It can be tricky to decide on a final color scheme for your wedding day. You want to make sure everything looks as wonderful as you have imagined it for your big day! Lucky for you, we’ve gathered the most important tips you need to choose the perfect color combinations for your wedding.

Consider your skin tone

Certain colors look better one certain tones of skin, so choose a color that is going to compliment your complexion. On your special day, you want to look radiant, not washed out. You don’t want a color that is going to pick up unpleasant undertones of your skin. Let’s be honest, we all know there are certain colors that, when we wear them, they make us sparkle and make us look refreshed and vibrant. Conversely, there are some colors that can totally drain the color from your face.
Most likely, your bridesmaids will be wearing the colors of your wedding theme, so although you may not be wearing them, the colors are important to choose with your complexion in mind.

Photo Credit: Marissa Lambert

Consider the season

Think of the natural landscape during the season of your wedding, and you can find some wonderful inspiration for your wedding color schemes. The best springtime wedding colors have some charming pastels and neutrals in them, without anything too dark. If you have a wedding in the fall months, you want to consider incorporating fall colors of warm oranges, purples, and pomegranate into your wedding. Beautiful colors for winter time are emerald green, deep reds, and cool blues. Think of a winter scene with glistening snow – wintery white or silver is also very nice. In contrast, warm gold looks beautiful during the summer season along with bright colors like pinks, yellows, and bright blues.

Photo Credit: Manuela Kalupar

Do your research

If you have some colors in mind for your wedding, try to find photographs of other weddings with similar color combinations so you can see how these would look. Pinterest is a great place to look, as well as photographs of real weddings.

Photo Credit: Blumenthal Photography

Choose complimentary colors

Look at a color wheel to check that your chosen colors will look good together and compliment one another. Often times, you pick one dominant color and one complimentary color (or one warm color and one cool color). The dominant color can be more bold, while a complimentary color is more neutral. Picking two bold colors, such as fuchsia and teal will look too bold and will not photograph well. If you want to have some soft colors such as blush, beige, or white in your wedding, consider throwing in a complementary color, such as seafoam or maroon to add a pop of color and prevent your decor from looking washed out or too plain.

Photo Credit: Clary Pfeiffer Photography

Consider your venue

Make sure you wait until after booking your wedding venue to officially decide on your wedding color palette. The interior might have a patterned carpet, wall art, or other decorations that could clash with certain colors. You don’t have to worry about matching your colors exactly to the decor of your venue, but you just make sure that they mesh with the venue’s overall style and vibe. For example, if you’re getting married at a seaside country club, soft greens or blues would be lovely, while if your venue is a rustic barn, black and yellow may not be quite as fitting as, let’s say, dusty rose and cream.

Photo Credit: Katie Kaizer Photography

Find the right vibe

Colors can definitely radiate a certain energy, especially when there is more than one. Think about the feeling you get when you imagine red and black, compared with baby blue and taupe. When choosing your wedding color schemes, consider the type of feeling, or aura, you want everyone to experience at your wedding. Also, keep in mind that your wedding isn’t just any sort of party, but one that is important and has a sense of seriousness to it. With this in mind, you don’t want to choose colors like purple, pink, and green, that might feel more like a child’s birthday party than a wedding.

Photo Credit: Hannah Suh Photography

Don’t forget about textures

Incorporating wonderful textures such as burlap, velvet, or sequins into your decor is a great way to add some style to your wedding day. These can compliment your wedding color schemes beautifully, and bring some glamour to your decor if you have more neutral colors. Throw in some burlap candle holders,  metallic gold sequin tablecloths, or velvet ribbons for napkin holders.

Photo Credit: Jamie Clifford Photography

Find inspiration

Choose a color that inspires you. If daffodils are your favorite flower, you can pick up color inspiration from that and use crisp whites and vibrant yellows in your wedding color palette. Or, choose a color that has always been a favorite of yours. Don’t let someone else dictate your colors if it’s not something you’re crazy about. Your wedding day is supposed to be all about you and what you love, so make sure you have a color combination that makes you happy.
Another great idea, that is our wonderful secret, is to keep an eye out the next time you’re shopping in a home department store for the decorative pillows. Designers are very talented and paid to know exactly what colors compliment one another. The color combinations of decorative throw pillows can be a great source of inspiration for your wedding day color scheme!

Photo Credit: Sara Richardson

Don’t go color-crazy

Everything doesn’t have to be perfectly matched. Doing this can make the day look overworked. You don’t have to incorporate your wedding colors into every layer of icing on your cake, or ribbons tied on your wedding chairs. Color coding everything might be a big wedding planning mistake and will not photograph well.
You may find a great combination of colors, but keep your wedding day colors down to a total of 3-5. Anything over this will be too busy and may risk looking unorganized or random.

Photo Credit: Nicole Chan

Coordinate with your vendors

Ask for a sample of the centerpiece bouquet so you can know your exact wedding colors. Someone’s definition of “coral” can be quite different from someone else’s, so make sure you get on the same page as your florists when it comes to the flowers that will be adorned all over your wedding day. A wonderful tool for making sure your colors are coordinated is to look at Pantone, which allows you to identify specific colors. You can then share with all of your vendors to make sure all your colors are cohesive (and that your wedding cake matches your bouquet ribbons).

Photo Credit: Minted

 Your wedding day should be everything you’ve dreamt of, and more! Make sure that you choose colors for your wedding that represent you and make you feel good. It’s your special day, so decorate it to fit your style.