Choosing wedding colours can be completely overwhelming. There is no other choice that so drastically affects every part of your big day. Whether you’re hunting through racks for your dream bridesmaid dresses or scrolling for the perfect wedding invitations online, colour is going to be at the forefront of your mind and will be one of the biggest factors in your decision making. There are so many colours, how do you even begin to choose the right ones?! Well, here are some tried-and-true sources of colour inspiration that you might want to draw on.

Inspired by the season

Winter wedding? Perfect time for rich berry reds and purples, dark greens and various shades of blue. Autumn? Fiery orange, red and yellow. Spring is perfect for light floral colours and Summer for a tropical palette. Drawing on the season means a lot of things will naturally tie in to your theme: people will be dressed a certain way and the environment and weather will (probably!) be matching. Know your climate and what conditions are likely to be like. Snow? Rain? Cracked brown dirt? Plan for the environment you have, not the one you wish for. Do the leaves in your area actually turn red in the month you’re aiming for, or will they still be green? Plan accordingly.

Inspired by the location

Try choosing a venue before you choose your colours, and let the location speak to you about the palette. A green vineyard or garden might carry over into different shades of olive, while a beach might go well with blues or sandy colours. Of course, you might choose to contrast with the surroundings rather than blend in. Reds, oranges and purples pop against the natural environment, while soft botanical colours stand out against the harsher environment of city streets.

Remember to consider the time of year in your colour planning. An otherwise green farm paddock might actually be a dry, dusty brown if you’re getting married in the heat of Summer.

Inspired by the wedding theme or style

What sort of wedding are you having? This is a broad question, but think about the style and theme of your day. Is it casual? Formal? A beach wedding? A garden party? Sleek and modern? Minimalistic? Rustic? Vintage? Whatever words come to mind when you think about your wedding should be considered when choosing a colour palette. An ultra-modern event will benefit from a neutral set of colours with eye-catching pops of bold colour scattered throughout things. A vintage wedding might support soft pastel colours that reflect your chosen era. Use your colour choices in this way to support the theme and style you are aiming for.

Inspired by your favourite colours

Choosing your wedding colour palette doesn’t have to be complicated. What is your favourite colour? What is your partner’s favourite colour? Try using one or both of those. See? You really don’t have to overthink it! Your wedding is your day to celebrate everything that is your relationship. If you both love blue, let loose with the blue. If your groom loves a certain shade of green, consider having that as one of your colours. This is a great way to help your man feel included in the wedding if he’s struggling with that. Some men find it hard to feel ownership over a wedding they weren’t really involved in planning, so incorporating his favourite colour can make him feel like it’s his day too (which it is!).

Inspired by something during planning

If you don’t have any initial plans for colour, it’s perfectly acceptable to start the planning process with an open mind and let your choices guide you as you go. Sometimes a theme will emerge gradually, but often it’s often one unique item that stands out and brings everything else into focus. Find the perfect wedding dress and it’s not white? Build your colour palette around that to make sure it shines on the day. Got your dream venue and the walls are red? Plan around that as a feature. If something bold presents itself to you and you love it, let your colour palette build around that.

Your wedding colour palette is one of the key elements that defines your wedding, so you want to make sure you are wild about it. If you’re feeling the pressure, take a look at your wedding from these different angles and think about what will work best for you, or hold off the decision and let it come to you as you go.

This was a guest post by Maddison Wallace from Paperlust. Maddison is head of content at Paperlust. She is a communications professional, postgrad student, part-time librarian, and occasional wedding photographer. She loves words and drinking cups of tea.

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