And the Pantone color of the year is… (drum roll please) Living Coral! Pantone is the ultimate authority on color, and each year one lucky hue is crowned the “color of the year.” Could Living Coral be the perfect color for your wedding? Once you’ve picked a wedding venue and sent out your save the dates, the next question you’ll be getting asked by everyone is “what are your wedding colors?”
Choosing wedding colors is a cornerstone of wedding planning. It’s a little harder than just picking your favorite color or Living Coral because it’s going to be the hottest color of the year. The colors you choose will set the tone of the wedding and make other decisions easier. After deciding on the color, you can start picking your bridesmaid dresses and decor. When choosing your wedding colors, there are a few considerations to keep in mind.
What’s in a Color?
Your favorite color may be blue, but is it a pastel blue, a sapphire blue, navy blue, or an icy blue? Do you want warm or cool colors? How about metallic or jewel tones? Colors evoke feelings. Blue is calming while red is passionate. Choosing a color is a little complicated because of the different facets of color patterns and the nuances between shades and categories.
Examples of Different Color Categories:
Cool: blue, green, purple – These colors remind us of cooling water and nature.
Warm colors: red, blue, orange, and yellow -These remind us of the sunlight and heat.
Metallic: Rose gold, gold, silver – These colors resemble polished metal.
Pastels: Baby blue, pale pinks, purples, yellows, and greens- These are the soft and more delicate shades of a color.
Jewel tones: These richly colored hues that are inspired by expensive jewels like sapphires, rubies, and emeralds.
Neons: Neons are highly saturated and bright colors like neon orange and neon green.
Neutrals: Neutral colors go with nearly anything like black, white, beige, blush.
Earth tones: These colors are what you’d see in a forest, like olive green, rust, and deep browns.
Choose Your Base Color(s)
This is the color (or colors) that will have the most prominence, all of the color colors in the palette will be complimentary accents (most people have anywhere from two or four accent colors). If you know you want to stick with just a single color like Living Coral, go ombre and use one single color but in an assortment of shades.
You can never go wrong with picking one of the Pantone colors (not just the color of the year). Pantone has different collections of unique shades that you can fall in love with. These colors come in handy when you order a tablecloth or a cake, and “pink” can is interpreted in many different ways. The Pantone colors include the specific color code, so there is no confusion.
Color Placement
When deciding on your wedding colors, it helps to know what colors are for what. Once you have your main color or two, the other colors are most likely accents. Determine what each color will be used for specifically like table clothes, napkins, bridesmaid dresses, party favors, your cake, it will make organizing and choosing the colors a little easier.
Think Theme
Deciding on a wedding theme will help narrow down the color choices. If you’re having a nautical themed wedding, you’ll probably stick to traditional navy blues and whites or a beach theme while staying away from purples or yellows. A romantic theme will call for blush, rose, and other colors that seem naturally romantic, instead of bright blues or oranges. Your theme doesn’t have to dictate your color choices, but it can make deciding on a palette easier by giving you a reference point.
Seasonal
There’s often debate about whether or not some colors are strictly for each season. Is it okay to have pastels in fall or jewel tones in spring? Rules are meant to be broken. You have to choose colors that make you happy. If you love Living Coral and plan on having your wedding in the middle of winter, you can make it work! Here’s a little guideline for seasonal colors.
Spring: Spring is a nature-inspired season that celebrates new beginnings and new life. Spring colors are delicately vibrant. Living Coral works perfectly for a spring color palette, pairing well with rose gold or classic gold and pastels. Many brides and grooms choose pastel colors for spring weddings.
Summer: Summer colors are the boldest and brightest of all of the seasons, think vibrant blues, reds, greens, and golds. Summer colors are like ripe fruits or a beach getaway. Living Coral works perfectly with yellow hues or ivory.
Fall: Fall colors darken and become warmer, inspiration comes from the natural colors of the leaves. Fall can also be the perfect time for more romantic use rustic colors that are creamier. Living Coral could be paired with a sweet champagne palette.
Winter: Winter colors can be icy or glamorous, you can’t go wrong with silver or gold. Winter colors are regal and rich, deep reds and purples, but can also be delicate pale colors like a beautiful snowstorm. Living Coral has an elegant feel to it and is perfectly accented with gold.
Picking the Right Color for Your Wedding
Picking a wedding color is an important decision that will set the tone of the wedding. It makes choosing decorations easier and is a great reference point of different decisions. Because the choice is so important, it is hard to make. Brides and grooms struggle with picking out a color palette as there are many factors to consider. A color palette for a wedding is artistic and strategic. It will make all of the little details and pieces come together. Colors play a huge role in our lives in fashion and art, Pantone the biggest influencer in color picks a color each year that will dominate the scene. This year it’s Living Coral. If you still don’t know where to start with your color journey, take a look at the different Pantone colors to draw inspiration.
