Wedding Color Planner

What the wedding color planner does

This wedding color planner turns a list of colors into a picture you can judge at a glance. Start with one of eight hand-made wedding palettes, or type your own five HEX codes, and the reception table redraws as you click. Each color has a job: Main, Secondary, Accent, Neutral and Metallic. You choose which table parts take which job, or let Auto-match place them by simple rules and flag pairs that blend together.

How to use it in three steps

1. Set your colors. Choose a palette or edit the five swatches. The role names keep a table balanced: one or two big colors, a smaller accent, a calm neutral and a metal for the small shiny details.
2. Choose what you can change. Many venues include white linens and plain chairs. Untick anything you cannot change and it stays a neutral default, so the picture only shows decisions you can actually make.
3. Match each part. Pick a palette swatch or a custom color for the tablecloth, runner, napkins, chair covers, sashes, flowers and candles. The notes under Auto-match warn when napkins sit too close to the cloth or flowers may disappear into it.

Why a picture beats a color name

Color words are slippery. One person's blush is another's salmon, and "sage" can mean anything from gray-green to soft olive. When a florist, a rental company and a baker each imagine a different pink, the mismatch only shows up on the day. A picture with HEX codes gives everybody the same starting point, and it lets you spot problems early, such as a bold napkin on a bold cloth, before anything is ordered.

Why you still need real swatches

A screen glows, while fabric reflects. The same HEX code looks different on a phone, a laptop and a printed page, and it changes again under warm candlelight or in a tent filled with daylight. Fabric type matters as well: satin, linen and velvet catch light in different ways, so one color can look shinier or deeper. Treat this tool as a way to narrow your choices and explain them, then ask each vendor for physical swatches in these colors and look at them in the venue's light.

How to use the vendor brief

The Print brief button makes one page for each scene, with the picture, a part-by-part list and HEX codes. Send it, or the share link, to your rental company, florist and planner so everyone works from the same colors. The illustration shows a floor-length cloth. A drop of roughly 10 to 12 inches (25-30 cm) is commonly suggested by linen rental companies for a shorter cloth, so confirm sizes with your supplier. Greenery and glass stay natural in the picture, so describe those separately.

Want ideas first? Browse the wedding color palettes, pull colors from an inspiration photo with the palette from image tool, or see all color palette ideas.

Planning ceremony colors

The ceremony scene shows what guests see first: the backdrop, the aisle and the chairs. Open the Ceremony and backdrop tab, then choose Arch or Draped backdrop. Drapes and swags take your Neutral or Main color, the arch flowers use your Accent and Secondary colors, the aisle runner stays Neutral, and the ribbons and chair-back flowers repeat your Accent so the room feels connected.

Ceremony colors usually work best when they echo the reception rather than copy it. A softer, lighter version of the reception colors often suits a large hall, because drapes and backdrops cover a lot of area and strong colors can feel heavy. Watch the message under Auto-match: when arch flowers are close to the drape in lightness, they can fade into it in photos. A deeper bloom, or a lighter drape, gives them room to show.

Untick any group your venue controls, such as house drapes or fixed chairs. It stays neutral in the picture and drops out of the parts list and the brief. If you untick everything in a scene, the tool shows a short note instead of the picture.

Choosing attire colors

Whites are not all the same. Pure white looks crisp and a little blue next to warm candlelight, ivory leans yellow and feels softer, champagne adds a hint of gold and blush adds pink. Put the gown chips next to each other in the Couple tab and notice how each one changes the mood of the flowers and ribbon. Fabric also matters, because satin, lace and tulle reflect light differently from the flat color on screen.

Attire colors usually work best when they borrow from each other. A tie or bow tie in your Accent color can echo the bridesmaid dresses, a pocket square in your Secondary color links the groom to the table linens, and the boutonniere repeats one bloom from the bouquet. Keep the jacket in Neutral or Main so it stays calm, and check that the jacket and shirt are not too close in lightness. Ask for fabric swatches from the tailor and the bridal salon before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Is the wedding color planner free to use?

Yes. It is free, needs no account and runs in your browser. Your colors are not uploaded anywhere. They are kept on your device and inside the share link you copy.

How many colors should a wedding color scheme have?

A simple way to keep a table balanced is one or two main colors, a smaller accent, a calm neutral and a metal for the shiny details. The planner uses those five roles so each color has a clear job.

Why does the table look different from my fabric?

Screens emit light and fabric reflects it, so the same HEX code can look brighter on a phone than on linen. Fabric type and venue lighting change it too. Use the picture to narrow your choices, then ask each vendor for physical swatches.

Can I save or share my wedding colors?

Yes. Copy the share link to restore the same colors on any device, download a PNG of the scene you are viewing, copy the parts list as text, or print the brief. The last state is also remembered in this browser.

Can I plan the ceremony and the reception with the same colors?

Yes. Both scenes read the same five colors, so changing a palette color updates the table and the ceremony together. Each part can still use a different role or a custom color, and the brief lists the parts of each scene separately.

Does it show wedding outfits?

Yes. The Couple tab shows a groom and a bride as faceless figures. You can recolor the jacket, trousers, shirt, tie or bow tie, pocket square, gown, sash, veil, bouquet and boutonniere, and switch the gown shape, veil length and skin tone. Charger plates, cutlery and candle holders on the table use your Metallic color.

Should the bridesmaid dresses and the groom's tie use the same color?

They often borrow from each other, but they do not have to match exactly. A common approach is to use your Accent color for the tie and bridesmaid dresses and keep the groomsmen in the same family. The Couple tab shows the tie, pocket square and bouquet together so you can see whether they sit well beside the gown.