Bold colour choices by brides; a trend I am predicting to get hot(her)!
With so many gorgeous palettes to choose from, its hard to know where to start when picking a colour scheme for styling your wedding. Rose Quartz and blush are a timeless favourite for many brides-to-be. Teamed with white and eucalyptus green or even with splashes of grey or navy blue, it is a popular and beautiful choice. Then you have the trend ofr metallic. Copper and gold have been gracing the wedding tables of this year and will next. Whilst these are all so very beautiful, nothing excites me more than a couple with the desire to go off beat with colour and style and I love working with bold, bright and beautiful tones, not typically associated with weddings.
Its a trend I predict is going to get hotter. We've seen glimpses of it with some fabulous tropical themed styling inspiration on the blogs and in the wedding press. In fact, only this month I had one of my own inspiration shoots covered on the lovely Rock my Wedding blog which showcases terracotta as an alternative colour idea. But with the risk of looking gaudy, how do you do bold and beautiful whilst maintaining style and finesse? Here are my style guidelines for doing bold brilliantly...
1. Before you even start to think about the exact colours, go and look at some inspiration.
Pinterest is always one of my "go to" places . Pin for your life and get a feel for what you love, like, really dislike and absolutely detest! Don't just look at wedding inspiration, a lot of trends channel through from other sources, interior design as an example. Instagram is another source of inspiration worth looking at.
2. Think about your Venue.
At this stage and before you even begin to pick colours, revisit your venue. There is no point, for example, deciding on something that will look hideous placed within your venue. If you re having a marquee or equivalent you are lucky to have a blank canvas but a stately home with its own colour scheme and decor is completely different.
3 Pull together your Colour Palette
Next stop is pulling together your colour palette ideas and I don't mean in your head but visually. I'm talking swatches or, again something from pinterest. However you choose to do it, putting it down in front of you will help. I personally would stick to 5 colours max. Think about your "punch" tones. What are the bold colour pops that will make a statement? Typically I would focus on 1 or 2 strong colours and tones and then use the rest of the palette to soften and enhance. This isn't a hard and fast rule, you could pick more if you want to make a real statement, but just be mindful of how you'll balance it all. The inspiration below featured on Wedding Chicks, styled by Modern Kicks uses black and white brilliantly to do exactly this.
4.Think about where and how you are going to use each colour.
Its useful to think about every element of your wedding styling. List them all out, from ceremony decor to stationery and tables and the start playing around with ideas of how you want to incorporate the colours. Don't be tempted to use everything everywhere, within each element i would be selective about where you bring the strong colours in. take the wedding reception tables (table scape as its known in the industry) , here the florals are an obvious place to do this, but there are other details to be incorporated. For my Terracotta and Bohemian Botanicals shoot, I used the florals to provide the pops of colour but also decided on oversized terracotta charger plates topped with coloured tableware. This was softened with the cream lace runner and grey tapered candles. In my opinion, when the eye looks at anything it is drawn to the biggest boldest part first. If everything placed in front of them is bold and bright the eyes don't know where to start, a much nicer alternative is to be drawn to a focal point and then be able to digest and reflect on the other stunning details.
5. Communicate it!
Once you have your ideas and your vision of your big day, you need to be able to communicate it to your suppliers who will work to bring this to life. The florist is the key one, but don't forget about other suppliers. Caterers and stationery designers, your venue, your cake maker are all important. the easiest and most effective way to do this is visually either through a Pinterest board or Moodpboard. Fill it with the colours, details, textures, fabrics that you love and hone it until it captures all your ideas. For my clients I produce a "cookbook" typically a 10-15 page visual document that covers every aspect of the styling.
So there you have it, My 5 top tips on how to style a wedding with a bold colour palette brilliantly. If, however, the thought of pulling together your wedding styling is overwhelming; perhaps you want help with the inspiration or even if you simply don't have the time to get creative, consider getting help! Wedding styling is the part of my work I love the most, I'd love to hear from you!
Happy Friday x
Image credit and thanks to Kitty Wheeler Shaw, styled by Jenna Hewitt; Marissa Belle Photography, Your Jubilee; Clean Plate Pictures.
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