How to Balance Dramatic and Elegant Wedding Colors

How to Balance Dramatic and Elegant Wedding Colors

Some women have their wedding colors selected from the time they are very young, but those favorites may change with age or come and go with the current wedding trends. Choosing a color palette that carries the right balance of drama and elegance can be more difficult than you think. Explore these guidelines for select elegant wedding colors that complement each other, rather than clashing.  

Keep It Simple 

If you’re a lover of color, you may find it hard to narrow down your wedding colors. Ideally, you should have three to four colors in your wedding palette. Any more than that, and your decor will begin to look too busy, and you may accidentally include hues that clash.  

Play with Wedding Color Swatches and Samples 

Visit a paint store or a shop that sells cloth to obtain some free color cards or cloth swatches. Take them home and play around with the colors, mixing and matching the ones you like into different combinations. You can have a bold color and two paler hues, or two vivid colors and a lighter one, but try to include at least one calmer hue for elegance and balance.  

Ask Your Fiancé to Help 

If you’re stuck, ask your spouse-to-be to choose one color that he or she really loves from the selection of paint samples or cloth swatches that you’ve collected. Start with that shade, and add complementary hues to create your wedding colors.  

Include a Neutral  

Let’s imagine that you’ve selected two complementary colors, sunshine yellow and cornflower blue. You need another color, a neutral, to balance those bright choices and lend elegance to the ensemble. White or gold will accomplish that nicely. Dramatic hues like eggplant and navy need the gentle elegance of gold; aqua and cherry red look better with the addition of khaki as a balancing color. Vivid boysenberry and blush get that touch of holiday elegance when you introduce frosty silver to the mix.  

Bring In the Bold Color 

Maybe you’re discovering that your chosen colors are all on the pale, elegant side. You’ll need to add a punch of extra color by including a vibrant hue. With cream and gold, add emerald or burgundy. With yellow and beige, add cinnamon. For pale green and white, add velvety black. Chartreuse and powder blue receive an extra jolt of energy when you add cornflower blue, while peach and sage look richer with merlot red. 

Test the Colors at the Wedding Venue 

At some point during your color selection process, take some swatches and samples of your colors to the venue. You need to make sure that the colors you’ve selected actually look good in the space. If you’re having an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception, or vice versa, test the colors in both areas. You may want to check the swatches under different kinds of lighting as well. Fortunately, most classic wedding venues, like Nanina’s in the Park, are decorated with beautiful neutrals that form the ideal background for a variety of elegant wedding colors.  

If you’re having trouble picking a palette that really works for your wedding, ask some artistic or design-savvy friends to help you out. With a little patience and experimentation, you’ll solve the wedding palette problem and come up with colors that wow your guests and make your day even more special.  

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