SP EC TACU LA R C OLOR S : Elevating Your Wedding Palette

By Tommy Waters

Five easy ways to incorporate your colors into the wedding reception:

1. Flowers

With the help of an educated florist, it’s super easy to choose a flower that will accentuate the colors you have chosen for your wedding day.

PRO TIP: Wedding florists are extremely visual. Instead of saying you have chosen blue, green, and silver as the color theme, consider providing a palette so they can understand your vision.

2. Lighting

Lighting is so “on trend” right now! And it’s a great way to apply colors to walls, ceilings, and floors for your chosen reception venue. Some of the new lights can do upwards of 200+ colors so choosing the right one should be easy! Be sure to hire someone that knows all the nuances of each venue.

3. Linens

Tablecloths, napkins, chair covers, runners, and overlays. With linens, there are quite a few ways to present your colors that are centered around guest tables and chairs. Typically, a planner and venue can help decide on the perfect combination of colored linens for the reception.

PRO TIP: Choosing that perfect red satin napkin could be an easy choice! But consider this: if you have 100 guests, there will be 100 red satin napkins in the reception setup. If you also have red lighting, red runners, and red florals…you run the chance on overindulging with one color. Using whites, ivories, and other neutral colors for tablecloths with smaller color accents keeps guest tables beautiful and timeless.

4. Table Numbers

Gone are the days of being forced to use the old black and white table numbers! You can easily find hundreds of ways to number guest tables using the chosen color scheme. A simple search on Pinterest will produce lots of options to choose from.

PRO TIP: If you have a favorite table number option, and it’s not very big, consider raising the number higher making it easier to see.

5. China Patterns and Chargers

Most china patterns will come in a beautiful ivory or white and will look good on the tables. You can choose a colored charger to go under the first course’s plate to add a little pop of color.

PRO TIP: Chargers can be clear with colored beading around the edge providing just a small bit of color, or they can be solid gold, silver, or red. Remember, a small colored item when used for a lot of guests in one room may produce more of that color then you anticipated. Always ask your planner or venue to provide a table “mockup” so you can see exactly what it will look like.

So, there you have it, 5 easy ways to incorporate your color scheme! If this starts to stress you out, just remember to keep it simple. Stick with 2-5 colors using them consistently and smartly. This will create a seamless color pattern throughout the day and will make sure your wedding day images are amazing!

Thomas (everyone calls him Tommy) Waters is with The Renaissance, an all-inclusive wedding ceremony and reception venue based in downtown Richmond’s exciting Arts District. To learn more about The Renaissance, please visit www. renaissanceva.com.