How to Choose Wedding Flower Colors That Go Together
Choosing your wedding flower colors is a big decision, and it can feel like a heavy one. Those colors will show up in your flowers and your photos for the rest of your life. If you're feeling stuck, that's completely normal. Here's how I walk brides through it, and the mistakes I'd help you avoid.
Start With Your Wedding Season
The first thing I tell a bride who isn't sure what colors she wants is to think about the season she's getting married in and lean into seasonal colors.
Many brides default to all white and green because they worry a color will go out of style or look dated in photos years from now. But seasonal colors never go out of style. Adding a little color to your wedding day makes it feel extra special and memorable. And when your palette fits your season, the beautiful seasonal blooms you're picturing will actually be available on your date.
If you need a place to start, the summer, fall, and spring posts walk through what's in bloom and which colors come with each season.
Be Careful Where You Pull Inspiration
Pinterest is a great place to gather ideas, but be careful. Many of the photos you'll find feature silk flowers, and silk flowers come in colors that don't exist in nature. The same goes for images generated by AI. It's easy to fall in love with a palette that can't be grown, and you may end up disappointed when your real flowers look different.
When you save inspiration, look for photos of real, fresh flowers, and share your board with your florist so they can tell you what's realistic for your date. If you ever need to fall back on the basics, a color wheel will never steer you wrong.
Our Palettes, Season by Season
At Breemar Flower Farm, I've created a set of standard color palettes that cover every season of the year. Each one is built from blooms that are actually available at that time, so you know what you're picturing is realistic.
Ashland Alabaster: a classic white and green palette. It never goes out of style, though it's also the most predictable choice, since so many brides go with white and green. It's lovely, but I'm a florist who loves color and will always encourage you to add some.
Wildflower Waltz: bright, cheerful jewel tones for late spring through summer. This is the palette that makes your guests gasp.
Hanover Harvest: my fall palette, with burgundies, rusts, and oranges.
Blueridge Beauty: soft blues and white with a touch of lavender. Blue and white is hugely popular right now, and the lavender is my twist on it. It helps your flowers look a little different and unexpected, instead of like every other blue-and-white wedding.
Richmond Romance: pinks and ivories for a romantic look. It works spring through summer and can carry into fall with a few tans mixed in.
Buttercream Dream: apricots, buttercream yellows, and peaches. It's wonderful for spring and summer, and it can be deepened for fall.
Wintergreen Whisper: pine greens, browns, whites, and silvers, with cones for texture. It gives you a true winter feel without looking like Christmas.
If none of these feels like you, or you'd like to blend two together, I offer custom color palettes for my à la carte and DIY brides for an additional fee. Creating a new palette means developing new flower recipes and choosing blooms that are appropriate for your date, because I only use seasonal flowers, grown in the United States whenever possible. If you're still deciding how you'd like to work with me, see how à la carte, hybrid, and DIY weddings compare.
Let Your Venue Guide You
If you're getting married outdoors, a seasonal palette will almost always work, because it was made by the landscape around you.
If your ceremony or reception is indoors, take a good look around your venue and notice what stands out. One of my current brides found a stained glass window at her venue and is building her entire palette from its colors. It's a beautiful way to tie your flowers to the place itself.
My best advice is to visit your venue during the season of your wedding. Look at what the trees and landscape look like. Look at how the light falls inside the building. Most brides book well over a year in advance, so there's usually time to do this. You chose that venue because you fell in love with it, so let it be your main inspiration. It will help your whole day feel cohesive. (Planning your timeline? Here's how far in advance to book your wedding florist.)
Coordinate With Your Dress and Your Bridesmaids
Tell Your Florist the Exact Dress Color
If your palette includes white, tell your florist what color your dress is. There are many shades of white, and they can match the right one to your gown.
I'd steer clear of bright white flowers unless your dress is truly bright white. Bright white can look stark next to the other flowers in an arrangement, and in photos it catches the light and glows much more than you'd expect. Ivory and champagne flowers play well together, so you can mix those without worry.
Think About Your Bridesmaids' Dresses
If all your bridesmaids are wearing the same color, we can leave that color out of the bouquets, or at least keep it from being the dominant color, so the flowers don't disappear against the dresses. If they're wearing different colors, we can coordinate the flowers with each one.
Do Something a Little Different
My last piece of advice is to notice what your friends are doing and try something a little different. I make flowers for weddings over and over, and I believe every bride is beautiful and unique, so her flowers should be unique and memorable too.
Whether You Want Full-Service or DIY
Whether you pick one of my palettes or want something custom, I'll help you figure out what fits your wedding and your budget. Start with my Investment Guide & Calculator, then reach out through my inquiry form and let's find the colors that feel like you.
Keep Blooming, Nicole
