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While it seems simple, choosing the perfect wedding palette is far more complex than picking your two favourite colours and calling it a day. The endless rules and techniques about shades and hues are overwhelming at the best of times, so we’ve put together a list of the 10 most common colour mistakes, and how you can avoid them. 

Mistake #1 Too many colours

Like a kid in a candy store, it’s easy to get excited about all the different colours and palettes you can choose for a wedding. The key here is to keep it simple. With a mix of 2-4 colours, you’ll keep your wedding décor cohesive, making it look polished and classy.

Mistake #2 Staying Strict

While you don’t want your wedding looking like a mismatched rainbow, it’s also important not to fall too strictly into two exact colours and shades. To avoid this, palettes will often include a neutral complementary colour like cream or tan, as well as playing on lighter or darker shades of the primary colours. For example, if one of your colours is olive green, play around with centrepieces that are pastel green or emerald. This will create a colour scheme that is subtle yet cohesive.

Mistake #3 Location Location Location

The floral arrangements, the invitations, the trending colours, the season, there is a lot to consider when picking your colours. Sometimes the most important factor is the one most often forgotten – the venue! Whether you’re getting married on a beach, in a cathedral or a vineyard, the natural tones and hues of the location can easily complement (or clash!) with your chosen colours. The best fix for this is to prioritise either colours or venue, keeping a colour scheme in mind when looking at locations, or staying undecided until you find the perfect place.

Mistake #4 Overdoing one hue

One of the colour slips we see at weddings, again and again, is the overdoing of one hue. Balancing colours is key in creating a beautiful colour scheme that isn’t too intense or overwhelming. If you love bright colours then make sure you match it with a second, slightly more muted colour. Or if you’re set on two vivid colours, try choosing slightly different shades, like coral instead of bright orange, or rose instead of hot pink. 

Mistake #5 Trying to be trendy

When looking to Pinterest, magazines or social media for inspo, there always seems to be a colour, pattern or texture that is touted as the ‘it’ pick for weddings. However, if your nature-inspired colour scheme doesn’t fit the hip metallic shades every wedding magazines seems to feature, then that’s okay! Think first about what colours you like, or which ones make you happy.

Mistake #6 Bridesmaids, what bridesmaids?

One of the largest statements of your wedding colours is undoubtedly the bridesmaid’s dresses. However, while your yellow or olive colours look perfect as table linens or invitations, they may not suit the members of the bridal party. If you’re set on colours that won’t make the most flattering bridesmaid dresses, the best fix is to choose a complementary neutral or muted hue of your colour. You can even use accessories like posies, jewellery or wraps that more closely match your colours to help tie in the bridal party. 

Mistake #7 Staying Seasonal

The days of keeping to seasonal colour rules are (thankfully) over, so pick a colour palette that you love and tailor it to the particular season. Just because it’s autumn doesn’t mean you’re limited to burnt oranges and corn yellows, instead, choose colours that you love and tailor it to the particular season. If you’re getting married in winter or autumn, choose slightly muted or softer tones, while brighter shades suit summer and spring ceremonies well.

Mistake #8 It’s all about the details!

The venue and dates are set, and you’re suddenly desperate to send out your ‘save the dates ASAP! Whether you haven’t yet decided on a colour scheme, or just forget about it entirely, having your paper elements in your colours is a small, yet important detail. As the first official announcement, your invites will introduce your wedding colours to recipients, giving the following wedding elements and ceremony a cohesive harmony that keeps it classy!

Mistake #9 Flower Power

Let’s be real, flowers can easily become one of the most expensive elements of a wedding, especially if you’re set on a specific type of bloom. Finding the exact colour match for your scheme isn’t only expensive, but often impossible depending on your colours. Often brides will bend their colours to match flowers, or ignore it altogether, however they key here is to simply tell your florist your colours and get them to choose neutrally coloured flowers that will complement those hues. Don’t forget you can also incorporate your exact colours with a vase or ribbon!

Mistake #10 Be the ring binder bride

You know the ones, the organized wedding unicorns who are never seen without a sizable ring binder containing every single reference image, colour swatch and detail of their ceremony. Become this person! Whether it’s the cake, the flowers, the dresses or the linen, the biggest tip is to have hard copy examples of your colour scheme that you can give to various vendors. Getting specific about the exact shades and textures will mean that every detail is exactly as you imagine it.