Merry Brides: 03/01/2008

By Linda Ellison

Remember the phrase "blushing bride"? It was thought for centuries that brides were supposed to be demure, shy, quiet and reserved. This attitude was reflected in so many choices for her wedding – including the colors she chose for the bridesmaids' dresses, table linens, and everything else. Pastels were the norm, including soft pinks, pale blues, and mint greens. Everything, especially wedding colors, was subtle and seen as feminine.

Today's modern bride has redefined that word. She is probably someone that has worked, and worked hard. She juggles her own career ambitions while not giving up her desire for a home and family. A blushing bride she is not!

And this is being reflected in her choices for wedding colors, in accessories and other items. Over the past few years, colors have become stronger and deeper. Mint green has been traded for hunter or forest shades. Pale blue has given way to navy or royal. Everything has become bolder, deeper, stronger – just like the bride herself. It's not unusual to see the once taboo wedding colors choice of black or fire engine red to be worked into a wedding décor, and sometimes even those two colors together.

The choices for colors at a wedding are no greater indication of a bride's personality, and this trend of the strong and independent woman isn't going to go away anytime soon, and neither is the choice for stronger and bolder wedding colors.

However, this isn't to say that today's bride is so strong that she's become unapproachable, or that she is choosing strong colors just for the sake of how strong they are. One of the hottest trends in wedding colors today is shades of warm brown and tan. Even for wedding dresses, the bride herself may choose a sash or bow of russet or auburn shades.

The brown family of colors is closely associated with warm, nurturing foods– think of coffee, cocoa, and chocolate. Brown is often seen in nature, another element of nurturing and caring. Even in the application of feng shui, it's encouraged to use shades of brown in rooms where you want to feel relaxed and comforted, such as the living room or bedroom. By selecting wedding colors of these darker shades, the bride may be expressing her nurturing, caring, warm side.

The same could be said of the many shades of green that are fast becoming available. No longer does the bride only have the choice of mint or pale green, but now bridesmaids' dresses and table linens are being offered in stronger shades of celery, jade, and emerald. Hunter and forest greens are also popular, and also may be seen as strong but nurturing. These are two shades also abundantly available in nature, and the term "mother earth" was coined for a reason. When we think of nature or use shades found in nature, these are seen as warm and caring.

Jewel tones of any color are also very popular wedding colors, especially when planning a winter or holiday wedding. When choosing colors that are of a jewel tone, a bride can even mix up the shades for her table linens – emerald green and ruby red for a December wedding, for instance. Adding some sapphire blue and shades of gold can break up the colors and still keep the venue looking festive.

Of course, those brides who still prefer the softer wedding colors of the pastel family have a wealth of options for them. Softer colors never go out of style, and are still seen as being romantic and even passionate. Additionally, by choosing softer colors, the bride knows that they will not overwhelm the setting or theme of the wedding. If you have a large number of bridesmaids and a huge banquet hall, choosing colors such as red and black as your accent can be too powerful, and can even cause the bride herself to get lost in the pictures! The larger the venue and number of attendants, the softer the color shades should be. Of course, these wedding colors can be mixed and matched as well. A bride may opt for her attendants to be in soft pink while the maid of honor is in a darker shade of rose red or light purple. If opting for soft wedding colors, you don't want to make the mistake of having your venue or dresses look washed out or faded. A bride needs to make sure that there are some stronger accent colors to tie everything together.

In the end of course wedding colors are going to be a bride's choice and will no doubt reflect not just her personality but the prevailing trend at the time. Whatever her preferences for the wedding colors – shy and sweet pastels, bold and strong reds and blues, nurturing browns and greens – she has a wealth of options available to her today, and no longer needs to be shy about expressing her true personality in her wedding party!

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