Your wedding is your special day; it is not your Great Aunt Bertha's wedding! So colour your wedding with your colours and show how vibrant and exciting you are. If you don't dress in neutral colours then you don't have to dress your wedding that way either. You will look back at the wedding photographs and remember the colour and feel of this special day.
Here's a list of colours and their meanings in our western society:
WHITE: Brides have been dressing in white since 1840, when Queen Victoria married in a white, opulent gown. Before that, brides wore any colour but black. White symbolizes purity, the innocence of childhood. In the Christian liturgy, it symbolizes the brightness of the day.
GOLD: In Christian liturgy, gold, like white, symbolizes the brightness of the day. In our culture, it often symbolizes riches. As a trim or accessory to earth tones (brown, green, orange) it may give vibrancy and glow. It also works well with bright and full colours such as burgundy, deep green.
BLACK: Is the traditional colour of mourning, but recently it has become the colour of sophistication. For a svelte wedding, it is perfectly acceptable to dress your bridesmaids in black, perhaps with white accessories and trim. It also can make a maturing accent with a bright or light main colour.
PURPLE/VIOLET: In the ancient world purple represented royalty. During the Renaissance, purple, deep red and black were considered to be royal colours and, at that time, ordinary people could be arrested for using those special colours. But YOU can use them! Purple, in Christian liturgy, symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ and repentance from sin. In China, though, purple is the colour of mourning.
RED: Is usually a symbol of blood and fire, it is a conflicted colour: One side expresses war and violence, but the other side expresses love, warmth and compassion. Brides don't usually wear red, but in China it is the traditional colour for a wedding dress and symbolizes good luck. Red is also traditional in India. Consider using red at your wedding if you love it, either as a main colour or as an accent colour. As an accent colour it is often used with gold.
GREEN: Symbolises growth and combines the spiritual aspect of blue and the emotional vibrancy of yellow. It combines beautifully with other earth tones as well as gold tones. In China is represents the Yin, the passive and receptive principle.
BLUE: Is the colour of the sky, this colour is associated with spirituality, femininity (although it is true that boy babies often wear it,) fidelity, cleanness and freshness. There is very little negative aspect associated with this colour!
PINK: This is a 'new' colour, with the term pink invented in the 17th Century to describe the colour of the flowers called pinks (prior to this I presume things that were 'pink' were perhaps called simply 'light red'). We think of it as a feminine, sweet colour, but in Japan, adult movies are called 'pink' movies. In Catholicism pink symbolizes joy and happiness.
YELLOW: Is regarded as representing sun shine, light, knowledge, happiness, and joy. On the other hand, it suggests deceit and cowardice. In Egypt it is traditionally associated with mourning, in Japan, courage. The Chinese connect it to the Yang principle of Yin-Yang-the active, creative male side.
ORANGE: It is said that people who love life, like orange. It is stimulating and warm, but it adds energy to earth tones.
BROWN: Could be dull, but it is considered natural, down-to-earth, friendly, dependable. A neutral you can mix with many other colours to warm your celebration.
Consider the image that your wedding should convey. Are you saying of yourself I am vibrant, responsible, warm, and gentle or compassionate? Think about what your colours are saying and how you want the wedding photographs to look for years to come.
