The Complete Guide to Choosing the Perfect Wedding Colors
You’re probably thinking that picking wedding colors shouldn’t be this difficult. I’m guessing if you landed on this article, you’re having a hard time choosing and you’re looking for a little guidance. To be completely honest, I had the same struggle when thinking about what colors I would like for my wedding.
I’m hoping Prince Charming has good taste and ideas!
I compiled some research that I think will really help in choosing the perfect wedding colors. I hope it inspires you too!
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Get Inspiration From Your Venue
It’s best to choose your wedding venue before deciding on wedding color. You’ll likely need to book your venue months ahead of time so it’ll probably be one of the first things you do anyway.
You’ll want to make sure that you don’t pick colors that completely clash with your venue. For example, if your venue has large crimson red curtains, lavender and mint green would probably not work so well. Instead, you might want to pick a blush or beige color that will accent well with red.
Here are some examples of wedding colors based on venue:
Beach Wedding Colors
Teal, purple, green
Silver, ivory, beige
Coral, gray, navy
Light blue, ivory, green
Orange, gold, white
Light blue, gray
Coral, light blue, ivory
Salmon, ivory, white
Coral, lilac, ivory
Rustic Wedding Colors
Forest green, black, gold
Purple, mauve, blush
Orange, ivory, gray
Purple, yellow, mauve
Tan, light pink
Gray, light green
Brown, tan, blue
Red, ivory, tan
Blue, yellow, ivory
Vintage Wedding Colors
Peach, blush, ivory
Turquoise, gray, ivory
Mint Green, light blue, salmon pink
Turquoise, gray, peach
Gold, light blue
Mint green, gray, ivory
Blush, gray
Peach, gray, ivory
Think About the Season
Choosing the perfect wedding colors has a lot to do with what season you’re getting married in. It wouldn’t look right to have bright pink and yellow colors in December.
You should look at it the same as your wardrobe. You tend to wear darker, warmer colors in the fall and winter and brighter, lighter colors in the spring and summer.
Don’t get too stuck on trying to match your colors to the season though. If you absolutely want pink but your wedding is in November, you could try going with a medium pink color paired with a gray and ivory. The pink brings out the boldness yet it’s not a bright pink color. There are ways to compromise and still have the colors you like.
Here are some great wedding color ideas based on season:
Spring Wedding Colors
Yellow, gray, ivory
Light pink, lilac
Mint green, coral
Peach, pale yellow
Mint green, lavender
Blush, ivory, gold
Royal blue, light blue, ivory
Summer Wedding Colors
Bright orange, yellow
Royal blue, yellow, ivory
Teal, yellow, pale green
Sage green, peach, gold
Hot pink, turquoise, gray
Royal blue, light blue, ivory
Bright purple, lilac
Hot pink, orange, red
Fall Wedding Colors
Violet, purple, light pink
Fuchsia, maroon, red
Green, ivory, mint
Dark orange, orange, ivory
Brown, tan, blush
Burgundy, light pink, sage
Burgundy, orange, ivory
Winter Wedding Colors
Green, silver, ivory
Brown, red, beige
Navy, silver
Black, gold, silver
Purple, gray, green
Red, white
Dark purple, ivory
Navy, burgundy, white
Look at Things You Love
Take a moment to look around your house and in your closet. Do you see patterns in colors and combinations that you are drawn too. Look at the decor you’ve chosen. Things tend to blend in and we almost don’t even think about the styles and colors that we see and live with everyday.
What about patterns? Are you drawn to stripes, florals, shapes? This might be useful for choosing decor, bridesmaids dresses, cake design, etc. Look at the clothes in your closet, the artwork on your walls, your couch, curtains, etc. for inspiration.
What about style? Is your decor modern, vintage, bright, dark, minimalist, etc? This can help you choose colors too. If your style is minimalist, you might stick with light shades of beige and white mixed with greenery and blush colored flowers as accents.
What’s your favorite color? It should be this simple, right?! Pick your favorite color and his favorite color and voilà …. your wedding colors! Ok, maybe not… but seriously, start with your favorite color or the groom’s favorite color and see if you can build off that. If you absolutely love pink, look at different shades of pink and start thinking of other colors that would go nicely with it.
Do you have a favorite flower? If you already know the type of flower you’d like to have, it might make choosing wedding colors a lot easier. For example, if you love sunflowers and want to have them in your wedding. One color is obviously going to be yellow. Now you just need to decide if you want blue, red, brown, etc as your additional colors.
Check Out Different Color Combos
There are a lot of different websites you can go to that will suggest color combinations for you. You can start off with a picture and generate color ideas based on that picture.
I really neat site that I found is coolors.co. You can generate different color combinations or upload a picture to get ideas. Here is an example I did with the main picture at the top of this post. You simply upload your picture and click “Auto” until it finds a color combination that you like.
Once you’ve found a color combo that you like, you can click the “Collage” button and save the picture. It might be a good idea to print your image and color ideas and take it to your wedding venue to see how it will look. You can also use this printout to help choose bridesmaid dress colors, flowers, cake color, and design, etc.
Bonus Tip:
You could even upload a picture of your wedding venue and have the program suggest colors that would go well with the venue. Here is an example of a wedding venue and one the color combos that the site came up with.
Choose a Base Color
Maybe choosing 3-4 different color is just too overwhelming to think about. That’s okay, just pick one base color that you absolutely love. This is the color that will be most prominent throughout your wedding. It’ll most likely be the color of the bridesmaid’s dresses and incorporated into the flowers, cake, decor, etc.
The base color doesn’t have to be the darkest – it’s simply the color that is most prominent. Therefore, the base color might be blush pink and you’ll want to add green and gray as accent colors.
Once you’ve chosen your base color, you can choose 2-3 accent colors that will complament everything. Some general accent colors that go with a lot of base colors are:
ivory
gray
sage
mint green
blush
yellow
silver
gold
white
a lighter shade of your base color
If you’re still struggling with deciding on the best base color, revisit the previous sections about looking at things you love and getting inspiration from your wedding venue. If you’ve chosen your bridal party, ask for some input and ideas. Your girls might just come up with an idea you love!
You may want to choose your favorite flower color as your base color. Or, if you want your flowers to stand out more, choose a color that will make your flowers pop. With our sunflower example, you might want to choose a bright blue as the base color to make the flowers even more bright and vibrant.
What Style or Theme Are You Going For?
Knowing what style or theme you want will help your choose colors as well. Here are some ideas of different styles or themes you might consider and the colors that go well with them.
Romantic: blush, green, ivory, purple, gold
Vintage: silver, ivory, peach, medium blue, tan, mint green, brown, black
Whimsical or Boho: bright colors, orange, pink, medium blue, green, yellow
Modern Contemporary: Navy, gold, silver, black, green, ivory, white
Rustic Country: brown, tan, ivory, medium blue, peach, red/white
Garden: green, ivory, hot pink, bright orange, yellow, red
Southern: white, blue, green, blush, gold, copper, lime
Classic Formal: black, white, blush, gold, ivory, green
Nautical: navy, white, gold, yellow, orange
Eco Natural: green, white, bronze, tan, brown
Tropical: green, hot pink, orange, white, ocean blue, tan
Christmas: red/burgundy, green, white, gold
What Looks Good With Your Skin Tone?
Although, as the bride, you’ll likely be wearing white, the rest of the wedding party and colors shouldn’t wash you into the background. You’ll want colors that will look good with your skin tone, and those of your wedding party. Here is a good guide of colors that can be chosen to match skin tones.
None of these suggestions are absolute rules. You’ll want to look at what looks best on you and your bridesmaids.
Also, if you have ladies with all different skin tones in your wedding party, they can still wear the same color dresses, just do different shades of the color to match their skin type.
Light Skin Tones
People with light skin are more pale with ivory, bluish, or pinkish undertone. These are people who sunburn easily and have blue, green, and light brown eyes.
Ladies with light skin should wear cool colors such as blue, green, pink, and purple with silver jewelry. Generally, pastel colors and lighter shades are better than strong vibrant colors.
Medium Skin Tones
People with medium skin have yellow and olive undertones most common with Asians, Latinos, Mediterraneans, dark or mixed race people. They tan easier and have usually brown, hazel, or green eyes.
Ladies with medium skin should wear warm colors and earth tones such as brown, tan, yellow, green, orange, gray, blue, and some red with gold jewelry. Pastels, bright whites, lime green, and olive green should be avoided.
Dark Skin Tones
People with dark skin tones have brown with yellow, red, or blue undertones most common with people of African and Indian decent. They tan without burning and usually have brown or black hair and eyes.
Ladies with dark skin should wear, khaki, dark purple, red, gray, light blue, orange, pink, and gold with gold jewelry. Black, dark brown, navy blue, and light green should be avoided.
Have One Neutral Color
It gets a little overwhelming if all your colors are bright, vibrant, and heavy. You should have at least one neutral color to tone everything down. The could be a pale version of a color you already have. It will be a lighter color that will compliment your other colors, the venue, etc.
This neutral color will be used as a backdrop for your wedding invitations, elements of your decor, flowers in the bouquets, etc.
As you can see in the examples below, the neutral colors play a small role in the entire color scheme, but they help make the other color pop and become more vibrant.
Royal Blue (base color)
Dark pink (accent color)
Light/Medium Pink (accent color
Ivory (neutral color)
Light green (neutral color)
These colors would look great for a summer wedding or a beach themed wedding.
Maroon/Burgundy (base color)
Medium Pink (accent color)
Dark Sage (accent color)
Blush (neutral color)
Ivory (neutral color)
These colors would work great for a fall or winter wedding. Similar to the picture, you could have your bridesmaids wear the medium pink color and your maid of honor wear the maroon/burgundy color.
Navy Blue (base color)
Hot Pink (accent color)
Medium Pink (accent color)
Light Taupe (neutral color)
Sage Green (neutral color)
This wedding party did things a little differently by having the bridesmaids wear the neutral colors and the groomsmen wore the dark vibrant colors.
Limit the Number of Colors
If you’re having trouble just coming up with one color, you’re probably worried about trying to figure out 4 our 5. That’s okay, you don’t need that many. Maybe these guidelines will help.
If you want two colors, make one the base color and the other a neutral. Having two bright and vibrant colors might be a little overwhelming on the eyes
If you want three colors, make one the base, one an accent, and the third a neutral. This will give you the most options for decor and flowers without being over bearing.
If you want four colors, make one the base color, make two an accent, and the last should be neutral. This will give you a little more flexibility but make sure that two of the four are lighter than the other two.
If you want five colors, one should be the base color, two should be an accent, and the other two should be neutral. Five colors is probably a bit much but like the examples above, you could make it work nicely. Just try to keep things in proportion.
Are Decor Items Easy to Find in the Colors You’ve Chosen?
Don’t get me wrong, just about anything in any color can be found on Amazon. I highly recommend looking on Amazon for wedding decor pieces as you’ll probably be able to find what you’re looking for. (I typed in “gold wedding decorations” and look at everything I found!)
However, not everyone can afford to special order or buy all the decor online. It might require buying second head or on clearance at local craft stores. The more different your color is from “tradition”, the more complicated it might be to find what you’re looking for. You’ll want to keep this in mind when your planning the wedding colors.
Be Okay with Having Different Shades
A new trend in weddings is having one or two colors but using multiple shades of those colors. If you’re okay with everyone not wearing the same exact color, it takes some of the stress out of making sure the dresses come from the same dye lot. Here is an example where some of the dresses are darker than the others.
In addition to having different color dresses, you might want to even have different style dresses. This will make the selection process even easier for you since you can let the bridesmaids have more freedom in picking the dresses they like.
Get Inspiration
When it comes to picking colors, venues, attire, flowers, and decor, there is nothing better than looking at pictures of other people’s weddings. You can pull of searches on Google Images and Pinterest to get some really good inspiration.
Seeing what other people have done and what colors their choose will help you determine what you like and don’t like and give you some great ideas for what to do for your own wedding.
