How to Find the Right Hues for Your Wedding Colors

One of the most exciting things in planning a wedding is choosing the color theme. Most brides chose their favorite color as the accent color for their wedding. Some forego the traditional white or off white color and, amazingly, these work just as well and even add a bit of spice to the entire ceremony. Whether you chose your favorite color as an accent or the color of your wedding gown, the colors you chose should be something pleasing to the eye or, as color experts call, “in harmony”. The colors should be complimetary, analogous or monochromatic.

Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly opposite each other, such as red and green and red-purple and yellow-green. In the orchid illustration (right), there are several variations of yellow-green in the leaves and several variations of red-purple in the orchid. These opposing colors create harmony.

Analogous colors are colors that are next to each other on a color wheel. They are closely related such as yellow-green, yellow, and yellow-orange. Families of analogous colors include warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and cool colors (green, blue, violet). You can build your wedding color schemes around two or three related colors using one of the three colors as the core or the predominant color.

Monochromatic colors are all one color, but different shades, tones or tints. This is the easiest color to work with. You can chose emerald green, light green and pale green, for instance.

Consider the Venue as the Backdrop

A great idea for narrowing your choice of wedding colors is to choose the venue first. From there, work on the possible color themes you can use to match or complement the surrounding colors of your venue. For example, if you’re having your wedding at a garden beside the beach, a calm shade of lime green would be great. If your venue is mostly white, maybe the shades of periwinkle or old rose and a sprinkle of purple will do some magic for you. Keep in mind to add analogous, complimentary or monochromatic colors to create harmony.

Go for Bold, Bright, and Beautiful Colors

Some weddings boldly go for Cadillac red, although other variations would choose wine red, maroon, or burgundy. For white sand beach weddings especially, aquamarine is a great color to go with the clear waters and the bright beach setting. Another great color for this kind of setting is the bulldozer orange. These are all unique and bold colors that will definitely add to the liveliness of the occasion. Remember that even if these are really bold hues, you will still be using them in their different shades giving it a more subdued effect that’s perfect for wedding occasions.

Say It with Colors

Some colors are commonly used for what they symbolize. For example, in Asia, the color for unity in marriage is pink, for happiness is red; and green means eternity. Use of symbolism with colors will also work well in weddings.