A Wedding Chaplain's Journal

As 2011 approaches, so do predictions of various kinds, including speculation on what will be the hot wedding colors. After some research on the hot trends, I asked some local photographers for their opinions on them; which colors look good and which to avoid. Here are the results.

Planning for a wedding takes months of effort. Deciding on a color theme for the event can really personalize your wedding. The question is what will be the best color palette that reflects your vision of the day? Michelle Mospens has been researching wedding color trends about one year in advance and published two palettes in early 2010. Palette 1 displayed bright colors while Palette 2 described more earthy tones. Seems she is right on the money. Pantone has declared the 2011 color-of-the-year to be honeysuckle pink. I’ve seen navy as a superb color choice because it looks good on most people and offers a classy yet softer look than black.

I wondered if photographers, who take the pictures during the weddings, had any preferences for the colors or advice on which to avoid. I spoke with Barbara Ann Cameron, Melissa Johnston, Vanessa Dewson, Annemarie Gruden, Melanie Rebane, Amna Hakim, Julie Butler and Andrew Van Beek for their advice. It seems they were of two minds, just like the palettes. Palette 1 offers new bright colors that they love because it is something fresh and new to shoot. They make the people pop out from the surroundings. Others commented that they like the natural earthy tones of Palette 2. There was talk on how much we all love the East Asian weddings. Amna, who shoots many of these, said, “I love jewel tones on a bride, so a ruby red, emerald green, blue sapphire.” Purple was a favourite for East Asian weddings in 2010 and we all wonder what the color will be for 2011.

Colors that make you look jaundiced should be avoided. These include most yellow and yellow undertone colors like celadon (celery) and some browns if placed near the skin. They are super as accents in the décor and fashion. Color combinations can be great as long as they are from the same palette. You can safely mix the Palette 1 colors together and the Palette 2 colors together – but not Palette 1 with a Palette 2 color.

Your color palette choice should be part of an overall vision and theme for your wedding day. As Annemarie said, “It all comes down to working with all the aspects of the day. It’s not just clothing – location, backdrops, reception settings, and season – are all factors that have to be taken into consideration. You can have a great colour but it shouldn’t necessarily be just in a dress or a tie.” If you are having difficulty choosing a color theme, then perhaps you can ask a wedding planner for some direction. There are lots of choices for colors in these two palettes to suit everyone. Choosing your colors is part of the fun of planning your unique and personal wedding. With these two palettes you can go ahead and plan.