Once you’ve started wedding planning, you may be overwhelmed by the long list of tasks to check off your list. One fun decision to make is choosing your wedding colors! That being said, if you don’t already have a color palette in mind, you might not be sure how to choose wedding colors that best suit your venue, style, and theme.
Wedding colors come into play for your bridesmaids dresses, floral arrangements, and the decor across your wedding. You’ll want to choose colors that match your style and also look great on the big day!
Picking wedding colors should be fun, so don’t stress! We’ve come up with some tips to help you choose wedding colors to style your perfect wedding day.
What To Consider When Choosing Wedding Colors
When you’re thinking about wedding colors, consider the following factors to find the perfect color palette!
Season
The season of your wedding can play a major role in the colors you choose! It’s common to choose colors that mesh well with the season and the weather. Many couples even choose their wedding date and season around the colors that they love!
Spring and summer weddings tend to feature more pastels and brighter colors, while fall and winter weddings lean towards warmer, darker shades. While you can choose any colors you want regardless of your wedding date, it’s common to take season into account when choosing a color scheme.
If you live somewhere that experiences cold winters, it might be a bit out of place to decorate your wedding with bright, tropical colors. That being said, you could host a winter destination wedding in a warm location, in which case tropical colors would be appropriate.
Keep season in mind while choosing wedding colors! For seasonal color ideas, check out our ideas for each season at the links below:
Setting
It’s important to consider how your wedding colors will look against the setting of your wedding. If you’ve already chosen a venue, you should think about what colors will look good against the backdrop of your venue. You wouldn’t want to choose colors that clash against the colors or decor of your wedding venue.
Account for the interior colors of your venue; if the colors are neutral, you should have plenty of options available. If the walls of your venue are more distinct, like a bright blue, you’ll want to choose colors that will look good against that background. If your venue features lots of red brick, think about what would look good against brick walls.
Aside from just the colors featured at your venue, you should also consider the overall style of your venue. If you’re getting married in a garden setting, consider colors that mesh well with the natural backdrop. For beach weddings, consider beachy colors that look good against the sand and ocean.
Don’t clash with your setting! Make sure you think about what colors will blend well with your setting.
Theme or Style
Do you have a theme picked out for your wedding, or a general style you want to emulate? Make sure the colors you choose fit with your theme, style, and overall look.
For example, if you want a nautical themed wedding, common colors are navy blue, white, and other ocean colors. It might look out of place to decorate a nautical theme with pastels.
For a garden theme, natural colors like greens and pastels to match the flowers might be the best choice.
You can also consider the mood you want set by your colors. If you want a comfortable, homey feel, choose warm, familiar colors. If you want something dramatic, choose dramatic shades like red or black. For a lighthearted, romantic vibe, consider pastels.
If you have a theme or overall look in mind, choose colors that match. Or, choose your colors and then work your theme around those colors!
Other Details
Every couple has certain things they definitely want at their wedding. Consider your priorities before you choose your wedding colors, that way you know they will work well together.
For example, perhaps your favorite flowers are sunflowers, and you want to work them into your bouquets and floral arrangements. You wouldn’t want to choose colors that clash with yellow sunflowers. If your flower choices are important, figure out which colors will look good with those flowers and their shades.
If the groom is set on wearing a specific color suit, make sure you choose colors that will blend well with that color – you wouldn’t want your bridesmaids dresses clashing with the groom at the altar.
Before you commit to a color scheme, sit down with your fiancee and go through any priorities for the wedding to ensure that your colors work with other important details.
Your Favorite Colors
If you’ve considered the season, setting, and other details important to your wedding day and you’re still not sure which colors to choose, consider using your favorite colors! Your favorite color is a favorite for a reason, and you won’t look back with regret at old wedding photos if it’s your favorite.
Some couples turn to their homes to find color ideas – if you love the color and decor in your home, you’ll probably love it at your wedding as well.
Make sure your favorite color matches with your venue, season, and other details, and have no shame about sticking with what you love!
Complimentary Colors
Make sure the colors you choose for your wedding will make you and your wedding party look good. Just because you love a certain color doesn’t mean it will look complimentary against your wedding dress and on your bridesmaids.
You want everyone to look good on your wedding day, so avoid choosing colors that are hard to rock. Members of the bridal party contribute a lot to your wedding, so it’s important to make sure they’re happy and comfortable with what they have to wear. Just because you love a pale yellow doesn’t mean it will look good as a dress.
If you really love a color but you don’t think it’s a good choice for the wedding party that has to wear it, use it as a secondary color in your wedding color palette! You could pick a different color for bridesmaids dresses, but still incorporate other colors in decor, invitations, floral arrangements, and more.
Build a Color Palette
Once you have your main one or two colors chosen, build out from there to create a full color palette. You can incorporate a few different colors, or different shades of colors, to create depth in your wedding decor.
If your wedding colors are emerald green and pale pink, you can also include complimentary shades like gold, black, sage green, maroon, or peach touches. These secondary colors can elevate your wedding decor and help emphasize your main colors.
To fill out a fuller color palette, use color wheels or other tools like the Pantone Studio app.
Look for Online Inspiration
If you’re still feeling lost, look on websites like Pinterest for wedding color inspiration. You could even check out wedding photographers portfolios and see what wedding colors stand out to you. There are plenty of color palettes to choose from, so check out some real weddings to see what you like!
If you have a few options and you’re struggling to narrow it down, you could also look at inspiration to see which colors you like most in real weddings. Search by color, like pink and gold wedding inspiration or blue and yellow weddings, and see what you think looks best!
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