Pink has been a perennial favorite; it’s the color of young love, blushes, innocence, and romance.  But brown has been largely neglected until only recently. Today, though, many brides are turning to this forgotten color, especially in conjunction with pink.  It is rich, versatile, and depending on your chosen shade, it brings wonderful class and elegance to a wedding.  A chocolate dress with pink sash for a bridesmaid, for example, creates a rich, sophisticated look that will work to contrast beautifully with the white of your dress.

Chocolate and pink have been used frequently in weddings of late, and some experts say that it has been overused.  Should you still go with it for your wedding color scheme?  If you love the colors, and especially the contrast between them, then yes.  They are still tremendously popular – because they are so versatile and endearing. They can also be worked to create fresh, new looks.  2010 is the year of mocha, which is lighter than chocolate, and blush pink.  We are also seeing mocha, coral, and ivory, as well as chocolate and hot pink or fuchsia. These are excellent choices for spring weddings, and many brides incorporate ivory and other neutrals as well.

Dresses from Dessy.com

When using your colors in your ceremony and reception, do not go wild with matching flowers, ribbons, sashes, bridesmaid dresses, groomsmen vests and ties, tablecloths, napkins, and centerpieces.  Your guests will have had more chocolate and pink than they care for by the end of the day.  Instead, start with five of the most important elements of your wedding: the gowns and suits of the wedding party, invitations, flowers, cake, and your pink and chocolate wedding favors, to incorporate your colors subtly.

With the bridal bouquet, for instance, you do not have to have a bunch of pink flowers tied with a brown ribbon.  A look that is too “matchy” can be off-putting.  A beautiful choice may be a bouquet of pink garden roses, Avalanche roses (which are large white roses) dark green leaves, rosy pink celosia, or cockscomb, and chocolate cosmos.  You can tie this with an ivory or champagne, or chocolate ribbon.  You can incorporate more chocolate by wearing a rich sash with your dress.

Your bridesmaids will look simply stunning in a brown dress and tightly grouped bouquet of cream flowers.  The groomsmen cannot go wrong with chocolate vests, and patterns, simple vertical stripes, for instance, can help add visual interest and a dynamic appearance.

Extend the colors to your reception, but remember to incorporate some other tones for contrast: for instance, you can drape tables with alternating overlays, creating a delicious mix of these hues.  Centerpieces will look wonderful with hints of pale green and peach.  Chocolate and pink are ideal for cakes, and you can make a masterpiece with brown fondant and pink accents.  Many brides are choosing chocolate backgrounds with fun pink polka dots or stripes, elegant flowers, or graceful swirls.  You may want to consider a candy buffet as well so guests can satisfy their craving for sweet treats after seeing such lovely shades of chocolate and pink .

Chocolate and pink bring together wonderful symbolism for the modern bride: we have the innocence and femininity of pink, combined with the sophisticated, yet warm, tones of brown.  Your wedding is a day to indulge your fantasies, and chocolate is always the ultimate indulgence.

And speaking of dresses for the bridesmaids, I personally like the main dress color to be brown with accents of pink.  The reason I like brown dresses is because brown comes in a wide variety of hues and tints so you can easily find a color that you like.  Brown also looks good on just about any skin tone while shades like pink can look horrible on some people (personally I have very fair skin and pink washes me out even more).  If you choose brown dresses, you can bring pink into the color scheme by using pink accents such as flowers, hair pieces, jewelry, or sashes/lace/piping on the dress itself.  You can see some of my favorite brown bridesmaid dresses in the montage below.  Be sure to click through on the links below the photo to see the resources for any dress that you like.

Pink Brown Wedding Dresses by WeddingBlogger

Due to the popularity of this color scheme, it is fairly easy to find invitations, dresses and accessories that incorporate brown and pink.  We love the use of stargazer lilies and pink roses to add a splash of pink to both the bridal bouquet and reception centerpieces.  When in season, pink mop-head hydrangeas can also be a great flower for centerpieces.  They are stunning and the fill the vase with just a few stems making them quite affordable when they are in season.  Be on the lookout for more pink flower ideas in one of our future Here Come The Blog posts.

Items on this Inspiration Board:

Pink & Brown Wedding Reception Decor – Brown & Pink Camera Table Signs
Brown & Pink Chic Wedding Garter – Pink and Brown Favor Gift Boxes – Bridesmaid Tote Bag
Bride & Groom with Pink Cake – Bride with Pink Bridesmaid Dresses
Pink & Brown Wedding Cake Candle Favors – Wedding Invitation – Wedding Cake – Wedding Centerpiece