As a Calgary wedding planner and designer, I often come across couples who start their wedding planning and wedding design by choosing a colour palette. In honour of all of you newly engaged couples during this popular engagement season, I wanted to create some posts that will help you start your wedding planning process, so here is Part 1 of my 10 Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Colours.
1. Study your venue.
You should consider your ceremony and reception venue before you choose your wedding colours or general wedding style. If your reception venue is filled with dark woods and earthy tones, then a contemporary colour palette of icy blues and silvers are going to clash, leaving your guests wondering what felt “off” about the evening. Feel free to take advantage of the prominent colours in your venue and incorporate them into your overall colour scheme to maximize your design potential.
Photo credit: Art of Love via Elizabeth Anne Designs
2. Do your research.
Research your colours. Here’s a small colour lesson: tint means a colour added with white (so, lighter) and shade means a colour added with black (so, less light). This is why “Green” does not come in just “green”; greens can come in forest, kelly, lime, sage, olive, etc. Make sure you aware of which shade or tint of your colour you gravitate towards and try to see a sample in person whenever possible. Computer monitors vary enormously and the last thing you want is to be surprised to see that your sweet, lime green linens are more of a fluorescent green!
(Also note that my definitions of these colours may vary from other interpretations of these colours…again, always see a sample in person, if possible).
3. Choose 1 dominant colour first.
To relate to Tip #2, focus on one dominant colour in the specific shade or tint you would like first (say, fuchsia), then start thinking about tints and shades (pastel pink, blush, rose, etc.) or other colours to complement your dominant colour as accents. Once you start playing with these pairings, you should be able to put your finger on the “feel” you are wanting for your overall wedding whether it is jewel tones or pastels.
4. Don’t pick too many colours.
While I love using 3-4 colours in my designs, it can get very overwhelming and confusing if there is not a clear focus. This relates back to Tip #3 again: have one dominant colour and you are free to choose a few accent colours that you can use sparingly. The easiest (and very lovely) colour palette is monochromatic, using tints and shades of the same colour.
But, if you love too many colours and can’t decide, then use groupings of your dominant colour with various accent colours to create a slightly new palette in different areas of your wedding. This creates a lovely surprise for your guests and helps to create different moods between your ceremony, reception or whatever else you wish.
5. Look in your closet.
Really. Take a peek into both of your closets and see what colours pop out at you (this includes accessories too). If your closet is filled with neutrals like greys, browns and whites, then maybe a classic palette of champagne and white is where your heart lies. Or, maybe almost everything you own is in different shades of blues and pinks paired with dozens of designer denim, which to me, screams of a relaxed wedding with touches of preppy details like stripes, navy and pale pink.
Do you see where I’m going with this? The style in which you choose to clothe yourself on a day-to-day basis can give you clues into what your true personalities are. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be more formal than you usually are (which I love) on your wedding day, make sure you don’t get swept up in any wedding detail just because you think that it’s what you’re supposed to do.
Photo credit: Honey We’re Home
Be sure to join me for Part 2 of 10 Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Colours later this week. But if you need help now with your wedding planning or wedding design, be sure to contact us — we would love to chat about your wedding!
Happy planning and design,
Calgary Wedding Planner and Designer
Calgary Dessert Table Designer
