4 Favorite Wedding Inspiration Color Stories

Pink Color Story {Photos by: Perfect Bound / Studio Straulino / Kate Spade / Oh Joy}

Do you know what we mean by a wedding color story? It's basically taking swatches of colors that provide complimentary hues, soothing monochromatic tones, and/or bold contrasting choices to begin selecting how a wedding will ultimately be styled - from the colors of bridesmaids dresses to the bridal bouquet and reception table decor. 

Green Color Story {Photos by: Alexandra Grablewski / Max Wanger / Design*Sponge / Johnny Miller / via The City Sage}

The color swatches is where you begin. But then you start to add online photos to your Pinterest page, print out photos from online, or cut them out of newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and other print sources to add real-life images to help bring the colors to life. One color swatch might be brought to life in a pair of shoes, the trim on a dress, or the wallpaper in a chic living room. Usually the color story begins with fashion and then the story grows and grows from there. But the swatches interrelate to help tell the complete story.

Neutral Color Story {Photos by: miles aldridge / deb mclean / jose villa / deb mclean}

Our friends at 100 Layer Cake, the most popular wedding blog on the planet, have created beautiful color stories. Click here to see collections of their color stories. Start by clicking on your favorite color, and then you'll find multiple "storyboards" to go with that color and expand upon it. Color stories and these color boards are great inspirational ways to help plan a wedding. Remember: a picture is worth a thousand words. Color stories are told with color swatches and photographs, and they're an essential component of planning a visully stunning event. Click on any of our four favorite color stories to see more.

Metallic Color Story {Photos by: cabin 7 / Nicolette Camille / Conroy & Wilcox via Randi Brookman Harris’s blog / Alexandra Grablewski}

Thanks to 100 Layer Cake for their beautiful photographs, posts, and wedding and event inspiration. 100 Layer Cake is a unique, comprehensive wedding and event planning resource for and by thoughtful, crafty modern women. Their vendors, projects, weddings, resources, sponsors, and marketplace are hand-picked and thoroughly researched with the hope that every single one is a truly unique addition to both your wedding and your planning process. Visit the 100 Layer Cake website today.

If you're interested in learning more about wedding planning and decor, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

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mood board: Tropical Style

As humidity and heat soared to tropical heights outside, I naturally turned to some indoor relief.  How can I enjoy the exoticness of the tropics without the wilting heat?  By doing a little tropical restyling of my interiors, of course!  Continuing our mood board series, this July we head south for our Tropical Style. 

When I imagine the tropics – I think of the Pacific islands of Fiji and Bali or Southeast Asia – Thailand, Burma and the Philippines. Furnishings tend to be simpler – natives use many of its native plants and trees to create their furniture, such as rattan, abaca, and bamboo. In contrast, many of the Southeast Asian countries were colonized by the French, British or Spanish and their influence is reflected in the heavier, yet sturdy wood furniture of mahogany, rubberwood, and teak. 

Our first mood board shows the tropical island theme: the tall peacock chair, called the Crinoline from B&B Italia, presides over a cocktail party. The bench is made of ebonized mountain pine from the Philippines and is available from Tucker Robbins. We also have a small side table called Driftwood Flats from Stanley, great for moving around the room and for serving food and drinks.

To complement the exotic tropical flowers throw some Thai-themed pillows from Koko on the bench for that pop of color. All plants are housed in rattan baskets from Crate and Barrel. For lighting, we have the Kata lantern made of walnut-stained bamboo from Oriental Furniture. 

Our second mood board above reflects the colonial influence in tropical countries.  The Fiji lounge chair from Padma’s Plantation is made from a combination of rattan, abaca, and tropical hardwoods.  The stool or accent table is from the Royal Kahala collection from Lexington and is made of bent rattan and coco shell.  Our desk – Poets Crossing from Lexington– is designed in the British campaign style with brass fittings.  To light the room, we have from Palecek the Ikebana Sphere lamp.  For the floor we have the rust Lotus rug from the Foundary, providing color and warmth to the dark wood furniture. 

Interested in learning how to create mood boards?  Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design.  At Sheffield, you will learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.