As a seasoned photographer and Art Director, I've come to appreciate the transformative power of colour harmonies within an image. The subtle interplay of hues can elevate an ordinary composition into a captivating masterpiece. Yet, the world of colour is a vast and intricate one, where not all combinations are created equal. Some effortlessly dazzle the eye, while others fall short of achieving the desired aesthetic brilliance. It's in this colourful realm that I'm excited to introduce you to a remarkable tool – one that's designed to be your guiding light in the realm of colour choices.

Whether you're a bride seeking chromatic inspiration, a groom aiming for harmonious attire, a florist searching for palette perfection, or simply someone looking to harmonise a wedding venue, this tool is your go-to source for harmonious colour combinations.

Join me as we explore the fascinating world of 'Colour My Wedding,' where every question brings you one step closer to crafting a visual symphony that delights the senses.

Who Is The Colour My Wedding Tool For?

Brides Looking To Harmonise With The Wedding Venue

If you're planning to walk down the aisle in a chromatic inspired wedding dress for example, use this tool to ensure your attire harmonises perfectly with your wedding venue. The result will be stunning photographs and maximum comfort on your special day.

Grooms Looking To Compliment The Bride’s Dress

For grooms, finding the right attire is equally important. This tool will provide you with inspiration to help you choose a wardrobe that compliments not only your future bride's dress but also harmonises with your wedding venue.

Bride & Grooms Choosing Outfits For The Wedding Party

Whether your wedding party is packed with groomsmen and bridesmaids or simply includes the mother of the bride and a maid of honour, the question of which colour to dress them in often arises. Use this tool to help you select a colour scheme that will match your outfits as well as the overall venue ambience.

Wedding Florists

As a florist, your clients may request floral arrangements that align with specific chromatic shades. This tool becomes invaluable when coordinating with clients whose attire, ceremony venue, or reception hall boasts predominant colours. It will help you propose floral solutions that seamlessly blend with their choices.

Wedding Cake Pastry Chefs

Have you been tasked with creating a wedding cake that harmonises with a wedding's colour scheme? This tool can offer colour ideas and inspiration to ensure your cake complements the overall aesthetic.

Wedding Planner and Wedding Venue Managers

This versatile tool can assist you in choosing the right colour schemes for any wedding and can even help you suggest colour schemes for your clients based on the venue.

How To Use The Colour My Wedding Tool

Before delving into the 'Colour My Wedding' tool, it's crucial to understand the psychology of colours. As I spoke about in the Colour My Wedding blog series, different colours have the innate ability to evoke a range of emotions and convey distinct messages.

Warm colours like red signify love and passion but can also represent danger and aggression. Yellow embodies both optimism and jealousy, while orange radiates emotions, warmth, and youthfulness. In contrast, cool colours such as blue convey confidence, trust, harmony, and calmness. Green is associated with health and nature but can also evoke jealousy and envy. Purple, on the other hand, exudes a calming effect and hints at fantasy and mystery. Additionally, black and white hold their unique symbolism, with white symbolising innocence and purity, and black representing mystery, power, elegance, and sophistication. These fundamental colour meanings lay the groundwork for effective colour harmony choices.

Colours further divide into primary (red, blue, yellow), secondary (green, orange, purple), and the neutrals of black and white. To harness the potential of the 'Colour My Wedding' tool, it's essential to recognise that colours can be categorised by moods, ranging from pastels that evoke calmness to saturated hues indicating dynamism and passion. Understanding the concepts of warm and cold palettes will help you to ensure your colour choices align with the desired emotional and visual outcomes.

Get Started: Below I have listed a series of questions that describe different wedding styles to guide you to the best colour hypotheses for your wedding.

Simply answer yes or no to each question. The hypothesis that resonates with you (and therefore receives the most ‘yes’ answers) is the recommended colour solution for your needs.

The Colour Harmony Tool From Paolo Furlan Wedding Photographer

Wedding Style One

1. Are you looking for a colour combination that is pleasing to the eye thanks to its cohesive appearance that creates a sense of unity in a space?

2. Are you looking for a colour combination that makes a room look bigger, cleaner, and more sophisticated?

3. Are you looking for an opposite colour style of kitschy, bold attire?

4. Would you like to wear a single shade from head to toe that is a much simpler and cleaner approach to putting together a great ensemble?

Wedding Style Two

1. Are you looking for a relaxed, calming, comfortable look, pleasant and harmonious colour effect?

2. Do you want to focus your attention on emotions instead of colours as a distraction?

3. Do you want to create a soften, peaceful effect?

4. Do you need colours to help your concentration or meditation?

5. Are you looking for a colour combination that would evoke feelings of warmth and comfort? 

Wedding Style Three

1. Do you want a composition of relaxing colours but with just a small chromatic accent to give a little more atten- tion to a shade?

2. Try giving a colour accent to your warm colour palette or the other way round.

3. Do you have a dress in similar shades and want a chromatic accent to match that stands out and stands out with elegance?

4. Do you have a bouquet of flowers in similar shades and want a chromatic accent to match that stands out and stands out with elegance?

5. Do you have a room in similar shades and want a chromatic accent to match that stands out and stands out with elegance?

Wedding Style Four

1. Are you looking for a strong contrast, a bold and colourful effect that creates a vibrant look if used as full satura- tion?

2. Do you like Pop Art?

3. Do you like the jarring look?

4. Are you looking for colour combinations that can be used to create a lot of visual interest?

5. Are you looking for colour combinations that can also create tension and visual discomfort?

6. Do you have a bold, proud and charismatic personality?

7. Are you looking for crisp, resonant colour combinations in their purest form?

Wedding Style Five

1. Do you like colour contrasts but without being too apparent?

2. Would you like to be a little bold but are you more discreet?

3. Do you like strong colour contrasts but are looking for something that creates less tension?

4. Are you looking for a combination of colours that create a strong and harmonious contrast that is easy to achieve?

Wedding Style Six

1. Are you looking for a rather vibrant colour harmony even with non-saturated, weaker colours?

2. Are you looking for colour combinations that offer a vibrant and balanced palette, allowing for greater creative freedom?

3. Are you looking for three colours that stand out from each other and create a vibrant colour palette regardless of the particular colours used?

4. Are you trying to create a contrasting effect that is still pleasing to the eye?

5. Are you looking for a colour combination that offers high contrast while maintaining a balanced harmony, without aromatic provocation?

6. Are you looking to create a bright and cheerful colour effect?

Wedding Style Seven

1. Are you looking for a combination of four colours that provide lots of colour contrast while still blending harmoniously?

2. Are you looking for a four-colour combination that evokes a sense of energy and excitement, but with a slightly softer look?

3. Are you looking for a versatile, pleasant and easy to make four colour combination?

4. Are you looking for a strong contrast between four colours, maintaining a balance between warm and cool colour temperatures?

Count up your yes answers and find your wedding colour harmony below.

Your Colour My Wedding Results

If you answered mostly Yes to Wedding Style One

The best colour harmony for your wedding is Monochromatic Harmony.

This colour scheme contains different tones, shades and tints of the same hue. A monochromatic blue scheme, for example, would use blues ranging from light sky blue to deep navy. This creates a serene and harmonious monochromatic palette. A yellow monochromatic wedding, on the other hand, would use hues ranging from pale lemon to rich mustard, infusing a space with warmth and cheerfulness.

If you answered mostly Yes to Wedding Style Two

The best colour harmony for your wedding is Analogous Harmony.

These are the colours that sit next to each other on the colour wheel, they are related, a kind of family that creates a pleasing and relaxed visual. The result is a colour palette that feels harmonious and balanced because the selected colours share a common primary hue while allowing for subtle variations in tone and saturation.

Analogous colours such as coral, pink, and peach can be reminiscent of the vibrant and tropical colours found in exotic flowers and tropical landscapes. Whereas, for an autumn wedding, analogous colours like orange, red-orange, and yellow-orange will mimic the rich and inviting hues of autumn leaves.

To combine analogous colours with the right proportions, use 50% of the main colour, 25% of the second colour and 25% third colour.

If you answered mostly Yes to Wedding Style Three

The best colour harmony for your wedding is Analogous Complementary Harmony.

This colour theory combines the principles of analogous and complementary colour harmonies. Two achieve Analogous Complementary Harmony, select one base colour and two colours adjacent to its complementary colour on the colour wheel. This results in a colour palette where one dominant hue is complemented by two colours that are harmonious with it. Such as a warm main colour with a little cold colour accent.

To combine these colours with the right proportions, use 40% of the main colour, 20% of the second colour, 20% third colour and 20% of the last colour.

If you answered mostly Yes to Wedding Style Four

The best colour harmony for your wedding is Complementary Harmony.

This method has two complementary colours that are opposite to each other on the colour wheel. In this harmony, you choose two colours that are considered complementary pairs, such as red and green, blue and orange, or yellow and purple. These pairs are diametrically opposed on the colour wheel and provide the maximum contrast possible in terms of hue.

To combine these colours with the right proportions, use 70% of the main colour and 25% of the complementing one or use them 50/50.

If you answered mostly Yes to Wedding Style Five

The best colour harmony for your wedding is Split Complementary Harmony.

Split Complementary Harmony uses one base colour and two colours adjacent to its complementary colour on the colour wheel. For instance, if your base colour is red, instead of pairing it directly with green (its complementary colour), you would choose the colours adjacent to green, which might be blue-green and yellow-green. This creates a colour palette that maintains some of the striking contrast of complementary colours while introducing a more harmonious and balanced feel.

To combine these colours with the right proportions, use 50% of the main colour, 25% of the second colour and 25% third colour.

If you answered mostly Yes to Wedding Style Six

The best colour harmony for your wedding is Triadic Harmony.

Triadic harmony colours are evenly spaced around the colour wheel. This harmony creates a visually balanced and vibrant colour palette.

Red, blue, and yellow are a classic triadic harmony. These primary colours form a strong and visually striking combination. Brown, olive green, and navy blue offer a subdued and earthy triadic palette suitable for natural and rustic themes. Whereas light pink, soft lavender and pale green can create a gentle and soothing triadic harmony perfect for delicate and feminine visual effects.

To combine these colours with the right proportions, use 50% of the main colour, 25% of the second colour and 25% third colour.

If you answered mostly Yes to Wedding Style Seven

The best colour harmony for your wedding is Double Split Complementary Harmony.

To achieve this harmony, select two pairs of complementary colours forming an X on the colour wheel. To illustrate, if you start with the base color red, the two complementary pairs would be red and green, as well as orange and blue. These pairs are at a 60-degree separation from each other on the color wheel. This results in a color palette with four distinct colors that offer both contrast and harmony.

To combine these colours with the right proportions, use 40% of the main colour, 20% of the second colour, 20% third colour and 20% of the last colour.

To book Paolo for your wedding photography and for advice on how to choose the perfect wedding colours for your special day, contact Paolo at here