As a Wedding & Event Designer, I truly enjoy when I get to work with color. Especially when I’m designing a wedding where traditionally color was always frowned upon. I love bold and vibrant colors that make a statement and sets the tone for the event. Color can also express and convey your personality and style to your guests. So keep that all in mind when choosing your color scheme for your next celebration.
Every year the Wedding & Event Industry waits with great anticipation for Pantone to announce the color of the year. This is usually announced within the first week of December of the previous calendar year. On December 2nd 2022, Pantone unveiled to the world the Color of the Year for 2023: Viva Magenta (Pantone 18-1750). It’s described by Pantone as a color that is “vibrating with vim and vigor, a shade rooted in nature, descending from the red family, demonstrating a new signal of strength.” They went on to share that the color is “brave and fearless, a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes optimism and joy.”
I must admit I was extremely excited when I saw the color. It’s fun, festive, vibrant and electrifying! It’s a crimson shade with hot pink/fuchsia undertones mixed with purple hues. It’s a true hybrid color that boasts a perfect balance between warm and cold and can be paired with other bright color combinations or dark colors as well. It’s not a color you’ll want to use if you aren’t looking to make a bold statement. I’ll share with you throughout this blog how you can incorporate this bold color for your next event.
I always emphasize to my clients when I’m creating a design concept for their event that we can go as bold as their heart desires as long as we compliment the bold color with elegant neutrals within the base of the design. This ensures that the vibrant color isn’t too loud and “screaming” out at your guests from the moment they arrive. It’s always good to use the bold color as either the predominant color but combined with a neutral secondary color or to use it as an accent color throughout the design. As you see in my tablescape design below, the table linen is a neutral textured taupe color as the base and then the bold ‘Viva Magenta’ color comes in as an accent color within the floral runner centerpiece.
A great way to find your complimentary colors is by pulling from within the Viva Magenta color itself. An expert tip is to take the hues and undertones from the color itself and use them throughout the design to cohesively compliment and soften the bold color. Take for instance, the purple hues. When paired together it creates a harmonious blend of the two bold colors. In my floral design below (pictured on the left), you can see that the base of my floral structure started with deep purple hues from the hydrangeas which I soften with lavender and lighter purple shades along with some magenta roses as my accent color. The finished floral arrangement (pictured in the middle) shows just how cohesively both colors truly compliment each other since they were essentially pulled from the undertones of the ‘Viva Magenta’ color. Once again, I used a light/neutral color for my tablecloth to intentionally soften the use of a more vibrant and dramatic color. I also tapped into the warmer scale by using a dark color for the charger plates and utensils.
I know what you are thinking. This Viva Magenta color is one dimensional and can only be used when designing one particular or a specific style of event. Wrong! You can go tropical with this color. You can make it coastal. Even rustic! The possibilities are endless once you enlist the professional assistance of a Wedding & Event Designer who can help you create the perfect design concept utilizing this color.
A perfect way to use this Viva Magenta color without it being too in your face would be to incorporate it in your floral design in sort of an ombré. This ensures that it is paired with both lighter and darker shades of itself which helps to neutralize the impact. Adding lots of greenery also helps to breakup/dilute the boldness of the color. Then a neutral base will seal the deal. I did all of the above in my sweetheart table design pictured below.
Other ways to incorporate Viva Magenta into your event is to use this color more boldly only in one area of the overall event while in the other areas it can be used more subtly or simply as an accent color. In the first two images below the color was used solely in the cocktail hour. One shows the color as a solid fabric used to cover the high top tables while another showcases the color in a textured patterned fabric also at a cocktail reception. Then in the main reception area, you can primarily use the color as an accent color within the napkins and as a pop of color in the floral arrangements.
If you don’t want to commit all the way to such an electrifying color. Here’s a few of my suggestions that will allow you to incorporate this as a pop of color without over doing it. An all white wedding cake can easily be dramatically transformed with vibrant floral accents. Colored candles are another quick and easy addition for implementing color. Also trending is color within your stemware/ glassware. These are all simple and easy ways to help you incorporate Viva Magenta within your next celebration.
Now that you have a fresh outlook on how to use a bold color like Pantone’s Viva Magenta, will you be incorporating the color of the year for your 2023 wedding or event? Have I convinced you that designing with color is not so intimidating as you originally thought? Let me know in the comments. I look forward to your feedback.
I hope you found this to be a great read and that it can serve as a helpful guide for you in your wedding planning and celebration process. Please subscribe to be the first to know when content like these helpful tips are shared. I appreciate you for reading. Share it with a friend or “pin it” for later.