How to Pick the Perfect Wedding Colors

 Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Sacramento | Maddy Godt

Picking a color scheme for the big day is one of the most important parts of wedding planning. 

After all, you’ll need to decide on a color palette before ordering your bridesmaid dresses, picking your flowers, and selecting your table linens, centerpieces, and wedding décor!

There are sooo many colors to choose from and incredible color combinations you can create. However, many couples aren’t sure where to start or how to decide which colors to choose. 

Don’t worry — we’ll show you how to pick wedding colors (there are a few easy ways!). We’ll also recommend a few color palettes we love that work in every season.

How Many Wedding Colors Should You Choose?

Ideally, a great wedding color palette will include between three and five colors. These can be monochromatic colors or contrasting colors. 

You want them to complement and work together to create a cohesive look.  

As a starting point, pick one or two colors. Once you have one or two main hues in mind, you can use the color wheel to help you choose complementary colors. 

You can also find wedding inspiration online with those colors as the focus. 

Shop our complete collection of hundreds of bridesmaid dress styles.

Choose Colors for the Season

Photo: Bella Bridesmaids | Kasey & Tyler Rajotte 

It’s your wedding day, and you can choose any color. However, some colors lend themselves best to specific seasons.

Pastels, pale neutrals, bright colors, and light hues are always great for spring and summer weddings. Consider jewel tones, darker neutrals, dusty hues, and deeper tones for winter or fall wedding colors. 

Neutral shades (like taupe, gray, and sage green) and dusty colors (like dusty blue and dusty rose) are great color choices for any time of year!

Whether you’re having a spring wedding outdoors or a winter wedding inside, look for colors that make sense for the season.

Choose a Wedding Color Scheme Based on Your Wedding Venue

Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Birmingham | Eric & Jamie Gay

Many couples let the setting for their ceremony or reception serve as the basis for their color palette. 

For example, if you’re having a beach wedding, consider a color palette based on the colors of the ocean, sand, and sun. Shades of sky blue, mist, taupe, and coral are gorgeous options! 

For a wedding in the woods, embrace shades of green and neutral colors like taupe, brown, and ivory.

Does your venue have a colorful carpet, a unique wall color, or colorful décor? Then, consider building your color palette around some of those existing decorative details.  

Choose Colors That You Love!

Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Oklahoma City | Andi Bravo

An easy way to create your perfect wedding color palette is to select your favorite color and build your entire color scheme around that. 

For example, if your signature color is pink, create a palette with a particular shade, blush, or rose as the focus. 

If you love light blue's calm and serene look, create a color scheme that includes different shades of blue. We also love it when couples mix and match dark blues with deep jewel tones or light blues with complementary pastels.

Don’t have a favorite color? 

Look for color inspiration in other things you love, such as flowers or jewelry. We’ve even seen brides fall in love with a specific piece of wedding décor and create their entire wedding palette around that!

Choose Colors That Work With Your Wedding Theme & Aesthetic

Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Philadelphia | Laura Briggs

Choose colors that complement your wedding and personal style, no matter your theme or aesthetic. Colors evoke feelings and set the mood, so look for hues that make sense with the vibe you’re going for!

Having a vintage 1920s-inspired theme? Opt for neutrals like black and white with metallics like gold and silver. 

Want your wedding to have a gothic or moody tone? Make black, deep blue, deep purple, or rich burgundy your focal point. 

If you want your wedding to have a glamorous, glitzy vibe, create a palette centered on gold or rose gold.

Some of Our Favorite Wedding Color Palettes

There are endless, gorgeous color combinations to choose from for your wedding day.

Here are three that we absolutely love that work at any time of year:

Light Blue & Dark Blue 

One of the reasons we love light blue is that it’s super easy to coordinate with a wide variety of other colors. Light blue goes well with shades of sage green, brown and taupe tones, lavender and lilac hues, and other pastels such as pale yellows and peaches. 

It’s also beautiful when paired with deeper blue tones like navy blue, teal, and cobalt blue.

Light blue is a gorgeous year-round color, whether you’re hosting a summer wedding on the beach or an indoor wedding in frigid temperatures.

Check out our list of nine ideas for couples considering a light blue wedding palette!

Neutral Taupe & Gray 

Whether your wedding style is rustic, traditional, modern, or minimalistic, neutral taupe and gray make for a stunning color palette. 

Taupe and gray coordinate beautifully with sage and moss green, shades of light blue, and pretty pink tones. This makes it easy to create three-, four-, or five-color wedding palettes with chic neutrals as the focus.

Ivory & Gold 

If you love metallics that shimmer and shine, ivory and gold is a classic and glamorous color combo! You can round out your color palette by adding elements in shades of green, pink, brown, or other metallic, like pewter or rose gold.

There’s also a bonus to choosing a color palette centered on ivory and gold:

It’s super easy to find gold accents in dinnerware and glassware, table linens, and decorative accents!

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Your wedding color palette will be prevalent throughout every aspect of your wedding day. That includes everything from the bridesmaid dresses to the flowers to the centerpieces.

So start gathering inspiration and thinking about the mood and the vibe you want to set for your special day. Consider the season, venue, and any specific elements you want to have at your wedding.

Once you have your color palette set, you can move on to our favorite part of wedding planning — shopping for bridesmaid dresses, of course!

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