Almost everyone starts planning their wedding with a picture in their head of how it will look. All you need is to turn that into a workable reality. Picking your colour scheme is a great place to start and helps the picture come into focus a little bit more.

Traditionally speaking we should all be starting with our central feature of a bright white wedding dress. However many women now feel this colour scheme is outdated. It symbolises purity in a day and age where an....untouched bride... is an exception rather than the rule.

So, maybe, rather than wearing white, opt for an equally stunning but less extreme colour. A wedding dress in cream, ivory or off white creates the same eye catching focus without such extreme colouring. The non-white tones also work well on people with pale skin, preventing ghost syndrome', as I like to call it.

Now for the bridesmaids' dresses and colours. This is always a tricky one, especially picking a colour all your bridesmaids find acceptable. This is where most brides become unstuck and start to lose their vision.

The most important thing to remember is that this is your wedding, your choices and your colours. Don't be bogged down by conflicting views of members of your wedding party. They will have their chance to pick their colours at their own wedding. As long as your choices don't make any of your party look ridiculous (like pale pink on someone with red hair), they should have no say.

Next major choice regarding colour is whether to translate your bridesmaids' colours into a colour theme or keep your other colours separate. Personally, I believe a theme continued throughout a wedding brings a sense of unity and cohesion. Separate themes can sometimes cause the wedding to feel disjointed.

A complete colour theme can be achieved by using a unifying colour in everything, bridesmaids dresses, groomsmens' waistcoats/ties, flowers and even at the reception in the form of napkins and favours. Drawing out the theme throughout the wedding (i.e. to the reception) creates a very stylish, professional looking wedding. A more subtle colour suits this approach.

However sometimes the colour you want is a more bold shade that, if used throughout, would cause it to be too overpowering. In this case using a blank canvas base colour like white with a bold accent can be just as effective.

For instance, a cream with red accent or a pale blue with dark blue accent can look very effective. An accent should not become too overused so it becomes all encompassing but should not be so sparingly used as to make the base colour your theme. A sash of a dress in the accent, three flowers in your bouquet (always an odd number) and other such light but frequent touches should do the trick.

When picking any colour a variable that should be one of the foremost in your mind should be the season your wedding is held in. Spring weddings generally look better with a more pastel theme to enhance the natural colourings of nature. Winter weddings often look better in bold colours as pale colours can become washed out in the dull weather.

Creating your perfect colour co-ordinated wedding takes a lot of effort but the most important thing to remember is to pick a colour that suits you. Before you make any decisions have a colour consultation so you know the colours that flatter you.

Remember, your ideal colour will probably come in many shades, one of which will suit your colouring so don't be disheartened if you are told your initial choices don't suit you.