Choosing Your Wedding Color Scheme

The colors you choose for your wedding day set the style and tone for your entire event. You can use color in your bridesmaids' dresses, decorations, cake, favors, flowers, accessories, table linens and even the invitations!

Choose colors you love, but also consider the following:

• Where is the wedding and reception? Choose colors that complement the setting. Consider the carpeting, drapery and decor, etc.

• What mood do you want to create? Vibrant colors add drama, while soft colors evoke a more romantic atmosphere.

• What time of year will you marry? The season may influence your color scheme. Spring and summer colors tend to be lighter, while fall and winter colors are generally darker.

Although much has been written on how colors effect our moods and emotions, colors mean different things in different cultures, so avoid focusing too much on them. The following two tools can help you choose a coordinated color scheme.

• Color Wheel - A color wheel helps you choose coordinating colors. It is made out of three primary colors: red, blue and yellow, plus a blend of in-between colors. Here are three popular strategies to choosing your colors:

- "Complementary" colors means choosing colors that are opposite each other on the wheel, such as red and green.

- "Analogous" means the colors lie next to each other on the wheel, such as red, red-orange, and orange.

- "Monochromatic" means variations of the same tone, such as bright red, dark red, etc.

Any of these strategies are assured to give you a well coordinated color scheme. Read more about color theory to gain a better understanding beyond this article.

• Color Palette Generator Tool - This handy (and fun!) tool allows you to upload your favorite photo and generate an instant color palette. You can then print and select your favorite colors from the chart. Here are some color charts we created using this tool.

Tips: Try to limit your main colors to two or three so as not to look too jumbled and stay consistent with your colors throughout the wedding site. Use a few subdued colors for an elegant look.

2009-2010 Wedding Color Trends

The table below includes popular wedding color choices for the upcoming seasons:

Fall/Winter: deep
red teal violet mocha sage

Spring/Summer: turquoise platinum coral pale
yellow champagne

Gorgeous wedding color schemes from SeattleStyle.com.

Try another Color Palette Selection Tool.

More wedding planning tips, advice and galleries!

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