How to choose the perfect colour palette for your wedding florals

Choosing the overall wedding colour palette

You may have decided on some dominant colours for your wedding already, such as colours of bridesmaids dresses, stationery and signage, and ties. The temptation is to assume you will have the same colours in your flowers. However, flower colours change across the seasons and colours can be more difficult to achieve in nature than fabric dyes.

For example, there are very few true blue flowers, and blue flowers are mostly only available in Spring and early Summer. Similarly, black, champagne, and grey are very hard shades to achieve in flowers. 

The good news is that florals work beautifully as a styling accent and do not have to follow the same colour palette as other elements of your wedding. In fact, using other colours in your florals can really elevate and enhance the overall look of your wedding. 

In this blog, we will explore different wedding colour palettes and how they best correspond with the seasons of the year to help you choose what's right for your perfect day.

March to May- Spring Wedding Flower Colours

Classic white wedding flowers for Spring

In early Spring, you will see a lot of white flowering bulbs popping up in your garden and the verges. White florals in Spring tend to be small and dainty and work beautifully to create a light, frothy look. 

White flowers in Spring:

narcissi, ranunculus, tulip, lily of the valley, hellebore, lilac, spirea, orlaya

Pale pastel wedding flowers for Spring

Beautiful soft shades of florals feature dominantly in Spring; think of baby blues, lilacs, buttery yellows, pale pinks and apricots. Any of these work beautifully in combination, and we usually recommend at least three main colours are used in conjunction (e.g. blue, lilac and pink). Within those colours, there will be some tonal variation to add depth and delicacy to the design (for example, very pale grey-lilac through to a soft rich mauve). 

Pastel flowers in Spring: foxgloves, ranunculus, tulip, lilac, stocks, love-in-a-mist

Fun Bright wedding flowers for Spring

Bright colours in Spring are really fun! Think blue and yellow with frothy whites, or lilac and peach with pops of orange, or all the pinks from palest blush to hot Barbie pink.

Nature loves a broad colour palette in Spring and you can too. We recommend adding creams and whites into the design to keep the overall look light and sparkly. 

Bright flowers in Spring: anemone, ranunculus, tulip, stocks, Icelandic poppies, muscari, forget-me-nots

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June to August- Summer wedding flower colours

Classic white wedding flowers for Summer

White works surprisingly well in Summer, particularly in outdoor settings where the surroundings are very verdant and light levels are high. White tones show up beautifully against green trees and blue skies. We feel the key to using white in Summer is to keep it seasonal, so that the flowers are soft and delicate, rather than harsh and commercial. 

Whites in Summer- cosmos, larkspur, delphinium, roses, jasmine, sweet peas, ammi

Soft pastel wedding flowers for Summer

The world is your oyster when it comes to pastels in Summer. We love a mix of pastels to emulate the abundance of the Summer garden: pinks, lilacs, creams, peaches, powder blues, lemon and burgundy all work gloriously together or in combination. We recommend avoiding a binary look by incorporating at least three different pastels, alongside soft limey greens. 

Pastels in Summer- delphinium, roses, hydrangea, phlox, scabious, lavender, cosmos, calendula,

Fun Bright wedding flowers for Summer

Bright tones in Summer give a fun,

festival vibe to your florals.

You can choose a punchy, juicy palette such as orange, hot pink and lemon, or a warmer romantic look with several shades of pinks plus deep reds, or an exuberant sassy combination of pinks, blues, yellows, purples and oranges.  To show the colours to their best, we recommend minimising the use of foliage with a bright Summer palette, so that the florals can create an en-masse expanse of colour. 

Brights in Summer- roses, zinnia, cosmos, strawflower, larkspur, sweet peas, aster

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September to October- Autumn wedding flower colours

Warm Cream wedding flowers for Autumn

White in Autumn is surprisingly hard to achieve, without using imported flowers.

Most flowers have taken on a deeper hue by Autumn, and therefore for a neutral palette that feels seasonal, we recommend using warmer creams, taupes and beiges, with touches of warmly toned foliage, such as deep green, bronze, burgundy.

Creams in Autumn- late cosmos, sedum, roses, limonium, scabious, dahlias

Muted Autumnal pastel wedding flowers

As the heat falls out of the days, pastel tones are predominantly a faded version of the stronger summer colours: soft peach, pale ochre, deep raspberry, creamy lemon, very pale pink and biscuity bronzes. Foliage in Autumn is plentiful and glorious and can really enhance your paler florals, with deep mauve and burgundy tones. 

Pastels in Autumn- dahlias, rudbeckia, scabious, sunflower, late cosmos, zinnia, amaranthus

Bold and Warm wedding flowers for Autumn

If you love strong orange based florals, Autumn gives you the opportunity to use bold, bright colours without the brashness of Summer.

Clementine orange, bright lime, postbox red, sunflower yellow, deep purple and fuscia pink all work fantastically in Autumn. 

Brights in Autumn- zinnia, amaranthus, phlox, rudbeckia, sunflower, dahlia, smokebush, acer

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November to February- Winter Wedding Flower Colours

Snowy white wedding flowers for winter

In contrast to Spring and Summer, in Winter, whites lend a sparkly, frosty quality to your wedding. Beautiful soft silvery foliage can be combined with white florals and early blossom for a gentle, twinkly feel.

During the Winter months, UK florists have to rely much more heavily on imported florals and costs of flowers are typically higher. We always recommend embracing lots of beautiful locally-grown foliage. 

Whites in Winter- anemone, early ranunculus, roses (imported), pussy willow, hellebore, pittosporum, eucalyptus 

Soft warm tonal flowers for winter wedding

Through the Winter months, soft pinks, mauves and bronzes work beautifully for a softly coloured look that works with the darker, colder season. Touches of pale peach or taupe can add an extra dimension. Again, we recommend embracing locally grown foliage in soft bronzes, greens and mauves. 

Soft tonal flowers in Winter- anemone, chrysanthemum, hellebore, early ranunculus, roses (imported), smoke bush, pittosporum, viburnum

Deep moody tonal flowers for winter weddings

Winter is also a time for being introspective and cosy, and dark floral tones can emulate this, such as deep indigos, burgundy, claret, and inky blues. Glossy forest green foliage works beautifully with deep tones, and touches of paler foliages help to add depth and lightness to the design. 

Deep tonals in Winter- anemone, roses (imported), chrysanthemum, fritillaria, rose hips, pines, rosemary, eucalyptus

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Ultimately, if you ask your florist to incorporate seasonal, locally grown blooms, their tones will naturally reflect the season and enhance the other colour choices you have made in your wedding styling. 

Warning: Flowers are natural show-offs and they will do their best to steal the styling show!! Their unparalleled beauty is liable to make any unnatural additions (such as artificial flowers and synthetic materials) look particularly false.