I recently was talking with a friend who's early October wedding wasn't jiving with the classic fall colors . Her girls will be wearing "Sangria," a dark purple/burgundy, but she wanted to tie in oranges and greens that would work with the Sangria. I wanted to help her come up with some ideas, so while picking up flowers for another bride I browsed the warehouse and showroom of my supplier for inspiration.
I came up with this little collection of an Orange rose, Orange Ranunculus with a green center, Green/Brown Hydrangea, Sangria Button Mums, and Sangria Mini Callas. This combo is great because the vibrancy of the colors brings attention to each of the unique textures of the flowers, but it still falls within the parameters of what most people consider fall colors. My friend is from my hometown in Michigan where the beginning of October can be more like the end of summer. The idea of doing variations on the classic burnt orange, wine red, golden yellow, and moss green is really fitting for an aisle walk that might still be backed with green grass and full trees rather than brisk air and crunchy leaves.
While my friend (Hi Erin!) ultimately decided on fresh flowers, I had fun working with her to come up with some ideas outside of the typical Autumn landscape. I know it's trendy right now to come up with out-there color palettes, but before you go too extreme, try adjusting tones and shades before scrapping the whole color scheme. You never know what you'll come up with!