When choosing the colors for the flowers in your wedding bouquets and arrangements, try not to just choose a favorite or even a well-known color combination.  Taking a close look at the color wheel will help you think of unusual color combinations to create truly unique bouquets and arrangements.

Using the color wheel as your guide to create your wedding flower color scheme, you can have a scheme that will be related, contrasting or discordant.

Related
Related or monochromatic color schemes have 1 common hue yet have varying intensities of that hue.  For instance, you could have very light blue, light blue, blue, darker blue and very dark blue.  Related schemes are "safe" in that harmony is easy to achieve, yet there is a danger of being boring or bland.  It has to be done tastefully.  For example, if you chose red as your base hue, you could create a bridal bouquet with red roses, deep burgundy/maroon oriental lilies, and pink carnations to lighten and blend the red and maroon.

Contrasting
Contrasting color schemes are more lively because they have colors from different parts of the color wheel.  Contrasting schemes can be divided into complementary and triadic.

• Complimentary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel.  When they are placed together, these hues complement each other.  Examples of these are red and green, yellow and purple, and blue and orange.  These have  more life and depth than related color schemes and create emotional excitement.
• Triadic schemes involve 3 colors from the color wheel, with each color being equally distant from the other.  Since these colors don't complement each other and aren't related, they can be difficult to work with.  A common triadic scheme is red, yellow, and blue - the primary colors.  A trickier triadic scheme to work with is orange, purple and green - the secondary colors.

Discordant
Discordant color schemes are more for the advanced designer.  They use 4 colors made up of 2 pairs of complementary colors.  Wedding bouquets and arrangements with a discordant color schemes are difficult to create with harmony because, unless done with skill, you will have 2 colors beside each other that clash.  If they are designed well, they have a lot of energy and depth.


If you are a beginner and haven't designed many wedding bouquets or arrangements, you should probably go with either a related or a contrasting color scheme.  Discordant color schemes are great for experienced designers, but if they aren't designed with harmony, they will be hard on the eyes.