Colour! 🎊🌈

It’s no secret that I love wedding days that involve some colour, as a little bit of colour goes a long way to make impactful wedding photos. Whether it’s bright or vibrant colours in the floristry or details, or even patterns within ties or stationery, injecting some colour makes a huge difference to how your wedding photos look. A bit of boldness transforms ordinary-looking wedding photographs to ones that leap off the page!

It’s not to say that weddings without bright or vibrant colours are ordinary – absolutely not – and it’s important to note that bold injections of colour don’t always work in certain situations. Keeping things simple with classic whites and greens often looks sophisticated and elegant, and that colour palette can have a calming effect.

When I refer to ‘colour’, for the purposes of this blog post, I’m talking about anything that isn’t black or white, and to help you gain more confidence in considering colour, here’s a visual aid: the colour wheel. Colour wheel image courtesy of Dulux.

Hopefully you are already familiar with the concept of the colour wheel; the colour wheel comprises the three main or ‘primary’ colours: red, blue and yellow. If amounts of RBY are mixed together, they produce further or ‘secondary’ colours: purple, green and orange. You’ll notice the colour wheel then comprises warm and cool colours; reds, oranges, yellows and some pinks being warm, and blues, greens and some purples being cool.

Why is this relevant?

Opposites on the colour wheel tend to complement each other very well. They lift or add punch to a primary colour which might otherwise look fairly plain by itself. Excellent opposite combinations that we see in every day life include a blue suit and a red tie, frequently highlighted as a winning combo at job interview stage; the glorious bold hues of purple lavender against fresh greens, and even the famous pink and yellows of Batternberg cake look bloody wicked.

You see what I mean? There are vibrant complementary colour statements in our everyday lives that don’t feel ‘too bold’ or ‘too colourful’. So why don’t I see these more in wedding colour schemes?

Personally, I think an injection of colour really makes the photos pop *chef kiss*, and if you’ve done a pre-wedding shoot with me previously, you may remember me asking you to wear lighter or brighter colours, to help bring the photos to life.

As an example: previously I’ve spoken at length about how blue can make photographs look cold, or indeed it seems to suck the colour from some images. I do not have a vendetta against blue, after all, it’s actually my favourite colour! What I mean is, where blue has been the top colour trend at weddings for the past 3 to 4 years, if you’re set on having it for yours, think carefully about accessorising it with a colour that will really make it pop.

Be sure to think about your venue and surroundings. Consider how a lush, green wedding venue background works with a blue colour scheme (blue bridesmaid dresses, blue suits, blue ties etc). Remember the colour wheel? Greens and blues are cool colours, so naturally a blue scheme against a green background will mean your photos will have a cool hue and tone (I’m talking temperature here but I’m sure they’ll be damn cool too). Chuck in a pop of colour such as orange, and they will be transformed.

For something fresh, consider teaming the gents’ blue suits with a patterned orange or yellow tie and handkerchief, or even Pantone’s 2019 colour of the year, coral:

On a wedding day it’s even more important to add some colour because in most cases, a bride will be wearing a white dress with no discernible colour or pattern whatsoever. In photographs, bridal style can take one of two roads, depending on how it’s accessorised, and again can appear either cool or warm. Team a white dress with white flowers, a groom with a blue suit and white accessories, and this has a cold hue. Team a white dress with a colourful bouquet, a groom with a blue suit and an orange tie, and this has a warm hue. You dig? Food for thought, I think.

Let’s see some fab examples where the injection of colour really gives some punch: (These images have either been my own weddings or weddings where I have been the second shooter for another photographer)

Enjoying some colour within your wedding doesn’t have to be crazy! It can be subtle, and it can work wonders.

Here’s some inspo on where can you add colour in your wedding or, as I like to think of it, a bit of interest:

Outfits (bridesmaid dresses, suits (ties, waistcoats, buttonholes, shoes, socks, cufflinks), MOB and MOG outfits (inc hats, fascinators, bags))

Flowers, obviously (bouquets, buttonholes, ceremony/venue styling, table decorations)

Wedding stationery (invites, table plan, placenames, signs)

Table decorations (different colour cutlery ie gold or rose gold, crockery, favours, table signs)

Soooo many opportunities to inject a little colour and it will absolutely transform your photos! If you’re not sure where to begin, get yourself on Pinterest and start doing some research. If you’re feeling a little scared about chucking in random colours, chat to your florist – trust me, they will absolutely JUMP at the chance to produce a colourful scheme for you.

And as I said, have a think about how your colour scheme works with your venue, and how the tones may look in your photos. Cooler colours will produce cooler-toned photos and warmer colours, strangely enough, will likely produce warmer-toned photos.

Hey listen; whatever you decide to do, I’m sure it’ll look fab. Variety is the spice of life and there’s no rules to this thing! (Apart from dogs are mandatory at all weddings, OK?)

As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to share this with your Bride Tribe or Wedding Squad if you found it useful.