Bridal Color Theory

Do you know a person (or maybe yourself) that redoes a whole room and is so terrified of making a commitment that she ends up with a bland room full of tans, tan whites, and washed out colors like buttercream?  Don't let this happen to your wedding. One of the easiest ways of adding personality and individuality to your wedding or any event for that matter is to pick a solid color scheme.

When it comes to wedding colors brides get sucked into one of three different avenues.

1. Cliche color schemes (Pink and brown, tiffany blue and chocolate brown): because you don't know any better and it looks cute in all that wedding crap that floods into your life once the word gets out you are engaged.

2. Whites and creams: Unless you are decorating a hospital this is not a color scheme that says much about your personality. In all honesty if you want your big day to be "special" or "unique" avoid draping a room in white because chances are your guests have seen a banquet room full of white before and will again. So why not change it up and make it memorable with some color?

3. Indecisive: Some brides get so excited about color and go overboard, you would think they reached blindly into a box of crayons and just pulled out colors at random. I actually saw a women on a wedding show the other day who picked rainbows and butterflies has her wedding theme. (I threw up a little in my mouth when I heard this.)

Here is a little color theory to help you make some classy color choices that fits your personality and style while allowing you to make your big day different from your six other friends who are getting married this year.

Now many of you may be thrilled you just received a free education in color theory but you may be asking how will this save me money? Once you have a color scheme in mind we can get to work adding these colors to specific areas of your wedding day to create a big impact without spending a lot.

1. Linens: If possible pick linens that reflect your color scheme. You are already paying for the linens why not set the mood in your reception area with something that fills the room and is a necessity. If your venue doesn't include colored linens you normally can upgrade (the cost varies), add a color overlay (which is a simple piece of shire cloth that decoratively lays over a table cloth) which are available online for competitive prices, or add a colored runner. These might be added costs but honestly they are much cheaper than throwing money at huge flower centerpieces.

2. Ribbon, tulle, and candles: By using these simple craft items you can incorporate color simply and inexpensively all over your big day like, favors, place cards, pillars, arches, pews, menus, etc. I recommend keeping an eye out for sales and craft store coupons since waiting until the day you need it means you will pay a lot more. I also love to shop sales after a holiday; you may have to surf through some leftover holiday cheese but you will come out with some gems.  For example if you want gold or silver as one of your colors shop after Christmas sales. Ribbon and candles might be mixed in with green and red holiday swag but no one will know in June you bought your beautiful gold pillar candles half price after Christmas at the Dollar Tree.

3. Flowers: I know some brides have their hearts set on a certain flowers but if you are not that girl I suggest knowing your colors and asking your florist what seasonal and local flowers work with your color scheme. By going seasonal and giving your florist some freedom they can get you the best deal.


Finally, If any of you were wondering what colors I picked for my own wedding I actually got a little playful and picked analogous colors and accented them with its complement. I had all different purples from a red wine to plum and accented it with yellow. I chose this color scheme because I love sunflowers and really wanted them to stand out and be the superstar of my big show.

I hope this inspires you to go out and start picking colors without getting sucked to the typical bridal color traps. Enjoy and happy color picking!