After saying “Yes!” to your prince charming, choosing a color scheme should be the first thing that happens when planning a wedding. Color schemes set the tone and style of your wedding, everything is planned around them: the invitations, the flowers, the cake, the linens, the dresses. To some Brides, picking out a color scheme is no task at all, but to some it can be slightly aggravating.

            Here are a few ideas on how to choose a color scheme:

Summer, Spring, Winter, or Fall?

There are a few questions you should ask yourself to help narrow down to a specific color scheme. One suggestion is to take some inspiration from colors that you usually see in a specific season. For example, a Winter wedding could tie from holiday décor with bolder colors like deep reds with accents of whites, icy blues or silver. Design websites like Polyvore, are great because they can help you design beautiful color schemes for your wedding.

Home Improvement

One of the best ways to pick out a color scheme is to head to a home improvement store and walk down the paint isle. Stores like Home Depot and Lowes offer free paint chip samples in a variety of color families. What’s awesome about this is a paint swatch usually has a lighter shade, a darker shade, and a more neutral option all on one sample. You can also go to a fabric store like Jo-Ann or Hobby Lobby and ask for an associate to cut you a fabric swatch; there may or may not be a charge for this but it should be no more than a dollar and some change.

Childhood Flick

Is there a favorite movie you watched over and over growing up? Take some inspiration from a favorite childhood film, and use it as part of your color scheme. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the focus of the design, but it could be used as an accent color. One of my Brides loved the Wizard of Oz growing up, so for her wedding she tied in small accents of red. Florist, Samuel Franklin, added coffee berries to the bouquets, the groomsmen wore red ties, and the groom tied in his sense of style by wearing Red Converse shoes that complimented her Ruby pumps!

Cover art

If you or your fiancé are art lovers, consider taking a favorite painting and using that to design your wedding. Take a close look at what colors and shades the artist used to compliment the main subject in the piece.  Do the same thing with a favorite book jacket or a CD cover.