How to Choose Wedding and Event Colors

How to Choose Wedding & Event Colors

When it comes to weddings and events, choosing the right color is one of the most important decisions of the planning process. Selecting a great palette can be as simple as picking your favorite colors or matching a theme's colors. But sometimes, you may find yourself looking for a specific feel for the special day, and that's where knowing how colors work together can come into play.

There are three primary colors, which are red, yellow, and blue. These three colors can be combined to make secondary colors, which are orange, green, and violet. When primary and secondary colors are blended together, tertiary colors are created. These colors include yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, and yellow-green. By knowing how these colors interact, an unexpected combination may be discovered that fits the look and feel for the event in question.

There are also colors that are considered warm and cool. Warm colors tend to be in the red, orange, and yellow spectrum. Cool colors are the hues in the blue, green, and violet spectrum. Warm colors can be used to make a large reception hall or banquet room feel more cozy and close, while cool colors are known for creating a calming effect and can make a smaller room seem visually larger. You can use a dominant cool color and enhance it with a warm color to create a balanced effect.

Contrast, Complementary, Clashing…What?!

Red and green are popular contrasting colors for the holidays. 

Contrasting colors are colors that are directly opposite of each other on the color wheel: red and green, blue and orange, violet and yellow. These are also called complementary colors, or colors that clash. However, that doesn't automatically mean they look bad together. In fact, they look quite good if used correctly. For instance, a room with green walls isn't going to look particularly pretty with a lot of red decorations. However, if you use both red and green as accent colors with white and silver as your main colors, you’ll create a space that is perfectly beautiful for winter events.

Analogous, Monochromatic, & Triads…Who?

No, we just didn't name off some random names. These are actually names of different groups and uses for color combinations. For instance, blue is a popular color, but if too much is used, the distinction between tableware, napkins, and tablecovers will be non-existent. This is where monochromatic color comes into play as you can use different hues of blue to decorate, using black, white, or silver as accents. Using our blue example, tablecovers can be blue, tableware can be two shades lighter, and napkins can be a dark blue.

Blue and green are analogous colors that create a bright and festive feel.

Using the same blue, you can create an analogous color palette by using anywhere from two or more adjacent colors, like blue/violet, green/blue, and green/yellow. By using these colors together, a harmonious color palette is created and there is the added bonus of having a lot of color to brighten, or darken, an area as needed.

Create a triad color combo with an orange tablecover, magenta napkins, and lime accents in the centerpiece.

Triad color palettes are very straightforward. They are defined as three colors that form a triangle on the color wheel. Some examples of this would be:

1. blue/purple,orange/red, and yellow/green
2. green, orange, purple
3. red/purple, blue/green, yellow/orange

Choosing the Right Colors

Picking event colors can be as simple as choosing a favorite color, a spouse's favorite color, the color of a favorite flower, or even the color of your favorite vegetable! Sport teams colors can also be chosen, or colors one might find at the beach like blue, tan, and green. It can also be complex, as you want to be sure you’re creating a balanced color palette without creating an environment that looks like a five year old designed it. Be creative with colors, and keep a color wheel on hand if you get stuck.

But what colors will work with the chosen venue or location? This is less complicated than believed. If the space is open and bright, dark hues will work beautifully. On the flip side, if the event is to be held in a darker space, a lighter palette will brighten the room and make it feel more open. However, be sure to check what colors already exist at the location and pick colors that complement it so there is no bad contrast of color.

Consider seasonality when choosing  wedding and event colors. 

Another thing to remember is the season the event will be held during. Winter months tend to lean more towards reds and greens with gold and ivory, as well as blue with silver and white. During the fall, colors using hues of red, yellow, orange, and brown to mimic the changing of the leaves are an excellent choice. Summer events tend to be bright and colorful, like using turquoise with magenta and a bright green. Spring usually brings out the pastel colors, like peach, tan, and cream.

Popular Color Combinations

Color palettes always remain the same; however, the ways people use them tends to change decade to decade. Here are a few great Napkins.com color palettes to inspire you:

Trendy Color Choices:

• Turquoise and Bittersweet
• Candy Pink and Mimosa
• Dove Gray and Purple
• Sun and True Blue
• Tropical Teal and Classic Pink
• Luscious Lavender and Periwinkle

Classic Color Choices:

• Black and White
• Sunkissed Orange and True Blue
• Classic Red and Glittering Gold
• Bermuda Blue, Ivory, and Mimosa
• Emerald Green and School Bus Yellow

Check out the rest of our shop by color tableware to dream up your own color combinations!

Remember, have fun with color choices! There are endless ways to combine color to create that perfect look and feel to celebrate every occasion. Experiment and go out of your comfort zone. Who knows, you may just pick the next trendy color combo well before the rest of the world.