COLOR sets a mood for your wedding. It can inspire whimsical romance, or bold sophistication. It can whisk guests away to another world—a vibrant culture, favorite era in time, or fantasy theme.

Wait! Before committing to your favorite color, check out the trendsetting wedding colors for 2018. These may reveal a modern twist for using your favorite color. Or inspire a different color scheme that’ll fit your theme, or venue, perfectly.

Wedding Color of 2018: Ultra Violet

Ultra Violet is the color of the year, according to the Pantone Color Institute. We love this shade of purple. We agree with Pantone; Ultra Violet does feel “inventive and imaginative.” Let’s explore a few examples.

Zazzle offers a myriad of violet wedding invitations—from muted shades to ultra bright, from vintage to modern designs. See the image below for our Ultra Violet favorites. If nothing strikes your fancy on their website, try other invitation companies or ask an artist for a custom design. The sky’s the limit when it comes to design options for this color!

Give Ultra Violet any role you wish in your wedding. Make it the star, or give it a supporting role. Marie Kubin, CEO of Rent My Wedding, shares a few photos of uplights set to Ultra Violet (custom color code 37 / 0 / 100 on their uplights or similar professional-grade uplights). Her photos show three completely different ways to transform your wedding:

·  Create a sophisticated look with a subtle touch of violet lighting

·  Use uplights throughout the room to create a vivid violet glow

·  Add a starry night sky special effects light or LED moon for a celestial theme (Pantone sees Ultra Violet playing well with “cosmos” symbolism and bridal magazines see celestial weddings trending this year)

If you want to rent uplights for your wedding, Kubin offers these helpful tips:

Placement: Space uplights 10 feet apart the entire room for a nice overall look. Dare to be bold? Space them 5 feet apart for a dramatic look.

Style: Uplights can enhance a wide range of reception styles, from a formal affair to epic dance party. For a dramatic experience, turn off overhead lights completely. The lighting colors will be vivid. For a subtle look, keep the overhead lights on or dimmed. This creates a gentle glow. In general, the darker the room, the more dramatic the uplight colors.

Coverage: Place individual lights on the floor against the wall. To create narrow beams of color, position the lights against the wall and aim up at the ceiling. To create wider beams of color, place lights several inches away from the wall and tilt slightly towards the wall.

Rent My Wedding offers lighting, photo booths, linens, backdrops, canopies and chuppahs. Their clients consistently say uplights provide the “biggest bang for their buck.” Although it’s hard to go wrong with uplighting, Kubin shares suggestions to keep in mind:

·  DON’T choose more than two different colors per room. It looks too busy for weddings.

·  DON’T use two strong colors together. If your wedding colors are hot pink, tiffany blue and gold, choose pink or blue as your primary color and pair it with gold as an accent color.

·  DON’T use too few uplights. Use at least four to create an impact.

·  DON’T leave your cake or centerpieces in the dark. Use spotlights to make the details of your event pop (known as “pinspotting”).

Feeling more confident about using lighting at your wedding? We hope so. Even if you skip specialty lighting, keep in mind that color is a powerful way to tie all of your wedding elements together for a professional look: invitations, flowers, mother of the bride and bridesmaids dresses, décor, even food and drinks.

Our design team has embraced Ultra Violet and the purple family. To see several gowns for your wedding party—from lavender to wine—browse Val Stefani formal dresses.

For bridal gowns…if we could choose only three from our new 2018 collection to pair with an Ultra Violet wedding, we recommend: MONROE, GADOT and LUCIANA (see photos below). You’ll radiate royalty and glamour. Sexy and shimmery, these gowns are regal like Ultra Violet. Not your bridal style? Then view our entire collection of Val Stefani wedding dresses to find your dream dress.

Is Ultra Violet NOT your color?

Don’t panic. Pantone suggests amazing palettes for each season: spring/summer wedding colors 2018 and fall/winter wedding colors 2018. Perhaps these trendsetting colors will spark your creativity.

Spring/Summer Wedding Colors 2018

Are you a bride who loves brightness? If yes, you’ll get a kick out of this season’s colors. You have two bold yellows to play with—Meadowlark and Lime Punch—either may work for a citrus-inspired color scheme. Like a fiery red? Then this season’s Cherry Tomato will make your heart race. Or maybe you’ll want to mix Ultra Violet with another bold color like Palace Blue, or pair Ultra Violet with Pink Lavender and other purple shades for an ombre color effect.

Do you love pink? Pink Lavender is sweet and a less intense play on this year’s violet. Or Rapture Rose gives you a deep shade of pink that is still romantic.

The classic wedding colors are a gorgeous group (see image below). The navy blue actually plays well with the other classic colors: gray, white and tan. That might be your winning combination. Or perhaps you’ll mix this season’s pinks with the classic colors of Coconut Milk or Warm Sand for a vintage, Boho or romantic wedding. Look at Warm Sand—it’s perfect for a beach wedding. The neutral colors match beautifully with so many colors.

Fall/Winter Wedding Colors 2018

Like spring/summer, there are bright options for fall/winter wedding colors in 2018. Unlike last year when no yellow was featured by Pantone, this year there are two—both of which have a greenish tint (Ceylon Yellow and Limelight). The orange, Russet Orange, is brighter than last year’s. Although there are plenty of yummy earth tones to play with, this year’s colors overall seem brighter and bolder.

Also like the spring/summer wedding colors 2018, the fall/winter season features red, blue and purples so really, any of these colors are on par for a wedding anytime this year.

The classic colors for both seasons this year are similar (with the addition of a golden toasty brown called Meerkat for fall and winter). Choosing the navy, tan and white shades from either season is an impeccable pairing for a classic or nautical theme. Very sophisticated.

Choosing Your Wedding Colors

Industry trends are fun for inspiration. But at the end of the day, your wedding should incorporate colors that make you and your spouse happy. Ask yourself which best fit:

·Theme

·Venue

·Skin Tone  

·Personal “Couple” Style

Before you make that final commitment to your color scheme, consider asking your photographer what he/she thinks. Or take photos of materials you’re thinking about (linens, bridesmaid dress swatch) to see how your colors will photograph. With a little planning you’ll choose wedding colors that not only give you the ambience you’re looking for on your big day, but will bring you joy whenever you see your wedding photos for years to come.