From the Professionals: Choosing A Wedding Colour Palette

You've found your One and Only, booked the venue and chosen the bridesmaids. All the tricky decisions made - Yes? Not quite...you're now faced with the happy challenge of styling your wedding to transform it from the vague idea in your head into gorgeous reality. 

One of the first decisions you're likely to make is the colour scheme of your day so we asked florist and stylist Fi from Corky and Prince for her top tips on choosing your colour palette.

Says Fi:

Some couples know exactly what colours they are going to use, but most don’t, so I recommend starting in a totally different and perhaps surprising way by not thinking about colour at all - instead try one or all of these exercises:

• Look around your home or favourite place for inspiration - perhaps there’s a photo from a great holiday or a painting you bought together. Or it could be a picture from a magazine or social media - what’s important is your emotional response. What images evoke really happy memories or positive emotions for you?
• Close your eyes and describe to each other what you imagine your wedding day will be like [giggling is fine - wine may help]. What will it feel like? What music can you hear? What food can you taste? The images conjured up will begin to form a picture in your head of your perfect day.
• Defining your style priorities for the day will help build a joint vision so each jot down three words that sum up what you want. It could be ‘Fun - Family - Music’ or ‘Elegant - Formal - Heritage’ for example. There are no wrong answers,  and agreeing your priorities will help with everything from budgeting to supplier selection.

Photographer credit: Jackie Housley Photography

Hopefully these exercises will have generated some possible signature colours that resonate with you and will set the mood. Creative moment over - next you need to think practicalities:

• Your venue - the colour palette you chose should ideally be sympathetic to your venue’s decor so check out their website gallery for inspiration on what works. If you’ve opted for a marquee wedding, then you’ve got a blank canvas, otherwise, make a note of the key colours internally and externally at your venue.
• Seasons - the time of year is a good guide to colour selection but don’t feel the need to stick rigidly to conventions. If you’re having a spring wedding and love dark plums and burgundies, then go for it - it’s more important that it’s personal and unique to you as a couple.
• Wedding party - As much as you love peach or bright yellow, it may not be the most flattering colour for the bridesmaids dresses or for your groom’s tie, so be prepared to drop it or opt for a more appealing shade to find something that makes your nearest and dearest feel great about their outfits.

Putting it all together - I’d recommend choosing 3 to 5 colours to form your base colour palette. This could be shades of the same colour or a selection that work well together. Couples often include a metallic as this opens up opportunities for accessory and venue styling too. 

Photographer credit: Matt Fox Photography

Here are a few examples:

Dusky Blues - lighter and darker shades of cool and warm blues with a silver accent:

Soft Pastels - light shades of blush, pinks and lemon with a rose gold accent: Photographer credit: Katherine Yiannaki

Contemporary Brights - pops of colour with a copper accent:

Moody Botanicals - rich, dark tones of reds, purples and greens with an old gold accent: Photographer credit: Matt Fox Photography

How to use colour to style your wedding

Whether you’ve opted for pared back neutrals or a zingy palette of bright colours, there are loads of ways to use colour to unify the look of your day. What you’re aiming for is cohesion without it becoming too matchy-matchy. Visually, tones and shades of colour create depth and interest which photographs well as opposed to a few strong colours which can create a polka dot effect.

• Stationery - Your 'Save the Date' cards or invitations will be the first style clue your guests will receive about your day. Talk to your stationery designer about how they can personalise your designs with, for example, coloured wax seals or metallic calligraphy script.
• Dresses - The bridesmaids dresses will be probably be the most significant colour choice. There are lots of options available now including prints and a trend towards co-ordinated but not matching dresses.
• Menswear - Charcoal or navy remain the most popular choices for the groom’s suit and you can add colour through ties, pocket squares and waistcoats.
• Tableware - Whilst most venues will offer white table cloths and napkins, opting for coloured linen does create a luxurious guest table setting together with candles and metallic candlesticks.
• Flowers - Last but not least, the flowers offer a great way to bring the whole look together. As well as blooms, we use fresh or preserved foliage, berries, herbs, seed-heads and fruits to create a unique botanical colour palette.

Photographer credit: Lucie Hamilton

Finally, whilst Pinterest and Instagram are great resources (I use them a lot!), try not to be overly influenced by current colour trends. Instead, focus on what you both love and will enjoy remembering for years to come.

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A-Mazing!  Thank so much Fi, your top tips and ideas have been so inspirational, and I love how a palette of colours rather than one or two colours really 'makes' the look come together so beautifully - and absolutely, it should be a reflection of you, the couple - your loves should really shine through!

For more about Corky & Prince Wedding & Event Flowers, we urge you to check out their directory page to view their decor hire and venue styling services!  Thanks for all the advice Fi, it's absolutely invaluable!

Happy planning!

From Team Whitewed