How do colour analysis and weddings come together? You are on Instagram, you are looking for inspiration for your big day and…another celebrity appears among the colour wheels announcing her armochromatic season. What are we talking about? One of the major trends of the last year is the art of colour analysis. In a nutshell: the art of wearing only colours that really fit us.

Tania, but I think I’m going to wear a classic white dress! What should I do with the colour scheme?

You will be amazed to know how important this fantastic discipline is, even at your white wedding.

I talked about it with Federica Sciuto, a certified expert in colour harmony.

Before revealing everything about the perfect shades for the dress, make-up and palette of the event – based on the seasons of the groom and bride – let’s find out together what colour analysis is, what the seasons are and why it is also essential on the wedding day.

What is colour analysis (in short)

To explain the origin and value of this discipline – and to understand something between the wheels of colour, shades and undertones – we are helped by Federica Sciuto and her experience.

The first question I asked Federica was: where does the colour analysis originate and why?

Colour analysis is a discipline born around the 70s with the advent of colour cinema.

These were the years of Technicolor in Hollywood. The costume designers were working to enhance the stars’ looks on the big screen through the combination of colours studied about a century earlier by Itten, a teacher of portraiture at the Bauhaus. The master had guessed that each face was enhanced by specific colours very similar to natural ones. He then composed four palettes – one for each season – and started using them as a reference for his students.

These palettes taken up by the expert costume designers were elaborated and enriched, arousing the interest of the first image consultants who began to lay the foundations of a real discipline: Color Analysis.

From Hollywood to your wedding, therefore, the colour analysis has the mission and value of enhancing every face thanks to the use of the correct colours. The right colours are identified based on our complexion’s cold (pink) or warm (golden) tone and the unique mix and contrast created with eye and hair colour. 

But how do you find the right colours?

The Color Test: identifying your season to choose the right shade of the dress

There are dozens of shades of the wedding – and bridegroom – dresses to choose from for your big day. But if for the bridegroom, the vastness of choice is more immediate, for the bride and her candid white dress, all the effort to find the right shade seems in vain.

However, as a wedding planner who has seen hundreds of weddings, I can assure you that this is not the case. And the shades vary – and a lot- even for bride wedding dresses. From optical white to ice white. From face powder to antique pink. From beige to champagne. And I could go on for an entire article!

I asked Federica: how do you identify the most suitable colours for our complexion and dress?

Through image consultancy. In particular, with a Color Test, the combination of different coloured drapes on the face without make-up and under natural light, observing how they react with the skin-eyes-hair mix. The right colour will give an even complexion, illuminating the face and relaxing the features. On the other hand, the wrong colour will highlight areas of shadow and discolouration of the skin, hardening the features.

Based on the undertone, contrast and saturation of natural colours, the image consultant will define the season and its subgroup, i.e. the dominant feature. Such as vivid, bright eyes or dark skin tone.

Today, many brides indulge in a colour analysis consultation before choosing the wedding dress because the first and fundamental decision is between pure white and ivory.

The choice, in this case, is based on the warm or cold undertone of the complexion.

I know that – like me – you are eager to discover the characteristics of the seasons.

Let’s find out together the characteristics of the four seasons and how to choose the perfect shade of white for your wedding dress based on colour analysis.

Wedding dress and colour analysis: the right dress for every season

If we talk about colour analysis and weddings, we cannot fail to speak of colour analysis and wedding dress.

I mentioned the various shades of colour that a dress can take on. But I haven’t talked about another fundamental element: the fabric. Let’s start with an evergreen example: satin. Satin is not just white, ivory or pink: it is a world of colour reflections that explode under the light. A white satin could become almost silver or even blue, depending on the type of light that hits it.

Conversely, chiffon could take on much warmer shades than those that the atelier mirror – typically with cold lights – can give you back during your choice.

So pay attention to the combination of shades and fabric to choose the perfect colour according to your season.

Tania, can you tell us about these seasons? Let’s get started right away.

Spring season: ivory, champagne, old rose

The spring season features people with high-intensity light complexions, often accompanied by light eyes and blond or light brown hair.

In this case, the recommended shades are the warm tones of ivory, champagne, peach or coral. The important thing is to avoid being turned off by silver, optical white or ice – and beware of satin!

Summer season: soft white, blush, lilac

The summer season is characterized by cool undertones, low contrast and predominantly light eyes and hair – although summer people with dark eyes are found. In this case, the colours for the dress are dull white – not optical – lavender, chilly powder pink or a see-through nude (very trendy).

Autumn season: cream, ivory, beige, cream

Autumn brides are easily recognizable: the complexion’s undertone is warm golden and the intensity low, with green, hazelnut or dark eyes and dark blond, red, mocha brown hair. The perfect dress enhances these honey tones with cream, cream, beige, and ivory shades. All in trend for the romantic and boho chic dresses of the latest collections.

Winter season: optical white, ice

In winter people the undertone is cold and the contrast high: we find a light and cold complexion associated with dark eyes and dark hair. In this case, the contrast is what the colour scheme recommends for the wedding dress. We, therefore, have optical white, ice white or dull white but tend to be grey. Instead, we avoid all colours with a yellow undertone, such as beige or peach.

Colour analysis for the bride: let’s not forget the make-up

Now that we know which colour to choose for our wedding dress let’s focus on another fundamental element of the bridal look: make-up. A wrong make-up could make our efforts to find the perfect dress in vain!

Federica, as an expert, underlines not only the importance of make-up but also that of hair colour.

The make-up palette will allow you to have no doubts about which tone to choose to enhance your face and make it luminous and radiant.

If you have always worn a hair colour other than natural, it is time to ask yourself if it really enhances you or get advice on the ideal tone at the time of the consultation to change your look before the wedding. Why yes, a wrong colour could accentuate the redness on the face, turn pale or steal the show from the face.

Although changing your look right before the wedding can be scary, it could be a great idea to go back to your own season. And surprise your guests!

According to the colour analysis advice, let’s see some colour ideas for bridal make-up.

Colour analysis and wedding: make-up according to the seasons

  • Spring
    Off to coral, peach, bronze, rust and colours in shades of hot pink and orange. For the lips, warm orange and nude shades. We avoid the cold shadows of red so as not to turn off the face. At most, we can indulge a lobster shade!

  • Summer
    Avoid too intense contrasts and stay on the cold colours of pink, grey, and lilac, if you want, with points of cold brown. Perhaps it is better to leave the red alone and choose a cold mauve or nude shade for the lips.
  • Fall
    Tones of bronze, chocolate, warm purple, caramel, honey and gold. The nude brown is also perfect. Let’s avoid silver and cold pink. And for the lips, let’s stay on warm nudes and orange-reds.

  • Winter
    Blue, grey, silver and cold metallic colours will amaze your guests. And to be daring, burgundy, deep purple or burgundy on the lips!

 

We know how to choose the wedding dress and make-up, but the relationship between colour and wedding ends with selecting the bride’s look? Obviously not: as I always say, everything has to be included in the grand design of the wedding theme and in the chosen palette.

If we talk about colour analysis and weddings, we cannot fail to talk about palettes.

In fact, this should be selected based on the colours that reflect and enhance the bride and groom. 

How to choose the perfect wedding palette? This, too, Federica explains to us.

The wedding palette: colour at our (your) service

One to three colours are usually selected for the wedding day palette. These will then be declined in all the elements of the big day, from the mise en place to the coordinated graphics, up to the favours and furnishings.

The choice of palette is crucial. It is not enough that we like it! It must be suitable for the occasion, consistent with the theme and the location.

I asked Federica the best way to choose a perfect fit palette.

In choosing the wedding colour palette, we can rely on the rules of Chromatic Harmonies.

The first step is to understand how many colours the spouses want to involve.

By Chromatic Harmony, we mean the perceptual balance in the combination of several colours.

Monochromatic Harmony combines several shades of the same colour, perfect for a chic and sober wedding.

If the temperament of the spouses is instead sparkling and playful, Complementary Harmony, or the combination of two opposite colours on the colour wheel, could be the right choice. Pink and green, wisteria and pastel yellow or cream, powder blue and sand are just some of the possible combinations. The trick to choosing opposite colours that go well together is to look at the colour wheel and choose two opposite colours.

If the spouses cannot recognize themselves in a single colour, the solution is an Equilateral Harmony. This is formed by joining three equally spaced colours on the colour wheel. The colour palette of a wedding in this Harmony could have a floral arrangement in shades of wisteria, green and pink or blue, pastel yellow and very light peach.

Alternatively, we can combine a basic colour such as white and another of your choice, creating a very sophisticated and elegant two-tone harmony.

Fantastic how behind every little detail of the wedding there is real science, right?

Colour analysis and wedding: emotions in palette

The perfect marriage is what you are the protagonists in your love story, your values, your way of seeing the world and your future life together. Choosing the right colours to represent you is the first step in planning an event where you can truly and immensely feel yourself.

Relying on a colour analysis expert and a professional wedding planner can ensure you an event designed in the colours of your feelings. And on the ones that fit you best!

Because as in so many aspects of your future married life, even on your wedding day, dream and reality meet. And with the colour scheme, the match will be a perfect match!

Let’s start organizing your wedding?