Keep your wedding scheme alive at home

It's no surprise couples often suffer from the wedding blues after their nuptials, but with peak wedding season around the corner, to help those wondering how they can relive their special day, Stephanie King, Colour Expert & Creative Lead at Dulux, is sharing her savvy tips to help.

Stephanie says, "Not only will utilising elements from your wedding help you save money when re-decorating, but recreating your wedding theme at home can help couples create a more meaningful space that brings personality and happy memories into the home. Weddings are full of sentimental value, so creating a space which reflects a shared experience and sense of nostalgia will act as a constant reminder of your beautiful moment and love for each other every day."

1. Bring sentimental wedding colour schemes into your homeFrom invites to florals and bridesmaid dresses, couples spend hours choosing the perfect colour scheme for their wedding day, to ensure it beautifully reflects their style and can influence the entire visual presentation of the day. But there's no reason why that scheme can't also be brought into your home, as a constant reminder of your special day.

Stephanie says: "Couples often pick their favourite colours for their wedding theme, so drawing colours from the big day should seamlessly fit with the colour schemes that are already present in the home.

"A popular colour scheme for 2023 is warm pink, blush terracotta and creamy whites. These will help give us the feeling of warmth around the home, so why not try Timeless, Copper Blush and Pressed Petal? Perhaps surround yourself with these shades in your bedroom, or a place that's special just for the two of you.

"Or for those looking to bring a specific colour from your big day into your home, you can colour-match your wedding shades into paint for your walls. A colour-matching service allows you to create colours that are completely personal to you. Just take an item in your desired shade to any Dulux paint mixing retailer and they can scan the item and create a stunning shade for your home together."

2. Thrifty DIY Decor
Getting hands on with your décor is a great way to save money and create custom, personalised items for your big day. Stephanie highlights how "creating items with your partner or wedding party can help others feel involved with the preparation and have some fun doing so!" Being thrifty reduces waste, "try and think of items that you don't use, champagne bottles, candlesticks or vases can be transformed into beautiful centrepieces for example. You just need a quick and easy lick of paint to give them a pop colour. You could even turn them into table numbers!" "Many couples also collect wine corks, reminding them of beautiful moments shared. You could consider creating your very own wine cork initials, for something super unique to display at your wedding day."

3. Upcycle at home
After the day has ended, bringing the thrifty upcycled décor back into your home you share with your loved one can help keep the magic of the occasion alive. Keeping mementos can remind you of your beautiful day, but don't forget you can always reimagine some lovely pieces after to work for the future. Stephanie suggests transforming a piece of furniture, "is a piece of furniture in your home crying out for some TLC, you could use your stunning wedding colours to create a piece that's extra special!"

New Dulux Simply Refresh Multi-Surface paint is perfect for painting on a range of surfaces, and eliminates the need for primers, meaning you can upcycle your wedding memorabilia quickly and without the need for additional products. Stephanie continues: "Why not give the wooden palette that you created for the day, a new lease of life, you could turn it into shelves or even a coffee table for your home. With some brushes of paint, you can decorate it and add another dash of your wedding colour into your home."

4. Bring out your inner artist for keepsake items
Stephanie says: "Many couples often order extra stationary to be safe, so it's quite common to have spare invitations, menus or save-the-dates..." "Why not use them in a wedding scrapbook to display on your coffee table, or use some small paint pots to create a piece of artwork you can keep in a frame."

5. Forget-Me? Not
It's not a new concept to consider preserving your flowers from the big day, but there are a couple of ways you can do this. Stephanie suggests "trying to press flowers into a photo album that can be on display, framing them or creating a piece of art with some clear resin. If you lack confidence in your artsy abilities, you could always ask a friend for help."