With the blush pink trend on the way out, bold coloured weddings are the latest trend coming to 2022. And why not add a splash of colour to your wedding day? Bold colours have been popular in the design space for the last few years, so it’s not a surprise they’re coming to modern weddings in 2022. Today we’re going to discuss how to use bold colours on your wedding day!
1: Choosing the Right Venue for Colour
The venue is everything when choosing bold colours for your weddings. While blush and ivory work with most venues, bolder colours are more likely to clash. This tends to hold a lot of brides back from choosing bold, bright colours for their wedding. As a result, it is important to start planning your bold colour wedding with the venue. You need to check if your chosen venue fits with your colour or if there are elements that will clash. What colours are the floors and walls? Are there carpets or curtains that will clash with your colour? Is it a busy space with odd furniture or a number of paintings on the walls?
You need to look for a venue that has blank walls or exposed brick that are versatile enough to work with your colour palette. As a rule of thumb:
- White spaces allow you to be as bold as you like, but you should avoid mixing in more white
- Historical locations/hotels/homes often have antique carpeting, rugs and paintings that can clash with bold colours. If you’re set on using these venues, try to work in the same colour family to create a harmonious look and feel
- Outdoor spaces are also great neutral locations, letting you go bolder. And if you need to dilute your colour a bit, add in more greenery
- Industrial/exposed brick locations are fantastic for yellows, pastels, raspberry pinks, blues and reds to lift the room
2: Use the Four Tone Technique
This is the go-to technique when creating any kind of colour scheme, not just bold weddings. You basically divide your colour palette into four categories:
Main colour – this is your most prominent colour. It should be used for flowers, the cake, stationery, napkins, bridesmaids’ dresses and more.
Complementary colour – is a companion colour for your main colour. It should come from the same colour family or be a neutral, like white. Use it in your small furnishings, cake, candles, and flowers.
Top note colour – this is a highlight colour which can be either pastel or metallic. It’s ideal for fonts, favours, small hints in flowers, stationery and candle holders.
Undertone colour – is a deeper colour that grounds your overall colour scheme. It’s ideal for the groom’s suits, balloons, flowers, ribbons and other small embellishments.
Here’s an example:
- Main Colour – Orange
- Complementary Colour – Red-Orange
- Top Note Colour – Pastel Yellow
- Undertone Colour – Red
3: Gather Colour Inspiration
One you’ve chosen a venue and a colour scheme, it’s time to find inspiration, it is important to wait until now for inspiration as your venue and taste might differ from inspiration you’ve found online. Once you’ve nailed down the venue and colour scheme, you can find more targeted inspiration based on your choices.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find a lot of inspiration online in your chosen colour scheme or wedding style. It just means you need to be a bit more creative when working with your vendors and suppliers. Find images of bouquets or arrangements that you like, in the style you want, then let the vendor know what colours you like instead. Your supplier can also help you make adjustments to fit your style and bold colour scheme. This allows you to create something that is truly unique to your wedding.
4: Be Confident in Your Bold Wedding Colours
Planning a colourful wedding means you’re likely to have a lot of doubters. This doesn’t just mean friends and family, but maybe even suppliers who don’t quite understand your vision. Just like wearing bold coloured clothing, planning a bold coloured wedding takes a lot of confidence. But it also allows you to celebrate your wedding in the brightest and biggest way possible.
And work with your colour to ensure you get the best outcome. Use leaves and greenery to break up your colour if it feels a little too bright and "in your face". Leaves are perfect at dispersing colour without adding too much green. They tend to disappear into the background while tying your colour scheme together more harmoniously.
It also takes some trial and error. Experiment with your colour. Get paint swatches to see how they look together or buy samples of you place settings and/or decorations to see how they all go together.
Looking to create the perfect bold coloured wedding? True Bride is home to Australia’s best wedding suppliers and vendors. Explore our listings to find the perfect vendors for your needs, as well as our handy budget calculator!
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