Color Me Happy: Some Thoughts on Choosing your Wedding Palette

I have, on more than one occasion, had the interesting experience of trying to help a bride find a bridesmaids dress that will match her table linens. By “interesting” I really mean incredibly frustrating and difficult. Most bridesmaids dresses come in a variety of colors, but it somehow seems that once a bride has settled on an exact shade to match, finding it is always problematic. There may be only one fabric from one designer that is just right, and figuring out which it is can be a headache, plus then we are limited to the styles that come in that fabric from that designer, which the bride and bridesmaids may or may not even like. Yipes! Here are some hints to save yourself some stress as you plan your day.

1) Don’t nail down your colors for other items until you’ve looked for the bridesmaids dresses and gotten an idea of what’s out there. You may find dresses in the perfect color you were thinking of, but if this turns out to be difficult it is will be far easier to find linens or cummerbunds or whatever that will work with the dresses than vice versa.
2) Rather than choosing just two colors as the basis for your décor, pick an inspiration piece and work from that. It could be a bowl of fruit, a bouquet, a unique scarf or a plate, a handbag… there are limitless options. You will still end up with a few dominant colors, but this can help you work in interesting accents.
3) If you do end up with one or two dominant colors, rather than trying to match everything, go for various shades within the same family of those colors- this will add depth and richness to your scheme. One of the most beautiful weddings I have seen did various shades of pink from fuchsia to primrose. Yummy!
4) Your bridesmaids dresses don’t have to be in the “wedding colors” (i.e. match the invitations and the ribbons on the chairs), they just have to compliment. If you’re doing vibrant flowers, you may want your maids in a more neutral tone so the flowers really pop. Or if you’re in love with a color that doesn’t flatter anyone in your wedding party, work it in to the décor and put your girls in a color they’ll shine in.

(The first image is of a vintage scarf I could base my wedding scheme on. I’d put the the bridesmaids in black with flowers in rich oranges and pops of green- my favorite!- everywhere possible. For those of you who are not so into the vintage thing, behold this lovely photo with vibrant bouquet and more subdued bridesmaids dress.)