Wedding color palettes for 2026:
15 combinations, hex codes included.

Four colors is the practical maximum. One base neutral that covers most surfaces, one lead color that people will remember, one deeper tone for depth, evening and type, and one accent used sparingly. Five or six colors used equally always look busier than four used in proportion.

Use them roughly 60/30/10: sixty percent base (paper, linen, candles), thirty percent lead (bridesmaids, ribbon, flowers), ten percent accent (a menu border, a wax seal, a single flower). The deeper tone carries the text and the foliage.

Then check three things before you commit. The season, because light changes color: pastels glow in spring daylight and go grey under winter candlelight. The venue, because a stone courtyard, a dark ballroom and a beach each pull colors in a different direction. And the white: warm ivory flatters almost every palette, while bright optical white makes muted colors look tired.

Every palette below has four hex codes. Tap any swatch in the sections that follow to copy its code.

The most requested wedding color of the last few years, and still the safest. Sage is a neutral pretending to be a color: it sits beside almost anything and reads expensive in daylight. Pair it with warm ivory, never bright white. These are the values of the sage green botanical invitation; the full guide is what colours go with sage green.

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Soft, cool and calm, at its best near water and in spring or early autumn light. Keep the cream warm so the blue does not turn cold, and use the deep slate blue for type and suits. Sampled from the dusty blue wedding invitation; see what colours go with dusty blue.

The autumn and winter palette that feels like an occasion. Burgundy is close in value to black, so pair it with light blush and green foliage, never with more dark. From the burgundy wedding invitation; the full guide is what colours go with burgundy.

Warm, earthy and made for late summer: vineyards, desert venues, long tables outside. Rust carries the depth, olive keeps it fresh. From the terracotta art deco invitation.

The pastel wedding theme done properly: three soft colors of the same lightness, so none of them shouts, and a cool mint to stop it going sugary. It belongs to spring daylight and gardens. Keep it to daytime, because pastels turn grey under warm evening light, and give the text one deeper tone, such as a soft plum or charcoal, so the stationery stays readable.

In the invitation App Builder, the Lavender Dreams color preset starts you in this family, and every accent can be adjusted to your exact hex.

Sunlit and happy, made for summer in Italy, a garden lunch or a coastal town. Use lemon as the accent, not the base: one bright color goes a long way. From the lemon wedding invitation.

The island palette: deep sea blue against whitewashed walls and warm stone. This is the one palette where pure white belongs, because the architecture is white. From the Greek wedding invitation.

A watercolor palette, quieter than dusty blue, that suits villas, lakes and an all-year city wedding. From the Italian watercolor wedding invitation.

The palette for couples who want color, not pastels: cobalt tile blue, terracotta, saffron and a hot bougainvillea pink. It works because each color is equally strong. From the Talavera Mexican wedding invitation.

Warm neutrals that read rich in photographs and work in any season, indoors or out. A good choice when the venue is already colorful and the palette should not compete. From the Indian wedding invitation.

Minimalist and calm, for city weddings, galleries and couples who want the people to be the color. The deep espresso keeps it from looking unfinished. From the minimalist calligraphy wedding invitation.

The classic formal palette. Champagne and bronze give warmth without color, and ivory keeps it soft. It works at any venue and any time of year, and photographs well in every light. The App Builder's Champagne and Ivory preset uses the same bronze.

Black tie, evening, winter. The rule is restraint: black as the depth, gold as the accent only, and plenty of soft champagne and ivory so the room does not go heavy. The App Builder's Luxury Black and Gold preset uses this black.

Navy gives a summer palette an evening, and blush keeps it romantic. A Riviera or city palette that works for both suits and dresses. The App Builder's French Riviera preset starts from this navy and sky blue.

Jewel tones for winter: deep, saturated and made for candlelight. Use emerald and sapphire in fabric and flowers, gold as the accent, and a warm ivory base so it still feels like a wedding and not a holiday party.

A palette only works when every supplier uses the same values. Send the four hex codes to the florist, the stationer, the cake maker and the bridesmaids, and say which color is the base, the lead, the depth and the accent.

The invitation is the first place guests see your colors. On The Private Wedding App, you start from one of eleven designer themes, many of which carry the palettes above, or from your own cover. The App Builder adds color presets (French Riviera, Romantic Garden, Luxury Black and Gold, Moody Berry, Lavender Dreams, Champagne and Ivory, Rose Gold, Silver Moon, Eucalyptus and Editorial), and every accent can be changed to your exact hex. Browse the invitation designs or the themes.

Then tell guests what to wear without a paragraph of color names. The dress code card on the invitation's Info page shows your color swatches and an optional palette photo, pinned above the other sections, and each schedule moment can carry its own dress code. Guests read it in the language they picked, and can find it again the day they shop.

It is all part of the full wedding planner: RSVP with meals and allergies, guest list, seating chart, budget, vendors, checklist and an AI assistant, for $19.99/month or $189 once. Read the dress code color palette guide, then start the free trial.