THE MEANING OF COLORS IN YOUR WEDDING INVITATIONS
When you choose your wedding flowers, you probably gave at least a passing thought to what those flowers symbolized. For example, red roses usually represent passionate love and snapdragons symbolize deceit. Well, when you're choosing colors for your invitations, you may want to keep the idea of symbolism in mind, too, because every color has associated meanings, as well.
Those color meanings vary from culture to culture, so if you're marrying into a non-Western culture or inviting guests from many different cultures, you may want to keep some of these differences in mind.
WHITE. White is a common color used with weddings in the West – mostly because of its association with purity and innocence. However, white can also be associated with coldness and cleanliness (think about how white a doctor's office is), as well as winter, snow, and peace.
In Eastern countries, white is often associated with death and mourning, possibly because dead bodies are covered in white shrouds. This association should not seem that strange since even in the West, when we think of someone dressed up like a ghost we picture them covered in a white sheet.
BLACK. Black is not as common for weddings because in the West it has such a negative connotation. When we think of black, we think of unlucky black cats, evil lurking in dark places, as well as sadness, grief, and death.
However, black is also associated with sophistication and modernity. That's why so much modern furniture and most electronics are black.
BLUE. Blue is perhaps one of the best wedding colors to choose. Research has shown that blue is related to the least amount of negative connotations and the most positive ones, regardless of culture. It seems you'd have a hard time going wrong with blue, especially since it is associated with so many good things, such as clear skies, quiet seas, tranquility, loyalty, fresh water, and truthfulness. In fact, in some other cultures, blue is viewed as a color that can keep away evil spirits.
Probably the most negative connotation for blue is obscenity. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, laws forbidding immoral behavior were called blue laws. The reasons for using the word “blue” to describe them is not known, but even that negative association is not common in today's generations.
RED. Although red roses may be a sign of love, the color also has a number of less positive connotations, including blood, war, death, anger, fire, and danger. Red also symbolizes passion, sex, and excitement, so it might be a better choice for the honeymoon than for the wedding invitations.
In China, however, red stands for good luck and celebration and in India red means purity and is frequently used as a wedding color – that might make it an ideal choice for announcing your special event.
PINK. While pink is a tint of red (basically red mixed with white), its connotations are usually more in lines with what you'd expect for a wedding invitation color. In fact, marriage is one of its meanings. Admiration, love, and spring time are also associated with the color. Plus, it is the color of femininity so women tend to be drawn towards it.
Of course, pink's associated with breast cancer awareness may make it somewhat less desirable for some couples.
GREEN. In the U. S., green is a powerful symbol of wealth and money, as well as its associated characteristics – greed, jealousy, and envy. Green is also strongly associated with nature and the environment, as well as fertility and rebirth.
In Eastern countries, white is often associated with death and mourning, possibly because dead bodies are covered in white shrouds. This association should not seem that strange since even in the West, when we think of someone dressed up like a ghost we picture them covered in a white sheet.
BLACK. Black is not as common for weddings because in the West it has such a negative connotation. When we think of black, we think of unlucky black cats, evil lurking in dark places, as well as sadness, grief, and death.
However, black is also associated with sophistication and modernity. That's why so much modern furniture and most electronics are black.
BLUE. Blue is perhaps one of the best wedding colors to choose. Research has shown that blue is related to the least amount of negative connotations and the most positive ones, regardless of culture. It seems you'd have a hard time going wrong with blue, especially since it is associated with so many good things, such as clear skies, quiet seas, tranquility, loyalty, fresh water, and truthfulness. In fact, in some other cultures, blue is viewed as a color that can keep away evil spirits.
Probably the most negative connotation for blue is obscenity. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, laws forbidding immoral behavior were called blue laws. The reasons for using the word “blue” to describe them is not known, but even that negative association is not common in today's generations.
RED. Although red roses may be a sign of love, the color also has a number of less positive connotations, including blood, war, death, anger, fire, and danger. Red also symbolizes passion, sex, and excitement, so it might be a better choice for the honeymoon than for the wedding invitations.
In China, however, red stands for good luck and celebration and in India red means purity and is frequently used as a wedding color – that might make it an ideal choice for announcing your special event.
PINK. While pink is a tint of red (basically red mixed with white), its connotations are usually more in lines with what you'd expect for a wedding invitation color. In fact, marriage is one of its meanings. Admiration, love, and spring time are also associated with the color. Plus, it is the color of femininity so women tend to be drawn towards it.
Of course, pink's associated with breast cancer awareness may make it somewhat less desirable for some couples.
GREEN. In the U. S., green is a powerful symbol of wealth and money, as well as its associated characteristics – greed, jealousy, and envy. Green is also strongly associated with nature and the environment, as well as fertility and rebirth.
Green has also been associated with evil spirits, including the devil during the Middle Ages. Some European countries view green as unlucky while others view it as the color of disgrace and corruption.
YELLOW. Yellow is a bright color that conjures up thoughts of sunshine and summer immediately. It is also associated with good feelings like happiness, joy, and hope. Some may also view it as a color of wealth because of its closeness in shade to gold. In Japan, yellow is a particularly important color because it is associated with royal family and stands for courage.
There is also a down side to yellow. Yellow can symbolize illness (because of jaundice), caution, and cowardice. During the Middle Ages, yellow – like green – was associated with the devil, as well as with death. In Egypt, yellow represents grief and mourning.
PURPLE. Purple's many shades have become a popular addition to weddings over the years, possibly because of some of its associations. Like yellow in Japan, purple has come to symbolize nobility and royalty in Western cultures. Darker shades of purple are also associated with sensuality while lighter shades represent romance.
Purple also has other connotations. For example, purple was adopted by many homosexual rights groups for a symbol in the West. In Thailand, purple is the color widows must wear while mourning their lost husbands.
As you can see, most of the colors above have some positive and negative connotations. What's most important is choosing colors for your wedding invitations that symbolize good things for the two of you.
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