How to add colour into your wedding: 5 tips for contemporary, colourful wedding styling

Something we hear a lot from our couples is that they want to have a romantic, sophisticated wedding, but they want it to be bright and colourful too – and they don’t quite know how or if these go together. If this is you, fear not; your wedding styling can absolutely be both of these things simultaneously. Here’s how to add colour into your wedding and make an unforgettable event:

Colourful wedding styling

Instead of just telling you how to add colour into your wedding, we thought we’d show you.

Two of our favourite weddings that we had the pleasure of working on recently utilised colour brilliantly. One featured a tarot-esque, bohemian vibe, whilst the other was a more urban celebration with a strong focus on shape. They were both different, absolutely lush, and perfect examples of how to add colour into your wedding.

Alysha and Kurt’s Guardswell Farm wedding was originally scheduled for autumn, but had to be postponed to spring. We’d originally discussed bold autumnal jewel tones to fit the season, but moved to a ‘spring awakening’ palette, full of bright colours, to bring their New Orleans-inspired styling to life.

For their cool, urban BaAD wedding Becca and Stewart wanted a palette bursting with endless colour. They didn’t want to stick to a rigid palette, so we went with strong, bold colours complemented with softer, muted counterparts for all of their fun design elements.

How to add colour into your wedding

Use bold pops of colour

One of the key styling tips for how to add colour into your wedding is: in bold pops. Big focal points around your venue will pack a pretty punch without being overwhelming, perfectly communicating the fun, colourful vibe.

You can place these focal points wherever you like, as long as they’re visible. For example, Alysha and Kurt’s top table sat beneath a hanging installation of bright, hand-dyed fabric streamers. Combining colour with height guaranteed that as soon as you stepped inside the room, your eyes were drawn to it.

For Becca and Stewart, their focal point was their colourful ceremony backdrop. It was composed of different painted shapes and plinths – some leaning, some on stands, some with woven elements – accentuated with lanterns, flowers and disco balls.

Layer your colours cohesively

Planning colour pops don’t mean you can’t have colour anywhere else in your wedding – oh no! Our second tip for how to add colour into your wedding is cohesive layering. This doesn’t mean thermals under your outfit: it means using colour to link the day and spaces. It doesn’t always need to be bold in and of itself; instead, it can complement and enhance your chosen bold moments. As well as bigger decor items, your stationery choices, floristry, candles and linen are all excellent answers to how to add colour into your wedding.

As Becca and Stewart’s day went on, we moved the different components of their ceremony backdrop to other parts of the venue, to continue the colour throughout and link the day together. Both the signage and furniture collection was selected and designed with the bright palette in mind, and worked as another layer of colour throughout the venue. In lieu of a runner along the table, we continued the colour with bright candles and blue napkins flanking their colour pop floral arrangements. Disco balls also featured along the table reception, to further continue the theme of the ceremony.

Coloured boards also played a central role in layering the colour at Alysha and Kurt’s wedding. To complement the coloured plinths which we placed on the lawn to perfectly frame both them and the beautiful views over the tay, we embedded boards and other decor in various areas around the venue to bring everything together. Again, we used the stationery, napkins and candles to continue the colour throughout the reception. We also used bold pink table runners, with a full drop at each end for impact.

Play with texture

This tip on how to add colour into your wedding might seem odd, as it seems to focus more on touch than on sight. However, textures are a great way to incorporate colour into your wedding styling! One of our favourite ways to do this is via fabric, which acts as a softer way of adding colour. This can add a totally different dimension to your wedding styling.

Alongside the fabric elements of Alysha and Kurt’s wedding styling, we also used wooden beads, crystals and other decor items to translate the colour palette in interesting ways.

At Becca and Stewart’s wedding, we played with texture in their backdrop, adding wooden frames with woven details in the middle to further add depth to the display. We also focused on flowers, in a big way. Making the most of peony season, in all of their maximalist, ruffled, textural glory, we made sure Becca’s bouquet stood out with a cacophony of clashing pink, red and fuchsia. (Her bridesmaids’ posies had peonies at their centre, too.)

Consider your venue

Of course, a key part of styling your wedding is where it’s taking place. For example, we selected Alysha and Kurt’s colours to work well with the natural, earthy tones of Guardswell Farm. Becca and Stewart’s colour palette was chosen with BaAD’s airy, urban space in mind.

When thinking about how to add colour into your wedding, think about the colours, textures and features of your venue. Are there any strong architectural colours there already? Red brick, black metals and stone walls look great when you work with them, rather than against.

Trust your stylist

Our final point on how to add colour into your wedding is: trust your stylist. They bring buckets of experience and loads of knowledge that can help build your confidence with using colour, and empower you to make the bold choices that you really want. It can be hard to envisage sometimes, but your stylist is there to make it as little stress as possible.

If you’re looking to create colourful wedding styling that not only looks incredible but feels unforgettable, then we’d love to chat. You can get in touch here – we can’t wait to hear from you.