Setting The Mood With Color
by Tracie Callihan
One of the first questions that I ask a future bride is this, "how do you want your wedding to feel?" Whether you want sophistication and elegance or fun and whimsical, the colors you select can make all the difference. From the moment your guests enter the space where you choose to marry or walk into the reception hall, the colors you have chosen will convey the mood of the whole day.
When you start out with the feeling or ambiance that you want to create, then develop the design of your wedding -- it makes the whole process of a creating your dream wedding easier. For example, recently I had two brides with their weddings a week apart. They both had very different ideas on how they wanted their day to feel. The main color of yellow was picked for each wedding. Bride #1 wanted a very elegant feel where as Bride #2 wanted to have fun and party. The challenge was that the weddings were dangerously close to Easter and neither one wanted their wedding to look like part of the holiday. We designed an elegant feel by pairing yellow with silver and white for the first bride. The second loved bright colors so fuchsia and orange were paired with yellow so when you walked in the door you knew it was time to party. Each bride had started out with the same color of yellow but because they knew the mood they wanted their guests to feel, finding the color combinations to reflect the mood was a breeze.
Once that you have a definition of a feeling that you want to create -- whether its classic, whimsical, elegant, romantic, or traditional, this becomes a great starting point for all the other elements. The next step would be to take a really good look at the venue that you have chosen for the wedding and reception. Are there strong colors in the room that might clash with the ones you are considering? I have seen a reception held in a Chinese restaurant where the walls were bright red. The bride's colors were a clashing purple. She did not achieve the romantic look that she had wanted and her pictures show the red chairs, walls and curtains more than the purple tulle scalloped along the tables. Observe the venue at the time that your wedding or reception will take place. See how the lighting will affect the room. Some colors will appear very different with different types of lighting. Here are some color ideas to go with the mood you have chosen:
Romantic: Apricot, Dusty Rose, Lavender, Sand, Cream Antique White, Mauve, Sage Green
Exotic: Topaz, Mandarin Orange, Corsican Blue, Raw Umber, Carnelian, Jade
Whimsical: Fuchsia, Bright Orange, Lemon Yellow, Kelly Green, Cobalt Blue, Lime, Purple
Tranquil: Lilac, Sky Blue, Celadon, Eggshell, Seafoam Green, Violet, Mint Green, Taupe, Pale yellow, Peach
Classic: Hunter Green, Cranberry, Mahogany, Gold, Colonial Blue, Plum, Navy, Grey, Raisin Brown, Vanilla
Elegant: Alabaster, Pale Gold, Deep Blue, Royal Purple, Coral, Deep Periwinkle, Porcelain Rose, Silver
These are just some suggestions. You might find a wonderful brown, teal and pink that works perfect together. The general rule is stick to two or three colors at the most because too many start to look like a birthday party. So hit Home Depot or a local ribbon shop. Get lots and lots of paint chips or strips of ribbon and try out different colors until a few feel just right.
