Picking a Color Theme

A Few Things To Think About

When selecting your colors for your party or wedding, remember to consider a few things:

Mood What kind of mood do you want your guests to encounter, from the minute they receive their invitations to the minute they leave should be a huge influence on what colors you choose.

The Two-Complementary-Color Misconception When choosing theme colors, there is a common misconception that you have to use two complimentary colors at equal amounts. Color can be applied in many, many ways at your event. It could be as minute as a hint in a floral arrangement, or as splashy as wash of colored spotlights during the reception. Colors can also be tone on tone like red and pink or brown and taupe, and dont have to be complementary.

Color Breakdown It might be helpful to give your florist or event designer a breakdown of colors, either by percentage or print out a color chart. For example, if you plan to build your color chart around one neutral color, and have accent colors your color breakdown might look like this: 70% Ivory, 20% Brown, 5% Mellon Pink and 5% Leaf Green. Also something to keep in mind are the colors of the surroundings. For example, if you are getting married in a garden, you'll most likely see a lot of white from the chairs, and green from the garden. If your color scheme is pink and brown, for example, you could add a brown aisle runner and pink rose petals. At the reception, the most color will come from the walls of the reception hall or tent, and the tablecloths. For example, if you are envisioning a chocolate & lime wedding, you would want to rent chocolate tablecloths or sew chocolate runners with lime centerpieces.

Traditions & Significance One other important thing to think about when choosing your colors is the meaning of certain colors. It really depends on the people attending your event and how traditional they are. For example, in Chinese culture, white, navy blue and black are considered to be mourning colors, while red and gold are colors of prosperity.