We all know the struggle– trying to explain to your friends and family what exactly are the shades of color you are hoping to use in your color palette for your wedding day. The reason it’s so difficult is because “off-white” or “cream” or “eggshell” can often be considered the same color to different people! But we know that isn’t always the case!
That’s why we are starting a new series revolving around color! We created the “Fifty Shades” series in hopes to give you better descriptions/names for the color you’ve been trying to convey, to help get everyone in your party on the same page.
So here we go! This week, we’re talking about fifty {okay, maybe less!} shades of white for you to describe your color and design scheme for your big day.
We have taken all of these color swatches directly from the color experts over at Pantone and put them all in one place, in hopes this makes it easier to pinpoint what exact color{s} you’re looking to incorporate!
Fifty Shades of White
Just to help give you a little inspiration about when and how to use these different whites, we’ve given you a few examples of how all these different shades can be used in a wedding. We’ve also given some suggestions on color pairings that will compliment the white you like best!
Photography Credit | Blue Rose Photography
Florist | Butter & Bloom
Design + Coordination | Holly with Perfectly Posh Events
For our Snow White example, we love it to be used for a classic, timeless look. It mixes great with colors like Dogwood Pink and Blue Opal, along with a beautiful Desert Sage to give a pleasant contrast. This color scheme would go great for a whimsical, ethereal feel and it will never go out of style!
Photography Credit | Azzura Photography
Florist | Sublime Stems
Design + Coordination | Holly with Perfectly Posh Events
Antique White is pretty self-explanatory–it’s classic. We paired its warm tone with some cooler tones, such as Lavender Blue & Glacier Gray to give it a bit of an edge, all while staying true to its timeless, aged shade. This is the perfect white for a more desired traditional feel for your wedding day.
Photography Credit | Mike Fiechtner Photography
Florist | Stacy Anderson Design
Design + Coordination | Bridget with Perfectly Posh Events
We love Cannoli Cream, if you’re looking for a cooler-toned white to add other cool tones for a refreshing, breezy feel for your day. We envision this white, along with colors such as Placid Blue, Petal Pink, and Charcoal Gray being the perfect palette for an outdoor, waterfront wedding–especially here in the PNW! The cool tones feel like the salty breeze brushing your pink cheeks.
Photography Credit | Amanda Lloyd Photography
Florist | Martha Harris
Coordination | Bridget with Perfectly Posh Events
We love Bright White for exactly what it is–being bright, cheery, and pure! This white is the closest shade of to a true white, and can be paired with virtually anything, because it’s without any blemish or tint. For sanity’s sake, we’ve given you a real example of how Bright White can be used. We’ve decided to show you an elegant, chic wedding where it was paired with Powder Pink, Jet Black, and Silver. It was the perfect contrast to its black counterpart and was softened by the warm pink. The silver brought the glam and elegance, and played off of the classic black and white.
Photography Credit | Daniel Usenko Photography
Florist | Flora Nova
Coordination | Holly with Perfectly Posh Events
Pearled Ivory is the perfect bridge that is needed in order to make vintage work with whimsical and organic. Just take a look at this real wedding, where Pearled Ivory was front and center in the dress and shoes, and was the base for all other decor elements. It goes perfect with gold and for pink shades such as Impatiens Pink and Gold Apricot. To soften the blow of Pearled Ivory, we also think incorporating Antique White doesn’t make the ivory so aggressive. This shade of white is perfect for the effortless, garden feel you may be looking for in your wedding day ambiance.
All the colors mentioned above can be found on Pantone.com. Please also note, depending on the suffix of the color you like, the shade may look different depending on if it is either on paper {printed} or cotton {fabric}. The suffix indicated for a paper shade is: TPX/TPG {think “P” for paper} and the suffix indicated for a cotton shade is: TCX {think “C” for cotton}. For example: Bright White 11-0601 TCX {Cotton Shade}.
We hope this blog has been helpful, in finding the right colors for you to describe your palette and wedding day dreams. Stay tuned for other editions of the “Fifty Shades” series, where we will give you different shades of another color for you to better clarify and describe your big day. Comment below or tweet us @posh_weddings and tell us your favorite shade of white!
Until next time!
Danae