Experimenting with Swatches

Here’s one of the few statements we’ll make that will shock you: The Home Depot is a thoroughly underused resource in wedding planning. Use the paint aisle to your advantage. Paint chips are an excellent way to look at a whole host of colors right alongside one another.

You can mix and match in real time, and there’s absolutely no risk in trying interesting and unexpected color combos while you’re standing at the paint counter. Pair a vibrant red with a pink (same color family, different value) or try two unexpected, contrasting colors like a purple and a yellow (choose colors of the same value, they will be in the same position on their paint strip). Try pastels. Try bolds. What’s the best part? You can take them with you.

When you decide on a color combination, make color copies of your paint chips, or collect a couple extra samples to share with your vendors. Write your name, wedding date and phone number on the back of the samples, and include them in the information pack for each vendor. Showing your vendors what you mean by “lilac” or “tigerlily” is the only way to ensure that you get the colors you want.

NEXT: Consider your surroundings…