Image sources: Suit | Cake | Place Setting | Bridesmaid Dresses | Boutonniere | Backdrop | Bouquet
As a wedding invitation designer, the first question I ask when working with a client to create their perfect wedding suite is “What are your wedding colors?” I personally believe that colors are the biggest part of a wedding theme, and incorporating those colors into your invitation is essential to creating a uniform look. As a graphic designer in general, creating a cohesive color palette is necessary to creating anything. And, like color in everyday design, wedding colors should be picked with the entire group of colors in mind. You don’t want to overdo it with, for example, eight different colors, and you need to consider the colors that you don’t necessarily think of as being important, like all the neutrals in clothing, the venue, etc.
But, what I’ve quickly figured out by being a part of the wedding industry is that many couples have no idea how to round up a group of colors for their wedding. If you’re not a graphic designer, or anyone that often works with color, it isn’t the easiest task to come up with a color palette. That is why I’ve created a super simple guide to choosing the perfect wedding colors, and how to go about choosing those colors.
Choosing your primary color is often the hardest part of the whole process. This is going to be the color that is incorporated the most in your wedding, so you want to make sure you love it and you’re going to be able to find this color for most of the larger details. I consider the primary wedding color to be the color of the bridesmaids dresses – which happens to be the best way to choose this color. This color is usually what all other details are based off of – including groomsman ties, bridal accessories, paper products (like what I create!), pieces of the place setting, venue flowers, the cake, and so much more!
HOW TO CHOOSE A PRIMARY COLOR
Luckily, the primary color can be anything you want, but unluckily, the primary color can be any color, which makes it harder to choose it. Brainstorm what your favorite colors are, what colors are in season when you get married, what colors will look good on your bridesmaids – anything to try to find that perfect color. Do some research to find out what colors some of the larger details come in – for example, what colors a lot of bridesmaids dresses come in or the flowers you might want to include.
Once you’ve picked your primary color, your secondary color should come a little bit easier. This color will most likely show up in plenty of smaller details in the wedding, but most specifically in the flowers in the bridesmaid bouquets (if you aren’t going completely neutral with your bouquets!). You’ll want to choose a color that goes really well with your primary color because they will be seen together a lot. For example, if you’re doing red as your primary color, you won’t want to choose a hot pink as your secondary color because they really don’t go together. If you’re choosing a brighter color for your primary color, think about choosing a more muted color for your secondary color.
HOW TO CHOOSE A SECONDARY COLOR
When picking the secondary color, it’s best to think of it more as a color pair or the start of a color palette rather than a separate color. There are plenty of resources out there for choosing color palettes, but for weddings I recommend looking them up on Pinterest. Not only can you look for inspiration in what others have chosen for their wedding, but you can look up non-wedding specific color palettes for ideas. Look up what flowers are in bloom when you have your wedding – that will dictate more than anything what colors to include. Don’t choose to have a yellow color as a secondary color if there are no yellow flowers that will be in bloom and at the price you’ll want for your flowers.
It’s a wedding, which means white will usually be a huge part of your wedding. What most people don’t know is that it should also be a main part of your color palette. Luckily, most whites go with most colors, but it’s still important to keep the white color in mind. Typically you have three white variations to choose from: bright white, ivory, and champagne. Differentiating between them is important – you wouldn’t want an ivory dress and champagne details.
HOW TO CHOOSE A WHITE
What color is your dress (or what you want it to be)? That is your white color, the white that should be consistently used as part of your color palette. If, for example, you’re choosing to have a colored dress, you’ll still want to include a white in your color palette. Blush dresses are the most popular dress color outside of white, and blush goes with all three types of white, so it’s all about personal preference. If you need an exact way to choose, go with bright white, because most likely, your groomsmen will be wearing bright white shirts.
Next step is to choose your neutral(s). Any color palette needs at least one neutral, but there are occasions where it is appropriate to have more than one. Your main neutral is going to be based off the suits that the groom and groomsmen will be wearing. The main neutral will most liked be either black, grey, navy, or brown/tan. This color will be incorporated a lot throughout small details in the wedding, so it’s important to include it. Especially for an invitation designer like me, that color often determines the color of the text I use in my designs.
HOW TO CHOOSE A NEUTRAL
Pick your groom’s suit color (if you haven’t already) – this color should go with the colors you’ve already chosen. Unfortunately, all primary and secondary colors will not go with all neutrals. Again, go through Pinterest and search for color schemes. Most wedding results on Pinterest will most likely include the suit colors, or a neutral in the small detail that you’ll be able to see. Obviously, ask the groom what color suit he wants to wear. Typically, men will have a pretty good idea what color suit they want.
If you are choosing more than one neutral – here is your quick and simple list to the best neutral combinations to make it easy for you: Black & Grey, Grey & Navy, Navy & Brown, Tan & Brown, Tan & Black. Any combination beyond this may work, but only when they are not directly placed together.
Most people don’t think about it, but it’s important to pick a metal as part of your color scheme. Although most people go with the metal color of their wedding rings, it doesn’t automatically have to be that. You’d be surprised how often a metallic color is needed when deciding details of your wedding. Place settings, centerpieces, signs, jewelry, and more all often have a metallic color included. And, just like when you choose jewelry, mixing metals doesn’t look great so you’ll want to choose one and stick to it.
HOW TO CHOOSE A METAL
First, decide whether or not to use the metal color of your wedding rings. What you choose for a metal can also depend on what colors you’ve already chosen. If you aren’t using the color of your wedding rings, look at your neutrals – because some neutrals frankly just look better with certain metals. For example, silver goes better with grey tones, gold goes best with brown tones, and rose gold goes better with warm colors. Luckily for those who choose black as their neutral, black goes with any of the metallics.
A FEW OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER…
Unless your doing a greenery-only wedding, the greenery in flowers doesn’t necessarily need to be included in your color palette (unless you want it to, of course).
You can use shades of a color. But – if you’re using multiple shades of a color, only choose one of the categories I talk about above to include shades as well. If you include shades of both your primary color and your secondary color, you’ll end up with way too many colors.
It is okay to add a third color (after the secondary color) to your color palette, just as long as all three colors go together REALLY WELL. The more colors you add to a palette, the less everything will go together and the more complicated it will become to find a balance with your colors, so choose wisely.
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