6 Purple Wedding Ideas for an Eye-Catching Celebration

A shade once reserved only for royalty, purple is the queen of colors. Its many hues can be regal, vibrant, mysterious, noble, bright, and eye-catching. It’s a deep, romantic color that automatically becomes the star of any color palette.

But, with its many hues and nuances, purple can be one of many tricky wedding color ideas. To pull off a purple wedding theme without going overboard on the vibrant hue, consult our helpful guide.

Choose Your Purple

The first—and most important—step in gathering purple wedding inspiration is deciding on a shade. There are so many hues that can be used as a purple wedding color, each with their own unique connotations and attributes. Deciding on one specific shade will help you choose your wedding decorations, clothing, and more.

But if you’re the kind of purple-loving person who adores all purple shades equally, then let the seasons help you decide:

• Winter: Think about the kinds of dark purple you see when the weather turns cold—sugar plums, the deep burgundy ting of mulled wine, and dark velvety purple dresses. Winter calls for deeper shades of purple, including:

  • Plum
  • Eggplant

• Spring: When spring has sprung, the petals of purple flowers unfurl. Look for lighter shades of purple for your spring wedding. Classic spring wedding purples include:

  • Lavender
  • Lilac
  • Violet

• Summer: As the days get longer, purple palettes become brighter and more vibrant. If you’re walking down the wedding aisle (or waiting at the end of one) in summer, look for lighter purples like:

  • Raspberry
  • Royal Purple
  • Orchid

• Fall: Autumn purples have the brightness of summer colors, but the dusky quality of an October sunset. If you’re planning a fall wedding, choose a mid-range purple. Here are just a few fall purples you might enjoy:

  • Wine
  • Mauve
  • Sangria

Pro Purple Tip: Whichever shade of purple you choose, think carefully about the complementary colors you want to add to your wedding palette. Some colors, like white, light gray, and light blue can help purple shine. But other colors, like bright orange and neon green, will clash and distract from purple’s beauty. Use an artist’s color wheel to help you find complementary colors and shades to create the perfect color scheme.

Colorful Purple Stationary

Once you’ve chosen your purple, that purple becomes your compass rose (a purple compass rose, of course). The shade will inform design and decor choices through every step of the wedding planning process. And the first step? Telling people there will be a wedding—and that they’re invited.

From lavender wedding invitations to plum save the dates, go full purple as you’re choosing your wedding stationary, including:

• Save the Dates
• Wedding invitation
• Thank You Notes

Or, build a perfect purple wedding website with Zola. With over 250 free designs to choose from, you can build a digital hub for all things wedding. Plus, a purple wedding website is just another way to show your love for your favorite color.

Find Purple Wedding Decor

There’s a lot that goes into a wedding’s decor and aesthetic. That means there’s a lot of opportunity for purple. We’ve broken this section into bite-sized purple wedding ideas to help you seize your purple moments:

1. Purple-Approved Themes

Purple is a fantastic stand-alone wedding theme. But, if you want to create a more immersive atmosphere, you can choose a broader theme and help incorporate other design elements.

Here are just a few purple wedding themes:

• French Lavender Farm: For refined take on a rustic wedding, try a French lavender farm theme. You can use decorations like stalks of lavender, galvanized steel farming implements, charming farmhouse ceramics, wicker baskets, and delicious French food.

• Modern: Choose purple as your accent color for modern, elegant weddings. Black, white, and gray tones will put purple front and center on a modern wedding color palette.

• Vineyard: Purple can help you create a wedding that Dionysis—god of wine and parties—would totally crash. Ideal for a winery venue, the deep purple of wine grapes work well with decorative grapevine leaves and wine bottle candle holders.

• Moulin Rouge: Nope, not the movie, the cabaret district. Think rich jewel-toned drapery, metallics, and theatrical elements to put on a show your loved ones will never forget.

• Mermaid: A mermaid-themed wedding combines a fairytale wedding theme palette with ocean decor. Create an iridescent atmosphere of love with teals, purples, and blues.

2. Reception Basics

Reception basics can be a fantastic way to add even more of your favorite color to your big day. Consider the following:

• Linens: Linens don’t have to be boring—they can be purple. When choosing linens for your reception, ask about the vendor’s purple selections. You can have purple items like:

  • Tablecloths
  • Napkins
  • Table runners

• Food and Drink Utensils: Your guests can eat, drink, and be merry with purple plates, glasses, and flatware.

• Chairs: If you can’t find purple chairs, use ribbons, drapery, or chair covers to bring purple to everyone’s seat.

Pro Purple Tip: In a perfect (purple) world, your favorite shade of the color will be available from all vendors, rental companies, and venues. But the reality is, the world has a long way to go when it comes to purple progress. If a vendor doesn’t offer your favorite shade of purple, don’t compromise on a hue you don’t like. Instead, choose an accent color, so that the ideal purple pieces you find will stand out even more.

3. Flowers

For many, flowers are a centerpiece of wedding decor. That’s good news for all purple bride fans, because purple flowers are abundant. It’s easy to create purple floral combos and bouquets for your ceremony and your wedding reception.

But don’t forget to consult your flower almanac (or florist) to find out which purple flowers are available on your wedding day.

Here are a few purple-hued florals and when you’ll find them:

• Winter flowers with purple petals include:

  • Sweet Pea
  • Tulips

• Spring brings bushels of purple blooms, include:

  • Hyacinths
  • Lilacs

• Summer is basically an explosion of deep-hued flora. Take a look at these stunning wedding flowers available in your favorite color for a summer wedding:

  • Chrysanthemum
  • Lavender

• Fall, while not the most plentiful flower season, still offers stunning and dramatic purple blooms for your autumn wedding. You’ll fall in love with these autumn beauties:

  • Statice
  • Dahlias

• Year-Round Purple Petals are available whenever you decide to say “I do.” Take a look at these year-round purple lovelies:

  • Delphinium
  • Orchid

4. Drapery

Whether hung elegantly from the ceiling, strung with lights, or draped with sophisticated style over banisters, purple drapery can add texture to your wedding aesthetic.

Pro Purple Tip: While there’s technically no such thing as too much purple, sometimes an overabundance can cause purple blindness—when there’s so much purple in a room, you stop appreciating the color for the magical shade it truly is. To prevent this from happening, make a list of decor items that are most important to you and make sure those are purple. For the rest, use accent colors to help amplify the color’s goodness.

5. Colorwash Lighting

Have you ever wished you had a magic wand that would turn everything in a room purple? Through the magic of a lighting design technique called “color washing,” you can cast your wedding in a sumptuous purple glow.

6. Balloons

Purple balloons add a hint of whimsy and fun to your purple wedding theme. But there are more ways to incorporate these floating festive orbs than you might think, including:

• Centerpieces: Use mini purple balloons to accent table wedding garlands, centerpieces, or your floral arrangements.

• Balloon Wall: Wedding balloon decor designers can build a wall made entirely of purple balloons. It’s great for pictures and makes a strong statement in your venue.

• Balloon Drop: Create a purple rain of joy by installing a purple balloon drop over your reception’s dance floor.

A Purple Wedding Party

On your wedding day, you and your partner should be treated like royalty. That makes your wedding party your loyal, royal court. You know what that means—more purple:

• Suit Accents: If wearing an entirely purple suit isn’t an option, purple fabric accents can help tie a wedding outfit to the theme of the day. Look for purple accessories like:

  • Pocket squares
  • Bowties
  • Cummerbunds
  • Ties

• Wedding Dress Additions: If you or your partner choose to wear a wedding dress, you can absolutely wear a purple dress. Or, if you want to stick with traditional white, you can incorporate purple in other ways, including:

  • Ribbons
  • Satin belts
  • Jewelry
  • Bridesmaids dresses

• Shoes: Put a little purple pep in your step by wearing purple shoes or accessories including:

  • Purple dress socks
  • Purple-painted shoe soles

The Power of a Purple Wedding

Purple feels deeply, loves loudly, and embraces new adventures. It’s the perfect hue to help you celebrate your day. So go all out with love, adventure, and purple on your special day.

Register for Your Favorite Purple Things With Zola

Purple stand mixer? A purple set of plates? A gift card to the lavender fields of Provence? Register for all things purple with Zola. Our easy-to-use registry can help your guests find the things you love. Check it out today at Zola!