Select a color scheme
A simple color scheme for your family reunion will make it more memorable
and easier to plan.
You know your home team at sporting events because
the players and cheerleaders wear your team colors.
Using a color scheme for your family reunion can give your family that same
kind of "team spirit."
- A color scheme makes your reunion stand out in the minds of family
members by tying everything together.
- It makes it easy to design invitations and create your decor.
- It can reinforce your theme, especially if the theme has a color
scheme that people naturally associate with it. Suppose, for example, that your
theme were "pirates." One color scheme that immediately comes to mind
is the black and white of the skull and crossbones flag.
- Color can help organize people and space, creating order out of chaos.
- It sets the mood: blue for peace and tranquility, red and orange for lively fun, gold or silver for elegance.
Types of Color Schemes
Color schemes generally use two or three colors with at least one
of them being a "neutral" color: white, ivory, beige, gray or black. The other
colors are often bright red, blue or green but they can be anything.
There are other kinds of color schemes with names such as "monochromatic,"
"analogous" and "complementary."
If you'd like something a bit unusual for your
family reunion, read the
Wikipedia article about color schemes to get an idea
of what's possible.
More Uses of Color
You can use different color schemes to organize your reunion. Here are
a couple of ideas.
- Suppose the family reunion attendees are from several branches
of the same family. You can use a different color scheme for each
branch. Each branch gets its own color of t-shirt,
name tags and flowers on the dinner table.
- Different events can have their own color scheme to differentiate
them. So can rooms; you can have a "rose" room, a "lilac" room,
a "daffodil" room and so on in just those colors.
Where to Get Color Scheme Ideas
Here are some ways to choose a color scheme.
- Pick your personal favorite colors.
- Decide the "mood" you want to create, then choose colors that will
set the mood.
- Choose the colors of a flag that fits your family's heritage.
This is especially
helpful if your theme deals with a country, state or province that
has its own flag. To see the flags of countries around the world, check
the World Fact Book collection. (Opens in new window.)
- Are you a designer? If you are, you already know about color. But
if you aren't, you could involve another family member in the
reunion. Call someone who is a designer and ask her advice. Who
knows? She may just volunteer to help with the decorating.