Can You Paint with All the Colors of the Wind?

Oh, Vanessa Williams, you are lovely on Ugly Betty, but what happened to your singing career? You were my middle school idol...

Ok, this post is not about Vanessa Williams (Sorry, V. Wills!). Someone recently asked me to explain how I chose my wedding colors (purple and brown, with touches of platinum). When I sent off a crazy detailed email, much like the list below, she recommended I start a blog. Well, gee, I've actually got one of them thar bloggy-thingys! I just gave it up because I lost confidence in myself .

Now that I've been inspired to pick blogging back up, let's talk about colors. Early on in my engagement, I got an email from a friend of Mr. McBriderson, congratulating us and asking me what my colors were. She said that this was the one question she was asked most during wedding planning, and I should have a ready answer (that wasn't "blush and bashful", unless those were, indeed, my colors). Thus, I set out to choose colors, with Groomy and a large stack of wedding magazines by my side. Ironically, we would up choosing the colors of our living room decor. Imaginative, I know. BUT, we had a process, I swear, which I am now going to share with you! Ask:

- what color combinations make you "swoon?" For me, in the beginning, I loved the way gray/platinum looked with magenta. Specifically, gray dresses with magenta shoes. Unfortunately, the "vibe" of our venue wound up being more nature-oriented and less art-deco, plus this would've required either dyables or some fierce kate spades for the bridesmaids. I prefer to let them pick their own shoes in a specific color family.




- what kind of "mood" are you looking to evoke? For a natural aura, green and brown are great. Grey and magenta are modern, black and white can be oh-so-glam. Some brides love art-deco, some love vintage, etc. You should look for a look that speaks to your personality.

- do the colors you like translate into a dress you could ask another human being to wear? This is a no-brainer. If you wouldn't wear it, please don't make someone else!

- will you be able to get flowers in any of your chosen colors in the month of your wedding? And, do you actually like those flowers? Example - cala lillies come in an awesome dark purple in my season, but me no likey one bit. I needed to make sure there were alternatives.

- do these colors clash with any of the static features of the venue - walls, carpet, curtains? I dismissed a great venue because the walls were red - I would've been locked into a small palette, and one that didn't appeal to me. Likewise, black and white wouldn't work in my actual venue - the carpets are tan and green. That's why brown is my dark base color instead of black, and why I dismissed a pink and black color scheme (other than Groomy's vehement protests).

- matching - is the color you like hard to match or hard to find? I had a hard time finding a BM dress line that came in a nice purple, believe it or not. Likewise, I am using several shades of purple and lavender, so that not everything needs to match exactly. Otherwise, you can drive yourself crazy.

- finally, pick a metallic - preferably gold or silver, based on what's already in the venue and what goes with your colors. You will have to pick one at one time or another - shoes, jewels, chargers, silver, picture frames for table #s, placecard holders, guest book pens, etc. It always seems to come up, and having a cohesive look with the details will contribute a lot to the overall look of the event.

A good way to find out what colors indeed may make you swoon is to check out the blogs at www.weddingbee.com, www.stylemepretty.com, and www.oncewed.com