Happy almost Christmas, everyone!

In our last blog post for the 2019 year, we decided to end our chat about 2020 colours by talking about colours to avoid.

Now, that’s almost a trick statement. There is no colour authority stating what colours can and cannot be used this year, but we do have a few things to think about when you DO pick your colours.

[media-credit name=”Joanna Moss Creative” link=”https://joannamoss.com/” align=”alignleft” width=”850″][/media-credit]

1. Context

Did you know different cultures have different colours associated with weddings and special social events? For example, red and gold are considered lucky or auspicious in countries such as China, India, Indonesia and Japan.

Certain faith backgrounds and social statuses have brides wear green, blue or purple. Some traditions ban certain colours as unlucky or of the wrong status. So, if you would like to have your wedding reflect certain heritage aspects, colour may be an incredibly important tradition for you to carry through.

In these cases, it’s important for couples to sit down with their parents to decide the vision of their colour choices to ensure cultural taboos are not committed and that traditions are upheld.

[media-credit name=”Tracy Jazmin Photography” link=”https://traceyjazmin.com/” align=”alignleft” width=”850″][/media-credit]

2. Meaning

Similarly to the idea of context, we always recommend choosing colours that mean something to you. Just because a certain colour is considered “hot” right now, does not mean that you as a couple are (pardon the pun) married to it.

Choose colours that tell a story. Colours that remind you about something from your childhood, or something that pulls a memory from some point in your relationship as a couple. Build on those stories and memories, because they make your wedding uniquely yours!

Some of the most exciting stories that we have had included:

• a couple who were die-hard fans of Dr. Who. Nothing besides Tardis blue and copper would do!
• a couple who got engaged in France, with the skyline of Paris as the background. Besides being über romantic, the story became the centrepiece of their design, with the Eiffel tower providing that sense of placement.
• a couple who got married in a destination wedding in a tropical area wanted to reflect that in their stationery. Blues to match the ocean were used for portions of the stationery, with pops of lime green to match the “take a shot, find your seat” tequila shots!

We find that couples who come in with a meaning behind their colours are generally less inclined to change the pallets throughout the wedding planning process. Your colours being meaningful to you grounds the design and provides your stationer with a really good starting point.

[media-credit name=”Simply Sweet Photography” link=”https://www.simplysweetphotography.ca/” align=”alignleft” width=”850″][/media-credit]

3. Availability

We hate to say it, but sometimes it’s hard to match exact shades, or items won’t be available in certain colours. Some basic colours are easier to find than others. This is one of the reasons why blush pink has been a very popular colour for years. Items are widely available in all the blush pink.

But, just because things are super available does not mean that you should make it your wedding colour. It doesn’t mean that you can’t use some of the easier to find items in certain colours to help flesh out your palette.

We may sound like we have a bit of a hate for blush pink, but in all honesty, it’s a lovely colour that can be used in so many ways besides being the focal point. So, try mixing it in with some deep wine reds, greens, or even *gasp* a deep yellow. Be unique!

We hope that helps you look at your wedding colours a bit differently!
Have any questions about what is available? Pop us an email! hello@weddingdesignbyanika.com