Manolo for the Brides

Who’s best placed to talk about wedding color trends for 2010? The wedding vendors who are already knee deep in outfitting the upcoming weddings of 2010, of course! Curious, I had a gander at My Personal Artist’s trend watch for the spring and summer of this year, and found both aqua blue and lime green on the list. My first thought was let’s put them together! Here’s the result:

Paired with brown detailing and tiny rhinestones, aqua and lime wedding invitations can be beachy but don’t have to be. This is a fun palette that maintains its elegance when you, say, leave the sea stars on the sand where they belong. (via)

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As always, we wish you and yours a wonderful new year! We expect that 2010 will be a wonderful time for all things wedding, but until all that’s in store reveals itself, here is some lovely silver wedding inspiration to see you into a whole near year. What’s this? Traveling in a roughly clockwise direction, there is a beautiful (though sadly unidentified) silver wedding dress, a Victorian-inspired bolero from Bonzie, a very pretty silver belt from Little White Dresser, delicate lily earrings from Elle Jewelry, wintery wedding invitations from Social Notes, flirty bridesmaids’ dresses from J.Crew, flashy silver lamé pumps from Christian Louboutin, and last but not least, a unique cloth bouquet from Milk Pod Studio. Enjoy!

Romantic? Check. Elegant? Check. A little bit out of the ordinary? Check. A pink and gold wedding palette is perfect for the feminine bride who wants to plan a wedding that could be described as magical and lovely. Though this palette skyrocketed in popularity after the modern movie version of Marie Antoinette, a pink and gold wedding palette doesn’t have to be inspired by the French Court by default. As pretty as it is, the pink and gold wedding can also be modern.

So what do we have here? Traveling in a vaguely clockwise pattern, there are natural branches studded with tufts of fluffy garden stock blossoms from a party hosted by Tracy Metz, a striking pearl and bird necklace designed by kgarnerdesigns, a lovely soft pink wedding dress by Alisa Benay for 100 Brides for $100K, a pink wedding cake with delicate gold embellishments from The Wedding Cake Shoppe, a gorgeous handpainted wedding invitation from Momental Designs, freaking amazing shoes from Haberdashery Boutique, a delicate rose gold filigree bracelet, and a snapshot from a real wedding that included antique gold bridesmaid dresses from Vera Wang.

The pink and gold wedding palette is truly as sweet as can be!

Over the past few seasons, the color combination of chocolate brown and Tiffany, robin’s egg, or baby blue has reigned supreme. Now, though, it seems folks are ready for a change. The hot new color combo according to the gurus is purple and red.

This colorway can wind up looking like you’re getting married in the middle of a meeting of the Red Hat Society:
but it doesn’t have to. Don’t believe me? Take a look after the cut and see the possibilities.
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Choosing a wedding color scheme can be difficult, and not just because there is an infinite rainbow of hues from which to draw inspiration. It’s simply that it can be tough to tell what impact your wedding colors will have on the mood of your ceremony and reception ahead of time. Unless you have your heart set on a palette, consider waiting until you’ve chosen your wedding reception venue to pick your wedding colors… particularly if the venues you’re considering all have colored carpets and other decorative touches that will stand out on their own.

However, even before you pick three or four or even more colors for your wedding, you should be thinking about the color families and levels of contrast that appeal to you in conjunction with the kind of wedding you want to have. Are you a bride who adores uber formal weddings? Or would you be happiest having a more rustic affair? Think carefully before you answer, because the colors you choose for your wedding palette will have a strong impact on the mood of your wedding!

To illustrate this point, I present what are essentially two identical wedding reception tables; the only thing very different about them is the color schemes used. First, a wedding reception table done up in pink and green.

My first impression is that of a daytime wedding, maybe one taking place either out of doors or in a light and airy greenhouse. The colors say springtime to me, though this particular color scheme would perfectly suit a summertime wedding. I’m picturing a bride in a not too elaborate wedding dress, maybe something a little shorter than is typical. The bridesmaids might be in a very light green or in unmatching white frocks. All in all, it strikes me a playful, fun, and not too too fancy wedding.

This red and white wedding reception table, on the other hand, looks more like it comes from an evening wedding to me, and I think it could be a much more formal function than the one pictured above. Why? For one thing, the colors are darker and deeper, and the lack of extreme contrast (red on red vs. pink on green) feels more elegant. I imagine the bride who chose this wedding reception table might also choose a more formal and traditional wedding dress for what would likely be a quite elegant wedding.

Isn’t that fascinating?

Images courtesy of Rebecca Thuss for Martha Stewart Weddings.

Most wedding decor palettes are cut with white or cream or a similarly benign color, most probably because it’s easier to source vividly hued napkins for the reception tables than it is to find tablecloths in that perfect shade. Or satin tablecloths bordered with a fringe and matching chair covers, for that matter. For that, you need Revelry Event Designers and Tabella.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Seriously, what’s not to love about this table? You tell me!

(via Ines Del Mar Weddings)

Much like the gray and yellow wedding palette, the red and gray wedding palette is sophisticated and elegant. But the red (unlike the yellow) adds something of a maturity. I’d choose gray and yellow for an afternoon wedding, especially one taking place out of doors, while I’d choose red and gray for an evening wedding, one that might be a little more upscale.

I like this color combo more than I like red and black, because red and black can be a little jarring if too much is used alongside white. The gray tones the whole thing down a bit without sacrificing any of the visual interest or drama. Particularly if you’ve chosen a deeper shade of gray.

These beautiful red and gray wedding invitations from Peculiar Pair Press were inspired by the copper facade of the new DeYoung museum in San Francisco, which is where (I think) the reception might have been taking place. It’s a creative idea — if you’re having custom invitations designed, why not incorporate some element of your wedding venue into the final product?

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I wear a lot of black and gravitate toward darker colors, but I’m still of the opinion that if you’re going to choose a bright color palette — for daily wear or a wedding color scheme — then go all the way! You can’t get much brighter than a cerise combined with a lime, a scheme that comes with the added benefit of beautiful contrast AND the ability to make whites pop like crazy. Take a look at Lauren and Jim’s pink and green wedding, which featured gorgeous flowers by the talented Krista Jon and was photographed by Greg Wyatt.

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My favorite wedding color scheme pairings are those that are just a tad unexpected, usually because the two or three or more colors chosen are not typically seen together. Other color combos are surprising because of the extreme visual contrast between the hues, while some are a little shocking because the chosen colors are seldom combined in decor or fashion or art or weddings.

One unexpected wedding color combination I’ve been loving lately is yellow and gray, where the yellow is bright and/or cheerful and the gray is either quite muted or so in-your-face as to be practically silver. Both work brilliantly, though for different reasons. Plus, yellow and silver were big late last year and early this year, so there’s no shortage of wedding accessories for the bride and groom who want to rock this combo. If you like it or think you may love it, here are some images that may inspire you.

Sometimes bridesmaids wear yellow and wear gray accessories, and sometimes bridesmaids wear gray or silver and carry yellow bridesmaids’ bouquets. These bridesmaids photographed by Stephanie Williams wore a soft gray AND yellow! (via)

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