How to Create Your Dream Wedding Theme and Colour Palette

You probably don't need us to tell you the importance of your wedding colour scheme, but before you embark on your wedding planning journey, you must go through the exciting and creative process of choosing it. Knowing how to choose wedding colours may seem obvious—you just pick a few colours you like, and that's it, right? Well, while that is partly true, there are a few other factors you should think about before settling on your final wedding colour scheme, such as the time of year you've chosen to get married, the level of formality, and your overall style. So, if you’re ready, let's dive in!

Understanding your wedding vision

A good place to start when considering your overall theme/ colour palette is to think about the overall aesthetic you want to achieve on your wedding day. For example, if you're going for an outdoor woodland wedding, you may lean towards earthy natural tones and seasonal flowers. In addition to this, you can also draw on your personal style, interests, and preferences to help define your wedding vision.

Take your time, but choose a theme that genuinely reflects your love story or personality. When planning your wedding, it’s too easy to be influenced by outside sources, social media trends, etc., so remember to stay true to yourself and don’t plan a cookie-cutter wedding like everyone else! You can consider a seasonal theme, of course! Or a specific colour scheme, but try to create a unique concept for your big day. Once you've defined that, the rest should fall into place reasonably easily.

Another significant consideration is your wedding venue; how will it influence your theme and colour palette? You should choose a venue that complements your theme OR adjust your theme to fit the venue. For example, if you're getting married at Christmas, your venue will more than likely have decorations that you can add to and a colour palette you can work with, including greens, reds, golds, and silvers.

Developing your wedding colour palette

When it comes to your colour palette, think about the colours you've chosen for your wedding dress, flowers, and decor and ensure your overall colour palette complements these factors. Less is often more, so by keeping things simple, seasonal and natural, you’ll be off to a great start. Your florist will be able to lead the conversation on seasonality, which will often play in your favour regarding cost and sustainability; there’s really no need to ship flowers halfway around the world when you can source locally and support a local business.

When you’ve chosen your wedding date and therefore can discover what's in season, you can choose colours you like that will complement your vision. Thinking seasonally and how it affects your colour palette, consider soft pastels for spring, bright colours for summer, warm tones for autumn, and cooler tones for winter. But don't forget to look at what you also really love and how it can influence your palette. Think about your favourite colours, flowers, and decor and incorporate the elements you love into your colour palette to make it uniquely yours.

Exploring colour combinations for your wedding palette

Monochromatic colours Monochromatic refers to a colour scheme that is comprised of variations of one colour. For example, you can use different shades of the same colour to create a stylish, cohesive look. Consider emerald green, sage green, or pastel blue for a monochromatic green palette.

Complementary colours Choose colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel. How about jewel tones, such as emerald green and ruby red, for a bold look?

Analogous colours Analogous colours refer to those that are next to each other on the colour wheel. For a romantic look, think soft pinks, peaches, and corals.

Neutral colours Use neutral colours like white, beige, or grey to balance your chosen palette. For a touch of glam, consider adding metallic accents like gold or silver.

Popular wedding colour palette ideas

Spring wedding colours

Spring wedding colours can go on to inspire everything from your bouquet and wedding party attire to your wedding cake, tablecloths, and napkins. Seasonal spring colours include soft pink, peach, and coral for a romantic look. Or pastel blue, yellow, and green for a fresh and bright atmosphere.

Summer wedding colours

Why not select some fun and vibrant colours like hot pink, lime green, and orange for a lively vibe that really brings a wedding palette to life? Meanwhile, cool tones like sky blue, mint green, and yellow can create a light, refreshing, and summery atmosphere.

Autumn wedding colours

Warm tones like orange, yellow, and red are synonymous with an autumnal celebration and help create a cosy and inviting atmosphere. Or you could opt for earthy tones like terracotta, sage green, and burgundy for a more rustic look.

Winter wedding colours

Cool tones like navy blue, emerald green, and silver lend themselves perfectly to a sophisticated seasonal look. Dark, rich colours like burgundy, plum, and gold create a dramatic, decadent atmosphere.

Creating cohesive wedding decor

It's vital to incorporate your wedding colour palette into your decor. You can achieve this by using your colour palette in your floral arrangements and wedding invitations and adding decorative elements like candles, lanterns, or balloons to enhance your chosen palette.

Use a mix of bold and subtle elements to balance your decor, but don’t forget to blend in some neutral colours to prevent overwhelming the senses! Choose decor that reflects your scheme and colour palette; adding unique elements that align with your theme will help guide your decor choices.

Finalising your wedding theme and colour palette

Okay, once you’ve gathered all the information and inspiration you need, it’s time to see how your theme and colour palette will work together to create a cohesive look! An excellent tip when executing your wedding theme and colour palette is to create a mood board or vision board to help visualise your theme and colour palette. Then, share your vision with your vendors and wedding party to ensure everyone is on the same page. Establishing your dream colour palette and theme early on will help you stay on track and deter you from getting too distracted by other colour palettes. Don’t just design it; hand it over and never look at it again. Keep referring back to your mood board, and remember to enjoy the creative process!

Don't overthink it!

Finally, it's easy to become fixated on the notion that you must stick to a rigid colour scheme and pick your dream wedding colour palette, but if you feel pressured to choose whatever “ideal” shades are popular that month or year, remember that your colour theme isn't everything.

Use your wedding colours as a guide rather than a rule, even if they will influence many of your other decisions, such as your flowers and decor. Don't worry about getting every component colour-coded precisely! In fact, a tonal colour palette often appears more chic than a matchy-matchy one!