WM PART 2 - Choosing your COLOR MOTIF 1 of 2

Choosing your COLOR MOTIF

Ever wonder what MOTIF’s are for? If you do not have a theme for your wedding, one usually has at least a MOTIF. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines a Motif as a recurring element or a single or repeated design or color. In the Philippine setting, a Motif usually pertains to the COLOR OF YOUR WEDDING. So to further clarify that definition, let us use the term COLOR MOTIF.

Misconception #4 Every element in your wedding should follow your color motif.

As I have observed, the usual trend in most weddings here is that the color of the invitation should be the same color of your entourage’s dresses, table mantels and so on. Although color motifs are usually used to express the statement (whatever statement it maybe) of your wedding let us not exaggerate it so much to the point that when your lady entourage arrives to your reception, it will be difficult for you to tell where they are because they unwillingly camouflaged themselves againts your backdrop and table mantels.

ADVICE: To avoid this unfortunate event, I would recommend that you prepare 2 or more sets of color motif. Each set for each wedding need. Though it will add another task on your to-do-list, all your efforts will be worth it in the end. But before that, choose the main color motif which you would like to have.

UNIVERSAL GUIDE - THE COLOR WHEEL

The color wheel is our most basic guide in choosing colors. We’ve all seen this since we were little, and you’ll bump into it every once in a while.

I found a wonderful site which explained the principles of the color wheel. I got this from Pagethinker.com

Here’s a short excerpt and some of my inputs. =)

(quoted articles are from the website… images available in Pagethinker.com)

The Color Wheel

“Wherever there’s light, there’s color. White light contains all visible colors, which form an infinite spectrum that appears in the red-to-violent sequence, like the rainbow. The color wheel represents this infinite spectrum with 12 basic hues.”

Hues

“These 12 hues consist of primary, secondary and tertiary colors. The three primary colors of blue, yellow and red combine to make secondary colors; which combine to make tertiary colors.”

“Constructed in an orderly progression, the color wheel is the range of visible light—represented by the 12 basic hues—formed into circle. It enables the user to visualize the sequence of color balance and harmony. The 12 basic hues are: Red, Red Orange, Orange, Yellow Orange, Yellow, Yellow Green, Green, Blue Green, Blue, Blue Violet, Violet, Red Violet.”

Color Value

“Each hue is at a level of full saturation, or brightness. There is no black or white added. When the relative amount of white or black is added to a hue, the color has lightness and darkness, called value. To show value, the color wheel has more rings: two outter for dark shades and two inner for light tints.”

Jean’s note: In this image you will find that there is no limit in a certain color once you have seen the lighter and darker values of it.

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to read more about the color wheel theory, click here.

Color Schemes

“Monochromatic: This palette has the dark, medium and light values of a single color. It has no color depth, but it provides the contrast of dark, medium and light that’s important to good design.”

Jean’s note: If you like a certain color very much and you don’t want to add on a second color, monochromatic scheme is the best choice for you. =) An interesting combination derived from a monochromatic scheme can be Yellow orange and Milk&Coffee Brown

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“Analogous: These are adjacent colors. They share strong undertones which create pleasing, low-contrast harmony. Analogous palettes are rich and always easy to work with.”

Jean’s note: Analagous colors are usually the easiest to pull off since you cannot go wrong with this scheme as each color gradually compliments the other. If you wish to have a Windy-autumn theme, try the combination of olive green, pastel yellow and yellow orange.

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“Complement: These are colors directly opposite of each other on the color wheel. Complementary colors are contrasting, convey energy, vigor and excitement.”

Jean’s note: Though complements are a little challenging to pull off, it’s usually the scheme that is not commonly used because of it’s very striking appeal. You may want to combine a lighter value of one color to a darker one to make it a little less shocking. For a summer inspired motif, Orange and cornflower or pool blue is an interesting choice.

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“Split Complement: These are colors one step either way of the complement’s own analogous colors. It’s strength is in the low-contrast beauty of analogous colors, plus the added accent of an opposite color.”

Jean’s note: Split complements are my fav because of the unusual yet appealing color combinations we can derive from it. If you observe carefully, the color motif trend last 2006-2007 of Pink & Brown came from this scheme. (That’s pink from red and brown from orange) Aqua Blue& Chocolate brown has also become a popular choice among weddings.

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“Primary: The primary colors are often seen in children’s products.

Secondary: Secondary colors have a lot in common so they harmonize easily.”

Jean’s note: I wouldn’t really recommend this combination for very discriminating brides and guests (hehe..) But, it’s not a bad combination for Fiesta themes, or any Country-inspired theme (American, Italian etc.)

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See my next post on Selecting the Color Motif for your Entourage and more and HOW TO SELECT THE PERFECT COLOR MOTIF.