By: Kathryn Bechen

When it comes to your wedding, what’s color got to do with it?! According to several popular San Diego florists, wedding coordinators, and event planners, a lot! We interviewed them to get the latest “luscious lowdown” on color tips and trends.

Bradley Dean Snyder, principle of the luxury wedding and events firm, Fun With Jack, says black and white combined with another color is popular right now, as are all the peacock colors including bright teal, shocking sapphire, and gold. “It’s so easy to work around those colors; buy one peacock feather and go with it!” he suggests. Snyder, who’s fond of creating “a juxtaposition of elegant flowers and gnarly crusty organic elements,” says peacock colors are “a beautiful color marriage for a bride who wants a stunning aspect, yet because it’s a masculine palette of colors there is something for everyone, and the palette is also very easy on the eye with its majestic vibrancy.” Other colors Snyder sees a resurgence of are lavender, bronze, and tarnished sterling, which he says lend themselves to a “hyperelegant plush” look. He also notes that hot pink is not seen much lately and instead, augmented tones like dusty purple, as opposed to shocking purple, are emerging.

Patrick Higgins, owner of Artistic Florals for 25 years, says colors seem to be “all over the place this year” but he notes that monochromatic tones are very popular right now, especially for his smaller weddings. Think all-white, all-red, all-pink or all-purple. He has one bride who has chosen all-purple hydrangeas and another all-red roses. And his all-pink bride? Her flowers are pink hydrangeas, mokara orchids, and roses. He also suggests adding color to your bouquet by including heirlooms. “We did Mickey Mouse for a groom who worked for Disney, and we intertwined a handkerchief that was three generations old into a bridal bouquet,” he notes.

Wynn Austin, owner of Le Chic Wedding Consulting, says one of the hottest colors lately for the 20-35 weddings a year that she coordinates is blue. “I’m seeing everything from cobalt blue to peacock blue to turquoise blue with a backsplash of white,” she says. She also notes that red is still popular, but it’s being used more as an accent color instead of the main color. As for pink? “The ‘girlie princess pink’ and fuchsia colors have morphed into a more mature and contemporary blush pink used more as an accent color rather than the main color,” she says. She also notes that black is more of an accent color too these days, and she is also seeing bridesmaids wear black dresses with blush pink or ivory flowers.

Veteran floral and event designer Kathy Wright of Kathy Wright and Co., says pewter and green are popular for bridesmaid dresses right now. “Both colors lend themselves well to white and cream flowers,” she notes. She said white was popular years ago and is now “back again with a vengeance.” Like Higgins, Wright is also seeing a lot of monochromatic colors. She also notes that orange is very popular and looks great with stainless steel/pewter and that muted tones of champagne and taupe are popular colors now as well. Purple has been on and off again for the past couple of years according to Wright, and she is also not seeing much hot pink, yellow, bright orange or lime green. As for linens? Wright suggests keeping them neutral and like jewelry, “let your accents/accessories be the ‘pop’ pieces in color and style.”

Alexandra RoseLee, owner of AR Affairs, says a mix of colors is popular with her brides, with gold and silver being classics, as are black, white, and red. She says fuchsia, lime green, orange, and yellow are still being chosen and that purple with leopard print is back in vogue. RoseLee is also doing shabby chic vintage weddings with some glamour accents in cream, tan, ivory, and very pale pink colors. She says black and yellow is also emerging as a popular color duo. “Yellow is an easily overwhelming color that should only be used in spirts,” she suggests. “Use it for paper product accents, or use all-yellow roses with black linens and black feathers.” For bright colors like lime green and orange, RoseLee says to do the opposite and instead of using them sparingly, use a lot of those colors all over for impact.

So, what’s color got to do with your wedding? “Color needs to be from each couple’s perspective,” says RoseLee. “Ultimately, choose what you like.”