How to Choose Your Perfect Wedding Colors: A Full Guide

Wedding planning can be stressful, but picking the wedding colors can also be really exciting! It's more than just picking your favorite colors, it also helps set the theme of the wedding. Is it a crazy, fun, wild wedding? Or, will it be more of a calm, and romantic wedding. Your guests will have an idea of what to expect based on the colors you choose! As a wedding planner, I love helping couples choose colors that reflect their vision. I will show you how to choose the perfect colors for your wedding.

Defining Your Personal Style Through Wedding Colors

Look around you and see what colors you are drawn to. Go to your closet. Do you see a lot of neutral colors? What about bright colors? The same goes for your house. If your house has light colored walls and wood decor, you may want to choose a more neutral color wedding scheme. If your house has a lot of decor like plants, textures, and different colors, a wedding color scheme that is more eclectic would be good.

Think about how you want to feel. Navy blue bridesmaid dresses are timeless and classic, while softer colors give a more romantic feel. It would be a great idea to make a mood board, such as a digital one or a classic paper one. Use the board to collect images of designs, samples of fabric, and pictures of flowers. When you put them together, you should notice some repetition. That pattern will show what your unique style is.

Matching Your Wedding Color Palette to Your Venue

More than likely, your venue will dictate what your wedding colors will be the easiest to work with. It is a very common mistake to choose venue color schemes that don’t match the decor of the venue. In this case, I would recommend matching your wedding dress with the venue to create a more cohesive effect. In a large, old style setting, richer colors such as cabernet or emerald are more regal, but the lighter colors can disappear.

While you are outside, your wedding colors should use the natural elements around you like your setting. Gardens or deserts are enhanced by earthy colors like sage, terracotta, and agave. Here, there is a subtle balance between standing out and blending in. Your bridal party and the rest of you should be seen in pictures, but you don’t want them to disappear in the background. When colors blend with the natural scenery, it creates a balanced look that is polished, intentional, and effortless.

Stylist Tip

When you are checking your venue consider the lighting. An example could be a bright outdoor venue making soft and airy colors while a darker indoor venue would make colors seem darker and heavy.

The Art of Building Balanced Wedding Color Schemes

To not be overwhelming to your wedding palette, I suggest the 60-30-10 rule. This means 60% of your decor is one primary color, 30% of it is another secondary color, and 10% should be an accent color. An example of this would be to choose Dusty Rose as your primary, Slate Blue as your secondary, and a shimmery Champagne for your accent. This creates a balance that ensures single tones do not feel too strong and it allows the eye to sweep through the decor.

You can also experiment with different wedding colors. A modern feel can be achieved using different shades of the same color. For a calm and harmonious feel, colors like blue and green (which are neighbors on the color wheel) is recommended. To make the venue feel more energetic, you can use orange color bridesmaid dresses as they are complementary to the blue tones. Neutrals also provide balance and allow more active colors to stand out.

Exploring Popular Hues and Textures

The appearance of an outfit changes due to the fabric's texture. Many customers do not realize this until they visit the store and see the dresses. For example, chiffon, when dyed Emerald, looks flowy and airy, while in the same color velvet may look more dramatic, and deeper and give a more luxurious look. Think of the different fabric textures when choosing your bridal party colors. Using the same color yet different fabrics provide a more dynamic look to the overall appearance without using more colors.

Timeless and favorite colors of spring and summer, like dusty rose and sage green are also very versatile for multiple seasons and different occasions. However, satin can be more reflective and shiny which may be better for winter, while other summer months, more breathable materials like Mesh or Chiffon will be better. Using more dominant blended shades while keeping the fabric floaty will make your bridesmaids look and feel fantastic.

Coordinating Bridesmaid Dresses with Your Palette

The trendy mix and match multi fabric style is a great way to let your bridesmaids show their personal creativity while keeping with the wedding color scheme. When you go for this option, you can choose purple bridesmaid dresses for the entire party, and then each person can select their preferred style of A-line, mermaid, or empire waist. It will guarantee that each bridesmaid picks a cut that they are confident in, and that will show in the pictures.

For a more stylish modern appearance, three or four shades of a single color family can be very effective to create an ombre effect. Think of a gradient effect where the colors range from a soft blush to a dark Cabernet. In order to have a consistent and intentional look, opt for an approach that matches the wedding color scheme to create a cohesive look and unify your overall theme, making everything look more polished. For the bridal party, the bridal party maximize the story sashes by incorporating the bridal party bouquet(s) when it is done with matching colors.

Practical Steps: Swatches and Sustainable Choices

Before fully committing to a bridal party order, it is very important to get color swatches. It is often extremely different to have a color digitally than to have it in reality (i.e., color sample, off screen). Swatches allow you to see how that color looks with the lighting of your venue. This is very important when considering the color of the wedding dress. It can be very frustrating to run into issues with vendor coordination after the wedding. To combat this, you can also bring your sample swatches to your florist or baker.

Azazie also employs a made to order system which is the more sustainable way to shop as it eliminates unnecessary material waste. It allows us to maintain an inclusive sizing range from 0 to 30. This means you can choose your wedding color palette to align with a more sustainable brand and make an environmentally-friendly choice while also looking stylish on your big day.

Now you can make your vision a reality! Azazie has one of the largest collections of bridesmaids dresses, so you can order swatches to help you decide on the wedding colors!

Frequently Asked Questions

how many colors are ideal for a wedding palette?

Three to five are ideal for a wedding palette. Most of the colors can be primary, meaning they should focus on one or two neutrals, even one or two metallics. Being flexible can help with your flowers and decorations so you don’t overwhelm the guests.

Do I have to choose wedding colors that are associated with the current season?

No, you can do whatever color combination you like! No matter what the season is. It just depend on the fabrics and accents. For example, dark emerald fabric would look more summery if paired with white fabric and a lot of green accents.

Why is ordering swatches before dress purchases important?

Every screen looks different, and the way various fabrics -whether satin or chiffon- absorb dye can vary. So, it's recommend that you order swatches to avoid any uncertainty. Plus, swatches allow you to make sure you colors align with what the other vendors like your flowers so that everything is cohesive.