Archive for the ‘Colors’ Category

Quickie Question: Favorite Wedding Colors?

Monday, November 26th, 2012


For many brides, wedding planning starts with a vision of colors. Red, blue, pink, green, yellow, grey… whatever color combination makes her happy or seems to say something about love and romance to her.

And of course whatever colors you choose, someone loves them and someone else hates them. Some couples compromise if someone close to them has a difficulty with the colors they really wanted in the first place. After all, it might be politic to remove black from the color scheme if it’s going to upset grandma too much, or pink if the best man is uncomfortable with so much as a pink tie. Whether you do that depends on how much the relationship means to you as opposed to how important the color is to you. Only you can decide where your priorities lie.

Me? I wound up more or less avoiding the whole question. I didn’t specifically choose a color scheme, weirdly enough. In the end, the wedding wound up being mostly cream and silver grey with touches of red, which I liked. I didn’t go in saying ‘these are my colors.’ I just picked things I liked… and once I’d picked a couple things, others fell into place. But there were touches of every color of the rainbow at that wedding. Pink, blue, yellow, lavender, even orange made an appearance. I was tremendously pleased with my no color scheme color scheme. It left me open to options that kept the whole look from being too carefully matched for such an informal style of picnic wedding.

But I think if I’d specifically picked wedding colors, they most likely would have involved blue and/or purple. Funny how neither wound up being a major part of the wedding.

So what about you? Do you have an ideal wedding color scheme? A color you would never dream of putting in your wedding? One you love but worry is too cliche to use?

Tell us all about it!

Will You Think Pink?

Sunday, October 28th, 2012


I assume all of you have heard about Jessica Biel’s pink gown that she wore when she married Justin Timberlake.

Pink wedding gowns tend to cause a bit of a stir, but they’re hardly something new.

After all, this wedding gown dates from 1877.

Just a month before my own 1993 wedding, I attended one where the bride wore bright rose pink.

It’s not for everyone, of course. I’m not a pink lady, and never was. But if you look good in pink, and you like it, and it feels festive to you, why not?

Color My World… Or At Least My Wedding

Tuesday, August 21st, 2012


There are a lot of ways to choose wedding colors. You may have a scheme you’ve worked out years ago based on your – or your intended’s – favorite color. You may know what you want based on the setting where you’re holding your wedding or reception. After all, if the place is done up in green and gold, it’s easier to choose colors that will look good with what’s already there. Or a particular theme you’ve chosen might steer you in a color direction. Just remember if you’re having an Original Star Trek themed wedding, don’t dress your wedding party in red shirts. You want them to survive the ceremony, after all.

Some of us, though, have a harder time deciding on the question that will set the mood and the look for the entire event. Yes, I know, that sounds momentous. It sounds like making the wrong move here will destroy the entire wedding. Trust me, though, it probably won’t. It’s an important decision, but not a world-ending one. This should be the fun part of planning.

If you’re finding yourself stuck, maybe all you need is a little inspiration to hunt through. To that end, I’ve found you a couple resources that might give you a pointer in the right direction.

The image above comes from an inspiration gallery over at Better Homes and Gardens. You’ll find eighteen different color schemes illustrated, with links to pictures of real weddings based on those colors for each combination. It’s a great place to start.

Another good tool is the color wheel at Brides.com. You can pick a color range you want to work in, a level of contrast you prefer, or just let the wheel spin and spit out what it will. This one doesn’t direct you to weddings in those colors, but if you find something that appeals, you can go look at real things in those shades and see how you like them.

Color sets mood. It helps make the design cohesive. Whether your preference is graphic black and white, gentle pink and cream, giddy orange and yellow, or lush purple and red, your colors should make you happy.

Go find what makes you smile, and then make it your wedding day.

Inspiration: Mint

Thursday, July 12th, 2012


It’s fresh, it’s retro. It’s cool, it’s the hot color coming up on the wheel. It’s mint, and it’s going to be big for 2013 weddings. But how to use it effectively? Is it right for you? I don’t know about you, but I love this mint and lavender table setting by Archive Vintage Rentals.

Of course table settings are one thing… but far from the only thing you can do in mint. How about a mint wedding gown?

I found this pic at Stella Harper Events, and I love it. Not only is the dress fabulous, the VW microbus in the back looks exactly like the one my father drove for about twenty years until he passed it on to one of my brothers.

But not everyone is ready to wear a mint wedding gown. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a few colorful accessories to pull the color scheme together.
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Lady In Red: Is a Colorful Wedding Gown for You?

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012


This gown comes from Oscar de la Renta’s Spring 2013 collection. As you may have noticed, it isn’t white.

de la Renta showed several colored wedding gowns in his latest collection. Some were vibrant red like this, the others were a more ethereal blue. Vera Wang showed gowns in shades of red from an almost black burgundy to a vivid vermillion. Red, blue, purple, pink… color is one of the top stories of bridal couture for the coming year. But what does that mean for you?
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Going for the Silver

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Let’s face it: not every woman looks her best in white… or cream… or ecru. And some women just don’t want to wear any shade of white while getting married.

But if you aren’t getting married in white, that opens up every possible color in the rainbow to you. What to pick then? Well, right now a lot of brides are looking to shades of silver, steel, platinum, and just plain grey.

Grey? For a wedding gown??? Yep. I say don’t knock it until you take a look at it.

Take, for instance, this strapless Aria gown in platinum floral print on a cream colored background shown here with a narrow spring green sash (sold separately, which means you can do without, choose another color, go wider, or choose something with beading instead, if you prefer).

It’s simple, festive, and definitely not the standard wedding gown.

But shades of grey can go dramatic, too.
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Inspiration: Copper

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

Right now one of the big decorating trends for weddings is copper. I love this. Copper is a warm, inviting metallic that goes well with a wide variety of other colors. Whether you’re going for a blast of color or a restrained, neutral palette, copper will round your look out nicely. It can even bridge the gap between gold and silver handsomely if you want an all metallic look.

I’ve found a few examples of the versatility of copper, just in case you’re undecided on the matter.


(Image via Delightfully Engaged)
Here copper combines with red for a sumptuous, elegant look. It’s rich and warm.
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