Once the proposal has been accepted, the dress ordered, the invitations sent and the venue booked, its time to start thinking about the main colour themes that will be running through the big event. No doubt, your handsome groom has some ideas of which colours he would rather not wear and equally you need to consider what will look good on your bridesmaids. Choosing bridesmaid outfits is more difficult if you have a range of ages, shapes, sizes and hair colour amongst them, which is the case in most bridal parties. Another important consideration is what colours are in the room where the reception will take place.

There is no real reason why you cannot have any colour at any time of year once you have considered all the aforementioned factors, although if we are going to be pedantic about it you should really choose a seasonal colour theme. In other words, go for pinks, light greens, light golds and lilacs in the Spring/Summer and keep browns, creams, reds, and dark golds for the colder months.

Lilacs and hyacinths are always the winners if you are marrying in the Spring or Summer; they have been the most popular bridesmaid dress colours for over 10 years and are still up there as one of the most common colour ways. Dont let this put you off though, in fact, use it to your advantage as it proves that lilac colour themes have been tried, tested, look great, come out great in photographs and suit most people. What more proof do you need? You can make your big day feel more modern by ensuring floral arrangements are fresh and funky. Why not scatter tables with real lilac coloured rose petals and introduce lilac butterflies to your theme? Decorate place cards and napkins with lilac and silver butterflies, scatter them on the tables, incorporate them in lavender and hydrangea floral arrangements and put them on your wedding cake. These days, lilacs are very much en vogue and although have a traditional feel they need not be stayed, stale or old fashioned.

Pink and Silver wedding themes are fast becoming popular for Spring and Summer brides. Every girl wants to feel like a princess on her special day and what better way to do it than with girlie pinks and silvers!? Candy pink generally looks great on all age bridesmaids and those with all hair and skin colours. Equally, pink will look great on the male members of the bridal party, if you can convince them! If your man is anti-pink, why not get him to wear silver? This will co-ordinate beautifully with the pink. Bouquets can be bursting with pink and white blooms dotted with pearls and diamantes. To keep the princess theme going, opt for silver table decorations and foil scatters along with baby pink rose petals.

One of the more modern colour themes to make an appearance this year has been the explosion of greens and yellows. These look absolutely fantastic and depending on how daring you are, will determine how mad you go. If you are going for a simple, calm wedding, why not go for sage green bridesmaids? These will look fabulous when teamed with white and pale gold accessories and flowers. If you are more adventurous go for a tropical yellow and continue the theme with sunflowers and citrus coloured gerbera or for a complete contrast, mix the yellow theme with purple flowers !