color(s). Think of all elements of your wedding when deciding on the accent color and you get a broader picture of what the end result could look like.
Combing dark and pale shades will produce a rich feel or you can pair any color with white for an ethereal effect. You might also consider using shades of a single color and vary the hue in intensity for example from soft butter yellow to bright yellow. Using many shades of the same color in all the accoutrements will help you avoid a monotonous look.Would you like your wedding to have a feeling of elegance? You would want to choose colors that are assortments of the same tone. This color scheme is called Monochromatic. Dark purple, bright purple, and lilac would be an example of this.To create a gentle effect you may want to choose Analogous colors. Analogous colors are those that lie adjacent to each other on the color wheel such and green and blue, or try yellow, peach, and orange, or lavender with lilac.
To produce a vibrant, energizing combination, choose colors that lie opposite one another on the wheel! Colors found at the opposite sides of a color wheel are called contrasting or complementary colors. For example, yellow is on the exact opposite side of a color wheel from purple. Contrasting colors seem to “pop” and create fun, lively combinations!
You may also want to choose 2 colors from one of the opposing colors. For example, if yellow is your main color, you may choose light lavender and dark purple as your 2 complimentary shades. Beautiful! For a fun, fresh, and happy combination, try colors that are equidistant on the color wheel. If a line were drawn from 3 “points” of each color, the lines would create a triangle. This is an example of Triad colors. If you use yellow and purple in this case, then fuchsia would become your third color. Remember to use only 1 color as your main color and the other 2 as accent colors only. Tetrad is the use of four colors spaced equal distance on a color wheel. An example would be purple, yellow, red, and green. If yellow is your main color you may have tablecloths of yellow, with centerpieces of red and purple flowers, mixed with greenery. Stunning!
Using a color wheel to choose wedding colors
When certain colors are placed together in a room they collectively create an undeniable look and feel. Some brides have a natural talent at intuitively pairing colors that look amazing together, while others have a hard time picking out the right combination. One of the best ways to choose color is to use a color wheel. For those brides who are less artsy and more logical, seeing the relationship between every color of the rainbow on a color wheel can be extremely helpful. With a color wheel you can see how some of your favorite colors will work together.
A color wheel comes in handy for choosing that all-important duo or trio of colors that will be echoed in every aspect of your wedding day, from the wedding invitations to the wedding bouquets to the wedding reception table centerpieces. It can also explain why certain colors look good together, and why others clash. To experiment with an actual color wheel, click on the different color combinations links below and then click on the matching term on the wheel when it loads up. You can move the “dot(s)” to your favorite color(s) to see how the colors change.- Have fun!)
Analogic Colors
“Analogous (Analogic) Colors” lie next to each other on a color wheel. Using analogous wedding colors creates a serene feeling of peace and harmony. Generally, brides who use analogous colors pick three colors, one of which becomes the main color and the others the backdrop. Examples of analogous wedding color schemes are:
♥ Red, rusty orange, and orange
♥ Mint green, powder blue, and olive green
♥ Burgundy, magenta, and fuchsia
Try choosing your favorite color, and then look at the color wheel to see what colors lie on either side of it.
Complementary Colors
Any two colors that lie directly opposite one another on a color wheel are called “complementary colors”. The nice thing about using complementary colors is that it results in a clean-looking color scheme, and you can pair any two shades of complementary colors. Some popular complementary colors are:
♥ Red and green
♥ Orange and teal
♥ Lavender and yellow
♥ Blue and pink
If you feel that you and your groom are as different as night and day yet perfectly complement each other, using complementary colors for your wedding could be a way to sneak in a piece of hidden symbolism.
Triad Colors
Any three colors that are equidistant from each other on the color wheel are known as Triad Colors.” The unity of the three colors equally representing the color wheel is extremely visually pleasing. Some triad wedding color schemes are:
♥ Grass green, coral, and lavender
♥ Pale yellow, powder blue, and rose red
Remember that when using the color wheel, there are literally hundreds of shades of a single color. Red, for example, can mean any hue from light pink to burgundy. Green could be any shade from mint to sage to a deep forest green.
Other Wedding Color Schemes
This basic tutorial doesn’t cover all the ways that brides can use the color wheel to aid them in wedding planning, but it does give them a starting point. Brides can also experiment with:
“Monochromatic (Mono) colors” Monochromatic Colored Weddings use different hues or shades of a single color. This can be extremely dramatic and visually striking when done correctly.
“Double complementary (Tetrad) colors” For a more complicated affair, choose two sets of complementary colors. These sets can be close together or far apart on the color wheel.
Accented Analogic Colors
Pick one color and pair it with two colors that are equidistant from its complement. Take the color yellow. Then look across to its complement, blue. Now choose two colors that lie on either side of it, such as teal and a steely gray-blue color.
Wedding colors are a big decision. These colors are the building blocks for the wedding invitations months before the ceremony, as well as the matching thank-you notes after the honeymoon is over. You’ll never choose a more important color scheme, so try using a color wheel to find the perfect wedding color combination. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised with the results.
Once you choose the colors you like, find a “hard” copy of each of your colors. An example of this would be a paint chip, the kind you find at paint, hardware, or do-it-yourself stores where paint is sold. Or get color swatches of fabric. A fabric store will cut a 1 inch swatch for you for free, which you can cut up into samples to staple to your collection. 
An index (3X5) card stapled with all sample colors is a good way to distribute your color collection to those who need them. It’s a good idea to take extra of each color, so you can give a copy of your color(s) to those wedding specialists (florists, decorators, cake designers, etc.) or your attendants, friends, and family who are helping you with your planning. Take these cards with your colors with you everywhere. This way your bridesmaid dresses, flowers, ribbons, candles, etc. will all be the same shade and tone of whatever colors you’ve chosen. There are many shades and tones of many colors available and to end up with the wrong ones can cause frustration.
Remember, your wedding will be the most colorful event of your life, so whether you choose monochrome or several colors, ensure your color theme reflects the identity of you and your fiancé. Use the tips above to choose your wedding colors with confidence.
If you want to find out which colors are best for you, Click here! Then follow the steps of 1) choosing your hair color, 2) choose warm or cool tone to find your “season”.
Happy Choosing!
♥ Rose Haller
Wedding Specialist
Exclusively for WeddingLDS.com
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so cool!!
Glad to help :0)