How to choose a wedding palette

Your signature colors set the stage for the ceremony, reception, stationary…really, everything included in your wedding. Choosing a color palette will probably be one of the first things you do when planning your wedding, and with good reason. The color palette dictates what dresses to order for your maids, how to decorate the reception, what flowers to choose, the color of your invitations, and much more. It’s important to decide on colors that express your personality but will also be timeless; you don’t want to look at your pictures in five years and wonder what you were thinking.

Start by considering what you’d like the primary color in your wedding to be. This will likely be the color worn by your bridesmaids. Think about two qualifications: colors you like and colors that will look good in your ceremony; a hue will have to pass both tests to make the cut. For example, you may love electric orange, but that color likely wouldn’t match a formal church wedding. After you’ve decided on a primary color, think about balancing colors that will work well with your main hue. Usually, it’s a good idea to pick a complementary color and a neutral tone. These colors will be used for your flowers and other accent pieces.

 For my wedding, I chose a simple color scheme of very dark teal, light green, and cream. My bridesmaid is wearing the dark teal, and the groomsman has it as the accent to his tie. The flowers will be cream and light green. The invitations will include all three colors. I hope that the three colors will come across as serene and natural, but even if they don’t, they’re three tones that I really love. And that’s what a wedding is really all about--doing what you love for one of the biggest moments of your life. So if you don’t want to stick to any color rules, don’t worry about it. It’s your day, and no one will fault you.

If you do want to plan colors but have no idea where to start, read over the following list of foolproof combinations. These are classic color palettes that won’t go out of style any time soon.

1.) Black and white. A black and white wedding always works. Have your maids wear black dresses; the groomsmen will wear black suits or tuxes with white shirts and ties. You could either continue threading black and white throughout all aspects of the wedding, or include one additional color--like red--for flowers. Either way, black and white will be the colors that predominate, and this classic combination will never go out of style.

2.) Deep pink, light pink and white. Although your groom may object to pink, the truth is, it’s a color that will always work in weddings. Pink screams “romance,” and it’s much softer than red, the other color associated with love. Choose a very dark rose hue for your bridal party, and set it off with white flowers and lighter pink accents.

3.) Navy blue, buttery yellow and cream. Navy is another color that will never go out of style. Outfit your bridal party in deep blue. Choose light yellow flowers--the complement is beautiful--and cream for your neutral tone, which will be the main color for linens and invitations.

If you still can’t decide after thinking about colors for a while, just head over to a bridal shop with your maid of honor. There’s sure to be a dress that will stick out to you; have your maid try it on--you’ll know if that’s the right color for your right away.