Finding Meaning in Colour

As I write I am sporting my favourite jumper featuring a multicolour rainbow, my rainbow coloured star shaped earrings and beside me are multicolour chickens (cloth sewn decorative wall hanging!) So, its fair to say that I like a bit of colour – despite the dark navy blue wall of my office!

As we know, there are many colours in the world, but there are also different meanings and significance for each of them. 

You might be choosing a colour scheme for your ceremony (colour schemes don’t have to be just for weddings!) – even memorials and funerals. We don’t necessarily, traditionally, pick a colour scheme for these types of ceremonies but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. And there are other ways you can incorporate colour into your ceremony, which I’ll come on to in a moment.

So, first let’s talk about some of the colours themselves and what they mean. Are you ready? Okay, first up….

Red – An obvious colour for romance and love, quite traditional too, with red roses and valentines gifts and cards always in red. But it also encapsulates fertility, courage, health vigour and passion (that could be romantic passion, passion for a job or hobby, or a cause). So red is a bold and passionate colour. And indeed in some cultures – China for example – red is considered lucky and traditionally, Chinese brides wear red wedding dresses because of the luck associated with the colour.

Next up – Green. Similarly to red, green represents fertility. It also symbolises luck, prosperity, nurturing, beauty, health and love. Green reminds me of sustainability, the environment and the earth – so if they’re topics you are interested in, green might be the way to go. Green is also the traditional wedding dress colour in Middle Eastern countries.

Curve ball – Black. Now, blakc is traditionally worn, in western cultures, at funerals and symbolises mourning. But…black means strength, empowerment, wisdom and pure love. So, if you wanted to do something really interesting for your couple ceremony, balck could be the way to go!

And, White. The complete opposite to black and traditionally the colour of wedding dresses in western culture. White stands for spiritual purity, truth, peace, serenity, devotion and clean beginnings. White wedding dresses are traditionally about the bride’s purity and virginity. But you don’t have to have a white dress – no, no, no – you can have any colour you like…mine was…

Gold. Gold is connected with unity, longevity, prosperity and strength. And gold is something that would compliment brown very well…

Brown symbolises healing, skills & talent, nurturing, the home and earth. Of course, at the moment in the UK, we’re in the season of Autumn (or Fall) and the environment around us is looking very brown as trees prepare themselves for the winter by dropping their leaves. If you’re planning your ceremony for this time of year, brown would fit in quite nicely.

The last colour I want to mention is silver. Silver is traditionally associated with a 25 year wedding anniversary (known as the Silver wedding anniversary and real silver jewellery or objects given as a gift to the couple). The colour symbolises creativity, inspiration & vision and protection. So silver could be a great colour to incorporate into most types of ceremonies – even a funeral or memorial. If the person who passed was creative and an inspiration, this could be perfect.

In all of the colours I’ve listed there are of course a whole spectrum of different shades which you can choose from. 

So, how might you use colour in your ceremony? You may be thinking about an overall colour scheme for your event, you could choose the dress/suit/ceremony outfit in a specific colour (or colours), you could incorporate colour meaning into a symbolic action – colour can lend just that little bit of extra meaning and significance to your ceremony. You can do so many things with colour, you can have fun with it, really make it your own and as your celebrant, if there were colours that you had specifically chosen for their meaning, I would certainly be incorporating that into the ceremony I write for you. 

Oooh, I can’t wait to see what colours you choose!

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