Picking Your Wedding Colors: a Guide to Making the Right Choice

It may not seem like it, but picking your wedding colors may be one of the most important decisions you will make. It will affect everything from bridesmaid's dresses, to your bouquet to your cake.

There are a couple of things you should keep in mind when picking your colors. They are not hard and fast rules but you should find them helpful. You can pick any color combination you want.

Pick Colors You Can Find

Nothing can be more frustrating than a wild hunt for a bridesmaid's dress in an obscure color. It may seem like a good idea to go to a paint store and pick out paint chips from the vast arrays of colors they have on display, it's not. A better way to make the decision is to jot down a few of your favorite colors and then visit a few vendors such as dress shops and florists to see if those color are easy to come by and what shades they come in.

Some colors go in and out of season. Bright colors like lime green and tangerine are more likely to be found in the summer months rather than the winter. Classic colors like most shades of pink can be found all year.

If your heart is set on a color that is harder to find you can still use it. Ribbons, invitations and flowers are easy to find in a wide variety of colors. Use the hard-to-find hue as an accent and more classic colors as the base for your overall design.

Use the Color Wheel

Some people just have a knack for putting colors that go well together. If you look at the best combinations they usually follow a color scheme from the color wheel. Pick a color and look across the color wheel to find its complimentary color. Complimentary colors usually work best if they do not compete too much. Instead of picking bright blue and bright orange consider navy blue and peach. Using a monochromatic theme can be very modern and interesting. An example of a monochromatic theme would be using different shades of brown from rich chocolate to creamy ivory and everything in between.

Be Unique

Fashion designers use reports called fashion forecasting to predict what the next big trends will be. Bridal magazines also stay very current with what is en vogue with brides. Consider purchasing a few bridal magazines to give you some good ideas. However, don't feel pressured to pick colors based on what they feature. Your colors should reflect colors you like. In reality your wedding photos are going to look dated in years down the road, it doesn't matter if the colors you chose were in style now, because they won't be then.

The most important thing is to choose something you like and what represents you and your style. Picking your wedding colors will be one of the first steps of planning your wedding. Have fun with it and let your creative side show.