Remember when we said it felt like Christmas morning last week, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement? Well. We take it back (only for a hot sec, though), because the arbiters of all things color, at Pantone, just hit us with their #coloroftheyear2018 hot wire and it’s electrifying. Color junkies, meet Ultra Violet, a “dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade” that “communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future.”
I’ll be the first to say that this color is a twinge bit extra… and a little reminiscent of purple drank, not going to lie. Yet, given its stature with so many celebs and cultural icons over the years (living and not), we’re coming around to it, slowly, but surely. The decision is actually pretty powerful, considering how tame the last few years have been with shades of greenery, rose quartz and serenity. So, well done, Pantone, we haven’t been this excited since you chose Radiant Orchid to rule in 2014.
We’re already huge fans of jewel tone weddings… so this should be fun!
Wedding planners, florists, cake makers, stationers, alike, are already psyching up about what this new hue means for their 2018 lineups and pretty sure all the recently-engaged brides are retooling their color schemes too!
Cardi B. want to throw out your red dress code rules for ultra violet?
However, what we don’t want to see happening is a Mardi Gras free for all. Purple and green beads, masks, costumes and carnival vibes are fun and festive, but can quickly go from they’ll-talk-about-it-forev trendy to totally tacky. So, it’ll take some fine tuning and tempering to make sure you nail the vibrant purple palette, without going down a weird rabbit hole of radioactive color proportions. That being said, you do you. If you’re game for a pop-art-inspired purple party a la Andy Warhol, then by all means, live it up. After all, with weddings “everyone needs a fantasy.”
From mixed and matched purple-toned bridesmaid dresses, to similarly-saturated lilac and violet florals, purple paperie to cakes decked out in ultra violet royal icing, there are so many opportunities to make this shade a star on your special day. And we’ve rounded up some of our faves, just to get your wedding planning mojo in motion.
Scroll through to get inspired!