Since I’m getting married in November (in 10 months and 1 day… not that anyone is keeping track 😉 ), I’ve had a lot of wedding stuff on my brain. Cupcakes and wedding dresses and venues (oh my!). Recently the wedding gods announced that Pantone’s color of the year is Marsala. I didn’t really care for it until I saw this post on Tidewater and Tulle where Chelsea put together a Marsala inspired inspiration board – not gonna lie, I totally swooned over that photo of the bridesmaid holding her bouquet!
But all that aside, it really made me wonder how couples go about choosing wedding colors! Did they pick a theme and then choose colors that were typical to that style? Did they start with a color they loved and then build the wedding around that? Were they random pairings that just happened to go together? Does anyone really pay attention to the Pantone color of the year?!
So many questions, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it! So I put out a poll asking for opinions from real brides and the response was overwhelmingly awesome, here’s what we came up with!

Choosing Wedding Colors

choosing wedding colorsGo With What You Love

The number one piece of advice that I kept hearing from everyone was to pick your favorite color(s). Stacie H. told everyone “I picked favorites. Our colors were shades of purple, and the bridesmaids dresses were black.”
Michelle H. echoed the same sentiments, saying “I started with my favorite color, purple, then looked at a color wheel to see what would compliment. Ended up with purple, teal, and orange. I don’t remember the Pantone colors of the season and year 9 years ago when I was planning.”

Stay Classy

Another big motivator for brides was to stick with colors that would look good now, and ten years from now. Leanne R. said “I picked classic black. Bridesmaid in black dresses with red roses. I had looked at pictures of my friends weddings from a few years earlier and found the really trendy colors were kind of hideous now. That was my rationale.” Think about it, you may really LOVE neon green right now, but how is that going to look in the wedding album years from now?

 

 

choosing wedding colorsWork with the Venue

Thinking about the colors inside/outside the venue is important too! Tiffany L. told us that “My venue had very green carpet. Since I loved the location, I wanted to pick a color palate that didn’t clash. I ended up going with mint and coral and it looked great.” A great point, because you don’t want to end up with your wedding colors looking horrible in the space where you get married!
How you decorate also plays a part! Meghan F. shares “My colors were predominantly Navy and gold which matched my venue so I didn’t have to decorate. I had white and blue hydrangea centerpieces and my bouquet was White and Blush Peonies with La Perla roses.”

 

 

 

beach bridal partyTo Theme or Not to Theme

If you’re going with a themed wedding, that can make things a bit easier by choosing complimentary colors for your particular theme. Angela D. shared that she “was inspired by our vacation to Punta Cana right before we were engaged. I always knew I wanted a beach wedding.”

 

 

Seasonally Appropriate

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, the time of year can play a big part in color selection as well. Sharon B. affirmed this by saying “BOTH my weddings were based on time of year it was and my favorite colors at that time.” And Leigha C. said “My favorite season is fall. Growing up in the mountains of southern WV, my favorite colors are the colors the leaves turn in the fall. So, we had our ceremony in November with that color scheme. The girls dresses were espresso and all the colors of the fall flowers were really beautiful.”

 

 

 

black and gold wedding colorsTime of Day

The time you get married really sets the stage for the atmosphere of your wedding. Are you going to have a more relaxed, morning wedding (yum for brunch!), or a more formal, evening affair? Khrystian H. recounts “Ours was at night and I wanted a elegant and vintage wedding so we went with black and gold. All my bridesmaid got to pick and wear their “little black dress” except my Maid of Honor who wore a gold dress.”

 

Closing Thoughts on Choosing Wedding Colors

Jennifer S. sums things up nicely by stating “Seriously, do what makes YOU happy, what makes YOU feel like it is right for YOUR day! (ok, and his day too).” And Taylor M. (who is also in the middle of wedding planning!) affirms “do what YOU want because people are always going to give you different opinions and someone will ALWAYS have something to say about a choice you make and by the time you say I do, it will become way too much!”

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

Thank you so much to all the wonderful ladies (and a few gentlemen!) who chimed in with their thoughts on choosing wedding colors! I had a lot of fun seeing all the answers and will definitely do another post like this in the future 🙂

 

Wedding images featured in this blog post were submitted by brides and do not belong to Fresh Look Photography.
Each image is the property of it’s respective owner. 

 

Love What You See? Want to Chat About YOUR Wedding?!

If you’ve finished looking at this blog on choosing wedding colors and are thinking to yourself – I want you to come photograph my wedding! Awesome!!! We would LOVE to create a custom wedding package for you and the ones you love! Feel free to message me by hitting the { CONTACT ME } button or by giving me a call at 757-749-5350. I can’t wait to create some magic for you!