Classic Blue: “Instilling calm, confidence, and connection, this enduring blue hue highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era. “Pantone LLC
Blue has always been connected to weddings with the old wedding rhyme: “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blued”. It’s thought that by having all of these items on your wedding day you’ll have a long and happy marriage, and we always include a hidden blue pin on the handle of our bridal bouquets just in case you’ve forgotten your “something blue”. This year however, blue has a whole new meaning in the wedding world as every year Pantone releases its colour of the year and for 2020 it’s Classic Blue. The colours Pantone chooses have a knock on effect in everything from home ware to fashion and of course the wedding industry. Last year’s colour was Living Coral and there were definitely lots of brides choosing coral bridesmaids dresses, and touches of coral throughout the rest of the wedding from napkins, to chair ties and of course pops of coral in the wedding flowers.
Due to the planning involved in weddings this means that there can be something of a delayed effect to these colour trends so we will still see lots of couples choosing to use Marsala (2015), Greenery(2017) or Rose Quartz and Serenity (that’s light blue to you and me – 2016).
How to include Classic Blue in your wedding
Photo by Lisa Devine
One of the key areas people set their colour theme is in the bridesmaid dresses and Classic Blue works as a great background colour for others to stand out against, by that I mean your flowers! Bright bold flowers will work really well against Classic Blue in your photos but you could also consider all whites and greens, pastels or even jewel tones such as deep pinks, purples and plums.
If you don’t want to use classic blue in your bridesmaid dresses or for the groomsmen consider adding touches of blue elsewhere in the wedding, such as blue glass or ceramic vases on the tables, blue napkins or napkin ties or even blue cushions for Chiavari chairs. Another trend of the past year that works really well to introduce colour is coloured taper candles, this can bring you theme higher up the room and help tie all your colours together.
Photos by Emma Case, McGlynn Sisters and Lianne MacKay.
Classic Blue wedding flowers
Blue is a difficult colour for flowers as it’s not one that occurs naturally that much, often the blues you find in flowers are more on a spectrum of purple or leaning towards a silvery green colour but here are a few blooms you might try to include if you want to be bang on trend for 2020…
Thistle (eryngium) – a classic choice for anyone wanting to include a Scottish feel in their wedding, eryngium comes in a all shapes and sizes but if you want something more unusual try echinops (globe thistle). (photos of Echinops above by Kristie De Garis)
Delphinium and larkspur – beautiful tall summer flowers great for adding vibrant colour and drama to larger arrangements like pedestal arrangements for the ceremony or in vases for your tables. (Photos by Lisa Devine and McGlynn Sisters).
For a more unusual wild flower look and if you are wanting to use Scottish grown flowers in the summer you could try Tweedia – small star shaped flowers in a sky blue shade; Viper’s Bugloss – another wild flower that’s great for wildlife, or Borage – an ancient herb with blue flowers which attract lots of butterflies and pollinators.
Forget-me-nots – a beautiful delicate spring flower in a variety of shades of blue that you’ll see growing in gardens, verges and meadows, perfect for a wild flower style wedding.
Nigella (love in a mist) – a classic cottage garden flower perfect for giving a lacy frothy texture to designs. Their seeds also make nice favours as they are easy to grow.
Cornflower – a beautiful blue flower often seen in meadows and fields these are great for giving a rustic or wild flower look to your wedding
Hydrangea – One of the most popular and well known wedding flowers these large headed blooms are great for impact in larger flower displays.
Agapanthus – also known as African Lilly, these are dramatic long stemmed summer flowers with a firework explosion of blooms at the top
In spring you might try adding blue scented Hyacinth or Muscari to your designs, muscari has short stems but looks great in buttonholes. Or later on in spring you could also add in bluebells for a woodland influenced style. (these are used in the bottom right photo on the grid taken by Lisa Devine)
Viburnum berries in buttonholes
Winter couples can turn to imported flower for blues with things like thistle being available all year round but consider including the rich dark blue of Viburnum berries to bouquets for texture and a more seasonal feel.
So whether you want to include Classic Blue or any other kind of blue in your wedding flowers there are lots of options for using it as either the main colour or as a complementary shade to set off your other wedding colours. If you’re looking for more inspiration take a look at our wedding flower gallery or get in touch.