Wedding colors: pick a palette and check the contrast

You pick a wedding color palette by choosing one base neutral, one main color, one softer partner and one accent, then testing your text color on your paper. The picker above does that math for you. Click a palette, copy any hex code, and see which pairs are easy to read.

Color is the cheapest way to make a wedding look planned. It is also easy to get wrong in small ways. Light sage text on ivory looks lovely on a screen and disappears on a printed table card.

Palette table: twelve palettes with hex codes and contrast

Each palette has five colors. The first is the base paper, the last is the ink for text, and the three in between are your color choices. The contrast numbers below come from our own checker, which uses the WCAG formula.

Table: twelve palettes with hex codes and contrast ratios for text pairs (our estimate, assumptions below)

Assumptions for the table. Ratios use the WCAG relative luminance formula and are cut down to one decimal, never rounded up, because WCAG says 4.499 does not pass 4.5. The hex codes are screen values, and printed paper and ink will shift them a little. Print one test card before you order a full run.

How to read the last column. W3C sets 4.5:1 as the bar for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Large means 18 point regular or 14 point bold. So “Any text size” passes 4.5. “Headings and signs” passes 3 but not 4.5, so keep it to big, bold type. “Shapes and flowers only” falls under 3.

A worked example: sage and blush, pair by pair

Sage and blush is the default in the picker. Here is every pair you are likely to print, with the result for each.

The pattern repeats in almost every palette. The pretty colors are fills. One dark color carries the words. Once you see that, building any palette gets quicker.

Roles beat a list of colors

A list of five colors tells a vendor nothing. A role for each one does. One stationery guide suggests a dominant color for the largest areas, a secondary for smaller items like flowers, an accent near 10 percent of visual weight, and a neutral that keeps text readable. That 10 percent is the guide’s own rule of thumb, not survey data, but it is a handy way to hold back.

In sage and blush, ivory is the neutral, sage is dominant, blush is secondary and the olive green is the accent. The ink is a text color, so it sits outside the count. That is why three to five colors is workable, as the same guide says.

What couples are actually choosing

Zola’s 2026 First Look Report surveyed more than 11,500 couples marrying in 2026. It is a vendor survey, self-reported, so treat it as a mood and not a law. In that survey, 30 percent of couples chose sage green as their anchor color. Green appeared in the primary palette of 53 percent, and blush served as a neutral for 19 percent.

Warmer shades sat lower. Terracotta and rust were each chosen by 7 percent, and champagne by 5 percent. If you want a palette that few other guests will have seen this year, the warm end is quieter ground. If you want what photographs well and what florists stock easily, green is the safe pick.

Where each color earns its place

Think surface by surface. Ink on ivory is always safe. Everything else needs a job.

1. Invitation. Use the ink for all body text. Put your boldest color on the names or a single border line. Save the pale colors for an envelope liner or a thin band.
2. Welcome sign and seating chart. Signs are read from a few feet away, so large bold type can use a “Headings and signs” color. Small lines like table numbers still need the ink. Our welcome sign page covers sizes.
3. Tables. Pale colors work as linens and napkins because nobody reads them. Put the accent in candles, a ribbon or a menu header.
4. Attire. Ask for a color family instead of an exact shade. Fabric changes color in different light, and one matching hex code across ten dresses is not realistic.
5. Flowers. Your palette sets the mood, and the season sets what is available. See the next section before you fall for a flower that is out of season.

Match your colors to the calendar

Flowers are where palettes meet reality. One wedding guide lists in-season flowers by month. For May it names peonies at peak supply, plus lilac, lily of the valley and sweet peas. For June it lists garden roses at peak and peonies ending. For August it names sunflowers, dahlias and zinnias, and for September dahlias at peak with chrysanthemums and celosia. October lists chrysanthemums, marigolds, celosia and late dahlias.

Gardens agree roughly. The Chicago Botanic Garden puts peony bloom between April and June. The New York Botanical Garden says its peonies usually bloom in May, and the date moves by days or weeks between years. Dahlias start in July or August, peak in September and often run into October until a hard frost, according to a bulb grower. Florist supply and your region will differ, so ask your florist for a short list in your wedding month.

If you already know your month, our palettes by season go deeper. Open spring palettes by bloom month for April and May ideas, or fall wedding colors for September and October. Winter has its own page too: see cold-season color combinations.

Three mistakes to fix before you print

Pale text on a pale page. It is the most common one. Pastel script looks gentle on a mockup and fades under dim reception lights. Fix it by using your ink for anything smaller than a heading, then check the pair in the picker.

Matching a hex code across materials. A paper color, a fabric and a flower never match exactly. Fix it by choosing a family, bringing a physical swatch to each vendor and accepting a little drift.

Six colors, no roles. More shades make decisions slower and vendors guess. Fix it by dropping to five or fewer, then giving each one a job. If a color has no job, cut it.

Choose your palette in five steps

1. Look at your venue's floor, walls and lighting. Write down the two or three colors you cannot change.
2. Pick one main color that sits well with those. Green, blue and warm neutrals blend into most venues.
3. Click the closest palette in the picker, then change one hex code until it feels like you.
4. Read the contrast list. Move any text color that fails to your ink, and keep pale colors as fills.
5. Download the palette card and send it to your partner and bridesmaids. Agree on it before any dress or invitation order.

Once the colors are set, the same palette can run through your whole stationery set. Our guide to invitation wording helps with the words, and a wedding hashtag can match the mood you have picked.

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Updated November 5, 2026 by bigdaydesk editorial