wedding colors for spring

There's nothing like a spring wedding: It’s a fresh, bright, and inspiring celebration of love and a new life together. There’s a lot to do, but choosing the right spring wedding colors is essential, and it can make all the difference in how you and your guests look back on the first day of your life together as a married couple.

Read on for tips and tricks to help you identify a spring wedding theme, make the most of your wedding venue, use the date of your wedding to your advantage, and zero in on the perfect spring wedding color palette for your perfect day.

Top Wedding Colors for Spring 2021

WEST COAST SUNSET

Salmon + Tangerine + Navy

TROPICAL SHERBET

Mimosa + Buttercup + Blush + Mist

MODERN VINTAGE

Dusty Rose + Cobalt

PAINTED CLOUDS

Sky blue + Petal pink

MARGARITA MIX

Mimosa + Sage

Shop green wedding invitations

Pick a Wedding Theme & Go from There

First things first: Make sure that your wedding has a theme that will tie all the wedding details and decorations together. A theme is just a broad idea that can guide and inspire your choices for decor, food, favors, etc. Most important of all, it can often make a spring wedding color palette fall right into place. A solid theme will make your whole event feel more cohesive, so take your time while choosing one. You want something that’s truly you, something you’ll love seeing in photographs for years to come. And of course, you’ll also want something that’s at least a little bit practical and attainable, though it’s okay to dream big and then let your wedding planner, bridesmaids, mom, or whoever else is helping you plan reel you in.

Your spring wedding theme can be as simple or as complicated as you want. Some couples choose a theme that’s basically just a color palette and an overall wedding aesthetic they'd like to convey—formal, bohemian, romantic, rustic, etc. Some couples go all-out with elaborate themes that get incorporated into every single aspect of the day, from hair and makeup to the wedding music playlist that will be playing in your limo as you drive off from the reception and into your new happily-ever-after.

Let Your Wedding Tell a Story

If you decide to go with something simple and classic, more power to you. If you decide to go deep with a theme, though, it’s good to keep in mind that a well-planned wedding is about more than hitting your marks. A wedding that’s truly memorable is often a wedding that tells a story of the couple and their families and friends.

Wedding colors for spring are traditionally soft and romantic, so when you're deciding on a theme to inform your spring wedding color palette, consider including some element that reflects your unique love story. For example, if you met in Paris or plan to go there on your honeymoon, you might choose Paris as your theme and decorate with colors that reflect the city: think muted, neutral colors like rose, slate grey, and ivory (and maybe add a pop of deep red or french blue if a vintage vibe is your style). You might want to include a buffet table that’s dedicated to beautiful breads and pastries, or fill your venue with roses in varying shades of red, white, peach, and pink. If you decide to go all-out, you can even stage a photo-op wall with a background of a romantic Parisian boulevard and the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Or maybe you both enjoy old movies, in which case a black and white color scheme might be just the thing (again, a bright red accent can work nicely here, or maybe a soft dusty rose—both are romantic, classic, and will lend your spring wedding colors a touch of effortless glamour that will entrance your guests). Maybe even pick a wall to silently project scenes from your favorite romantic movies, or provide a photobooth with old-school props like fancy hats, cat-eye glasses, and costume jewelry (fun feather boas in your wedding colors are an obvious yes for photo-ops no matter what your theme).

Or you might decide that a less personal and more classic approach to spring wedding colors is ultimately more true to you. Sometimes the season itself is all the theme you need. After months of harsh, chilly weather, spring’s arrival is reason enough to celebrate. One classic way to make a springtime statement is by creating a spring wedding color palette that centers on varying shades of green. After all, fresh leaves are sprouting and new grass is popping up everywhere. You’ll want to keep the hues muted and elegant: Start with a cool, pale green like mint or sage, then add a complementary darker hue in the same color family to create depth and dimension—forest green if you’re using a shade with a bit more blue, hunter green if you’re working with warmer hues. Pale greens often look better with cream or off-white than bright white, which is something you might want to keep in mind for your invites.

How Your Wedding Date Can Help you Pick Wedding Colors for Spring

When choosing a color palette, it can help to meditate a bit on the date itself. Are you getting married in March? April? May? Each month of spring comes with its own special characteristics and practical considerations, and some themes will work better than others for any given month.

March is the start of the season, but it can still be very chilly in most climates. This might mean opting for an indoor venue like a hotel ballroom, winery, or art gallery rather than a garden wedding. You’ll also want to think about whether you want a daytime or nighttime affair. If your guests might be battling snow or ice on the drive home, consider a daytime ceremony—this way, you’ll at least have some sunshine for the photos (and years from now, no one will remember how cold it was).

If you know for sure that you want an evening ceremony but still crave a little bit of that fresh spring feeling, you can use art to supply a little bit of bloom to the festivities. You might choose a gallery full of floral paintings, or simply make sure that your venue includes some bright and colorful floral decor. Choose spring wedding colors that will accent or complement the setting by choosing your favorite colors from the biggest paintings, or stick with neutral tones like beige, rose, white, and grey to let the art do all the talking.

If you’re one of those people who actually loves cool, blustery weather, go ahead and lean in to the feeling of very early spring by choosing cool, elegant colors like pale grays or blues, or washed-out pinks. Pair with a neutral off-white or deep navy for a theme that’s classic and understated.

April is known for its rain showers, so this may also be a compelling reason to choose an indoor venue, or at least make sure you have a solid contingency plan in case of rain. You could even choose to make “April showers” your theme: Choose colors like slate grey, fresh white, or deep blues, and maybe hand out some cute rain ponchos in your wedding colors to all of your guests as they're leaving. April is also National Poetry month, so if you’re into that sort of thing you might include a poem in your ceremony, or place a famous love poem (beautifully printed on high-quality cardstock, of course) at each table setting.

May includes a few holidays—Mother's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, and all those graduations—and the month kicks off with May Day, a holiday we associate with blinding bright sunlight and wild bouquets of fresh flowers of every possible color. It’s easy to get carried away with wedding colors for spring if you're doing a big bright floral theme, so just make sure that all your colors go together. Pick your favorites and go from there. By this time of year the weather should be nice, so if you’re feeling an outdoor fete, go for it. And if your May wedding falls super-close to one of those other holidays, a small gesture of acknowledgement for the moms or service members on your guest list is always a nice touch.

Go Easy on Pastels for Spring Wedding Color Palettes

It can be tempting to stick to pastels when you’re selecting a spring wedding color palette. They’re popular for a reason: No matter what else is happening in the world of fashion, pastels become their own trend almost every spring. They’re versatile, too. They work well for all kinds of wedding-planning media, from cardstock to cakes to rental furniture. And of course, they go really well with white, which means that if you’re wearing a traditional white gown, you’ll have some easy opportunities to incorporate your spring wedding colors into your outfit for the big day. If you prefer a less traditional fashion statement, as many brides do these days, pastel or pale grey gowns are a lovely alternative to white, too.

So pastels are a classic choice for a spring wedding color palette, for sure. But that means they’re expected, too. Furthermore, going overboard with the pale pinks and blues can make your wedding look more like a baby shower or an Easter egg hunt than a celebration of romance. If you just love pastels and have to have them, try pairing a favorite pastel with a deeper hue from the same color family. For example, pair a powder blue with a deep navy, a mint green with forest green, or pale pink with a rich rose. This darker accent color will provide depth and sophistication to even the most spring-forward color choices.

Get Inspired By Your Wedding Venue

Try to draw your color inspiration from the wedding space itself—if your venue is landscaped with daffodils, for example, choose colors that go nicely with yellow (purples, bold greens, etc.). If you decide to go with an indoor venue such as an art gallery or hotel, look for a space that includes paintings that feel like spring, whether they’re actual florals or simply paintings that incorporate some bright and light colors. And if you’re expecting rain, you may want to purchase some cute umbrellas in your wedding colors so that your ushers can walk guests to their cars at the end of the ceremony and reception.

Sometimes your venue will have pre-determined decor, while others simply provide a blank slate and let you handle the rest. You’ll want to be prepared to work with either situation. One of the best ways to do that is to ensure that your wedding colors appear on the more portable pieces of decor—flowers, place cards, menus, etc.—so that even if the venue has rules about things like table linens and furniture, you can customize the event to your liking.

Incorporate your Spring Wedding Colors into the Wedding Favors, Too

Remember when you were little and every birthday party came with a little bag of party favors? Yeah, us too, because it was the best. Send your wedding guests home with a spring-themed parting gift.

Some popular spring wedding favors include small succulents, wildflower seeds, or mini jars of local honey, but you can choose anything you like as long as it ties into your theme. Rain ponchos in your wedding colors are cute for an April showers-themed wedding, or mini-watercolor sets work well for a wedding held in an art gallery.

Whatever you choose to send home with your guests, make sure to include your wedding colors in some way, whether it’s part of the presentation or the item itself.

Whatever spring colors you choose for your wedding, know that the most important part of the day is not the decor but the memories you and your guests will make. Choose colors that make you happy, and then enjoy the day.