From Idea to I Do: Chapter 3 - Crafting the Perfect Wedding Color Palette
- Katie
- Oct 14
- 7 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Let Color Tell Your Story
Color is more than decoration: it’s memory, emotion, and meaning. Your floral palette can whisper nostalgia, shout joy, or quietly ground your wedding in something deeply personal. Maybe it’s the soft lavender that reminds you of your grandmother’s garden. The deep forest green that echoes a misty engagement hike. Or a delicate blush that simply feels like you.
Color is deeply personal, and a little knowledge of how different hues work together can make your flowers feel even more intentional. Understanding basic color theory, like which shades complement or contrast, can help you create a palette that not only tells your story, but looks beautifully balanced, too.
And here's the magic of working with book page flowers: your palette isn't limited by season or nature. Want peonies in December? Purple sunflowers? We’ve got you. With handmade blooms, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.
Table of Contents:
Color Theory 101
Color theory doesn’t have to be complicated, it’s simply a way to help your flowers feel balanced, intentional, and full of life. Whether you’re working with a full rainbow or leaning into quiet neutrals, here’s a guide to how different color choices can shape the mood of your wedding day.
Neutrals = Calming + Timeless
Before we dive into color, let's discuss a lack of it. Choosing a neutral palette, such as ivory, soft gray, taupe, or even gentle greens, can create a calming and timeless effect. Neutrals don’t compete for attention. Instead, they act as a subtle backdrop that lets love (and you!) take center stage.
Pro Tip: Use varied shades and textures to keep a neutral bouquet from feeling flat.
The Whole Crayon Box = Happy + Vibrant
If a riot of color feels more like you, go for it! Using a wide spectrum of hues creates a playful, high-energy bouquet that celebrates bold joy. Just remember: even vibrant palettes need balance. Pair together colors that live in the same world; whether that’s deep jewel tones or soft pastels. It’s an easy way to create a palette that feels curated instead of chaotic.
Pro Tip: Adding neutrals or greens helps anchor a colorful bouquet. It’s the secret to making it feel polished, and not overwhelming.
Complementary Colors = Bold + Balanced
These are colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel: blue and orange, purple and yellow, or red and green. When used together, they create striking contrast that pops visually, while still looking natural.
Pro Tip: Use one as your main color and the other as a subtle accent, instead of an even split, to keep it elegant.
Analogous Colors = Harmonious + Cohesive
Think of the color wheel as a neighborhood. Analogous (aka: similar) colors are neighbors. For example: neighbors that live on the same street would be light blue, turquoise, and teal. Neighbors that each live one street away would be yellow, orange and red. The close proximity of these colors result in a unifying look.
Pro Tip: Vary the tonal depth (choosing lighter or darker shades) within this range to avoid the flowers looking too flat.
Monochromatic Palettes = Modern + Minimal
A monochromatic palette uses a single color in varying shades, like light blue, cobalt, and navy. It’s clean, modern, and surprisingly impactful when layered thoughtfully.
Pro Tip: Mix in different flower sizes and floral textures to add dimension to your bouquet.
Main Characters & Supporting Roles
Now that you have a solid foundation for your palette, it's time to add balance, cohesion and interest. Imagine colors as characters in a book. There are typically just one or two main characters, multiple supporting characters, and sometimes even background characters who add important value to the storyline.
A great floral palette works the same way.
Start with One or Two Main Colors
Think of these as your “main character” colors. They're the hues that take the lead and will be most prominent across your floral arrangements. These are usually the colors you’re most emotionally drawn to or that align with the overall wedding theme.
Pro tip: If you're going bold (like burgundy or emerald), a single main color might be enough to carry the look. If you're going soft (like blush or ivory), pairing two main colors can add necessary depth.
Add Two or Three Accent Colors
Think of accent colors as the “supporting roles” of your color story. They aren't the main focus, but they still make a big difference. Accent colors support and elevate your main colors. They keep your palette from feeling flat and can bring in unexpected depth or whimsy.
Accent colors might include:
Contrasting tones – like navy with light blue, or burgundy with blush
Neutrals – such as sand, gray, ivory, or even black
Complementary hues – like coral with navy, or mustard with mauve
Pro Tip: Accent colors are also a great place to experiment with unexpected pairings or personal touches, especially with book page flowers, where your options are nearly limitless.
Creating Contrast
Neutrals can help balance out more intense and darker colors. They give your eye a place to rest and make your bold choices stand out even more.
Alternatively, a darker color added to a more neutral palette can help each bloom shine, gives the eye a place to focus, and adds visual depth to your bouquet.
Pro Tip: Don’t underestimate greens! Foliage colors, from sage to hunter, can add either a neutral or dark shade to your palette, and bring a whole theme together.
Neutrals with A Color Pop
One of the most modern, and striking, ways to use contrast is to keep your base palette neutral or muted and then add one bold, unexpected “pop” of color. This creates drama without overload.
Pro Tip: Less is more. Use your “pop” color sparingly for major impact without visual chaos.
Traditions & Symbolism in Color
Color doesn’t just set a mood, it can carry deep personal and cultural meaning. Whether you're honoring your heritage, nodding to a family tradition, or simply weaving in symbolism that feels personal to you, here are a few ways color can tell more than one story.
Ties to Heritage
In many cultures, color plays a central role in wedding rituals. For example, in Chinese and Korean culture, red is a traditional symbol of good luck, joy, and prosperity.
Incorporating a traditional color like red into your bouquet, even subtly, is a beautiful way to honor your cultural roots, without having a traditional ceremony.
Pro Tip: You don’t need an exact match to honor tradition. Softening or deepening a meaningful hue allows you to blend heritage with your unique palette in a way that feels both timeless and true to you.
Something Blue
It’s a tradition for a reason: in many Western weddings, blue symbolizes fidelity, love, and purity. Brides often include “something blue” in their attire, but why not in your florals?
Whether it’s a single blue bloom tucked into your bouquet, a navy stem wrap, or muted blue foliage, this tradition can be interpreted in surprisingly modern ways.
Pro Tip: Not into blue, but like the concept? Try a symbolic color that means something personal to you and your partner, like the color of your birthstones.
Symbolic Shades
Other colors also carry meaning, such as white for purity, yellow for happiness, and green for renewal. Think of each color as a word in your love story, quietly expressing emotion through beauty. Whether or not the symbolism is visible to others, it can make your bouquet feel more meaningful and personally significant to you.
Deeper Dive: Want to learn more about colors and their meanings? Here's a thorough article explaining colors and their most common symbolism in more detail.
Mistakes to Avoid
As you dream up your perfect palette, here are a few common color missteps to keep in mind.
Overmatching
It’s tempting to try to match your flowers exactly to your bridesmaids’ dresses, table linens, or venue, but that can actually flatten your overall look. When everything is the same color, nothing stands out.
Instead, choose complementary or contrasting shades that add dimension. If your dresses are sage, maybe your bouquet leans into blush and rust, with sage as an accent instead of the star.
Sticking to Just One Color
Choosing only one color can leave your bouquet feeling a little flat. Even the softest, most romantic palettes need a bit of variation to feel dynamic and full of life.
Instead, mix it up! Combine multiple tones of light, medium, and/or dark, within your chosen color family to create depth and interest. With paper flowers, it’s easy to layer in subtle shifts that make your bouquet truly dimensional.
Ignoring the Wedding Party's Attire
Your flowers will be photographed against dresses, suits, and backdrops. If you don't consider how your floral colors interact with the attire of your wedding party, you could end up with clashing or competing tones.
Instead, think of items like bouquets - both yours and your bridesmaids - as part of the overall outfit. Will it pop or disappear next to your dresses? Will it complement the wedding party's colors or clash? A good rule of thumb: if your bouquet includes a color found in your party’s attire, use it as an accent, not the main focus.
Still Feeling Stuck?
Here are some questions to help you go in the right direction:
What colors make me feel the most “me”?
Are there tones already present in my venue, attire, or invitations that I want to echo?
Do I want my bouquet to stand out or blend in with my dress?
What colors remind you of meaningful places or moments in your relationship?
Are there shades that make you feel instantly calm, joyful, or beautiful?
Have you saved photos or color inspiration that keeps reappearing?
Does your wedding season or time of day suggest certain tones (warm sunset hues, soft spring pastels, etc.)?
Whatever palette speaks to your heart, follow it. Color is art. And in art, the rules were made to be broken.
Color You Can Feel Confident About
Sometimes colors come together differently in real life than they do in our minds or even Pinterest boards. That’s why at Anthology On Main, all of our custom book page flower packages include an adjustment window. Once you receive your bouquet preview, you'll have the opportunity to change any tones that may feel off.
Color revisions require remaking blooms from scratch, which is a time-intensive process we’re glad to take on to ensure your bouquet feels just right. Your flowers are meant to last a lifetime and you deserve to feel 100% confident in your palette before the big day.
Color is personal. So is your bouquet.
Let’s craft something you’ll want to hold onto forever.
What’s Next in the Series
In the next post, we’ll take the first step toward bringing your floral vision to life.
Chapter 3: (this post) Crafting the Perfect Color Palette
Chapter 4: Customization That Tells Your Story, coming October 28th, 2025
Epilogue: What Happens After “I Do”?, coming November 4th, 2025
