The Year of Purple! How to stay unique with the same color palette?

all product photography by Liga Photography

Most wedding vendors can tell you what the hot colors of each year were! Because we do so many weddings and get to see the work of some many of our talented peers, we can see the trends for each year.


The 2009/2010 wedding season for me and my clients was what I refer to as the "Year of Purple".
I get asked alot how do I create unique, and different designs for each client when their themes, or wedding designs are similar. Well I'm not going to lie, it can be difficult sometimes. As a creative brain, sometimes when you are dealing with the same themes and colors, it can put your ideas "In a box."  But as wedding professionals it is our job to not let that box, limit the creative process.  A good tip to break out of your box, take an element from each bride that is personal to them, what is most important to them for their wedding, is it the dress, is it the floral or design element, is it a personal family tradition? These will sometimes help you focus on this bride, this wedding, instead of getting stuck in designing around the color palette.


So I wanted to share with you some of the beautiful invitation designs from the "Year of Purple" and get your opinion.  What do you think? Did I do it? Does each piece feel different and unique to the client it was for?

This bride was opulent and traditional. Her ideas were to create an over the top luxurious wedding with all the formality of kings and queens. So our idea was to add this amazing Ice Blue paper to the design to break up the patterns and the purple.  And of course satin and crystals were used to add the air of luxury.

This bride wanted her wedding to be romantic and moody. She got married in the late evening in a dark room with the dramatic lighting of hundreds of candles. Creating a gorgeous romantic intimate feel.

This bride was getting married in the spring in a castle in upstate New York. This was by the far the thing she seemed most excited about for her wedding. She wanted light and airy with an elegant tone. So when designing I focused on the castle, we used old world elements in the design. Candelabra's, Quill Pens and lace.

This bride's favorite element of her wedding was the dress. She was so excited about the dress it was the first thing she showed me. Her wedding was to take place outdoors in the evening. But she didn't want the outdoor setting to be limiting. She wanted to bring formality and elegance to the outdoors.  This was done by hanging chandeliers and crystals from the trees at her location.

So we designed these invitations around the dress, that had a perfect balance of lace, floral, satin and crystals in creams and subtle hints of silver.