The Importance of wedding flower COLORS…

Selecting the Perfect Wedding Bouquets for the Bride and Her Bridesmaids

by Deborah McCoy, President, The American Academy of Wedding Professionals™

Ó 2008, AAWP. All rights reserved.  

In my opinion, it’s essential to relate wedding flower colors to your wedding season. Are you hosting a summer or a winter wedding? A garden look for winter nuptials would be as incongruent as a “frosted” look for summer weddings. Flowers like daffodils, snapdragons and tulips are synonymous with spring; while holly and poinsettias are synonymous with Christmas and winter. Autumn brings to mind vibrant colors: oranges and rusts, deep reds and golds. Do the colors you’re envisioning relate to your wedding season?

Your Bridal Bouquet

          Your wedding gown provides the background color for your bridal bouquet. The gown may be ivory, white, blush, mint-green or pink, or you may wear a brightly colored dress or suit for a second or informal wedding. Whatever color you choose, however, the color of your flowers must complement the color of the gown you’re wearing.

Wedding Gowns and Wedding Flower Colors                                                           

          White (as in wedding gown) is neutral and is compatible with all colors. A wedding flower bouquet should complement a wedding gown just like the right pair of earrings or the perfect pearl necklace.

          A bridal bouquet should be part of the total picture and shouldn’t stand-alone. It should tie in with the color scheme of your bridesmaids dresses.

Determining Wedding Flower Colors for Bridesmaids with Color Wheels

The following diagrams contain two color wheels. The first shows primary, secondary and intermediate colors, ones that are bold and vibrant. The second depicts variations in these colors called tints; they are softer. I’ve taken the liberty of changing the names of these colors to those commonly used by the wedding industry.

          To determine compatible floral colors let’s look at the wheels. Put your finger on a color that most closely matches the color of some imaginary bridesmaids’ dresses. The four colors to the right—or left—of the color you selected will be compatible.

          Let’s say the bridesmaids’ dresses are fuchsia. Look at Wheel One and put your finger on fuchsia. The four colors to the right that range from violet, to blue, to teal are compatible. Or you may choose the four                 Wheel One

 “fall” colors to the left that range from fiery reds to bright orange. Either choice is correct (but don’t mix the four colors on the right with the four colors on the left).                                                 

          You may also select wedding flower colors by choosing opposites on the wheels especially if they like the bold and dramatic. Think “opposites” and strong, unflinching words come to mind: fire and ice, or war and peace. It’s the same with color—green and red being the most familiar example. How about salmon and teal? Or purple and gold?  

          Another way to select compatible wedding flower colors is “the triangle” method. Let’s assume the bridesmaids’ dresses are pale yellow (find it on Wheel Two). Count four colors to the right and you’ll find Wedgwood blue. Count four colors to the left and you’ll find pink connect the dots to form a triangle. The colors designated by the triangle—blue, pink and yellow are compatible.                                              

          Let’s try this again. Pretend the bridesmaids’ dresses are teal. Count four colors to the right and you’ll find fuchsia. Count four colors to the left and you have gold. Connect the dots to form a triangle. Teal, fuchsia and gold are compatible.       

          Wheel Two

          The right color choice when it comes to wedding flowers is integral to the beauty of your wedding—and just as important—to the beauty and timelessness of your wedding photographs and video. Take your time, study the information in this article, and talk to the skilled wedding professionals at PorcelainRoses.com for the best advice available.

 The Romantic Meanings of Flowers:

White Carnation — remember me

Carnation — pure love

Daisies — share your feelings

Holly — domestic happiness

Ivy — fidelity

Lilies — purity

Orchid — you are beautiful

Red Rose — I love you

White Rose — you’re heavenly

Red and White Roses together — unity

Violet — modesty

Deborah McCoy is the author of four, major bridal reference books for mainstream publishers, and is the author of the premier course on how to become a professional wedding planner. www.aa-wp.com

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