Rainbow Wedding Invitations and Multicolour Stationery: Full Colour, Full Joy

Just so you know who's behind the curtain- I'm Becky and Hawthorne and Ivory is my wedding stationery design studio. Colourful, fun-loving wedding stationery is my whole thing: save the dates, invitations, on the day pieces (menus, place cards, signage), guest books and thank you cards, for UK couples through The Design Shop or fully bespoke.

Hands up if colour makes you happy. 🙋‍♀️ It makes me very happy. It's one of the reasons I became a stationery designer!

The moment a suite comes together in a brilliant, unexpected palette is genuinely one of my favourite things in the world. So a blog post about rainbow wedding invitations and multicolour stationery feels like a very good day at the office if you ask me…

If your wedding mood board is currently a riot of brights and you have been wondering whether you should really commit to the full rainbow, this is your sign. You absolutely should, and it's going to be gorgeous.

I'm also really excited about this particular post because I've invited two wonderful colleagues to share their expertise. Hazel the Rainbow Celebrant, a celebrant who specialises in joyful, personality-packed ceremonies, and Rachel Burt, a wedding photographer who truly gets colour and knows exactly how to make it sing on camera.

Between the three of us, I think we have the full rainbow wedding covered. Ready? Let's dive in…

Rainbow Wedding Invitations: Let's Dive Straight In

Summer Garden - Brand New for 2026

My newest design, and one I have been absolutely itching to share. Summer Garden is a full watercolour floral suite built around the most joyful, loose, painterly botanical illustrations. Red poppies, golden yellow blooms, cobalt blue delphiniums, blushing roses… all scattered across crisp white card like a wildflower meadow in full June glory.

The palette moves through almost the full spectrum, but because the illustrations are soft and watercolour-washed rather than flat and graphic, the overall effect is romantic and refined rather than loud. The coral and yellow typography ties everything together beautifully, and the envelope liner, densely packed with the same florals, is one of those details that makes opening the invitation an experience in itself. This is the design for couples who want colour to feel like joy rather than a statement.

Browse Summer Garden in the Design Shop

Rainbow Drops - For the Shrinking Violets (Just Kidding)

If Summer Garden is colour as romance, Rainbow Drops is colour as pure, unfiltered fun. Vibrant watercolour splashes and polka dots, a flowing script that feels warm and handmade, and a high-energy palette that basically announces from the doorstep that this wedding is going to be a party. It's bold, it's bright, and it has absolutely no interest in being subtle- which I mean as the highest possible compliment. This one's for couples who know exactly who they are and want their stationery to shout it.

Browse Rainbow Drops in the Design Shop

Both designs take colour seriously, not as decoration, but as intention. Multicoloured wedding stationery done well is not just lots of colours. It's a considered palette that knows exactly what it's doing.

How to Do Rainbow at Your Wedding (Without It Looking Like a Kids Party)

This is the question I get asked most often by couples drawn to rainbow but feeling a little nervous about going all the way- and the answer is always: it's all about how you use it.

Choose your version of rainbow. Rainbow isn't just one thing. There's candy-bright, super saturated, primary rainbow- high energy, bold, graphic. There's pastel rainbow- soft, dreamy, slightly retro. There's jewel-tone rainbow- rich, sophisticated, a bit more grown-up.

Which version you commit to will shape everything else, so start there.

Let rainbow be the thread, not the wallpaper. The most beautiful rainbow weddings use colour as a recurring motif rather than covering absolutely every surface. Colour needs something to breathe against. A crisp white tablescape with rainbow-coloured elements sings. An all-over pattern of every colour without any breathing room starts to feel hectic, but with a base… it sings.

Repeat colours thoughtfully. Make sure each colour appears at least twice across your wedding styling- in the florals, the stationery, the table settings, the dress code. This creates cohesion and makes the rainbow feel designed rather than thrown together.

Consider the setting. A barn with exposed brick and warm wood tones will ground even the brightest rainbow palette beautifully. A very formal venue might need a slightly more refined take- jewel tones rather than candy brights.

Bringing the Joy: A Word from Hazel

Nobody understands the power of a joyful wedding day quite like a great celebrant- and Hazel is one of my favourites. She works with couples who want their ceremony to feel like a true celebration of who they are- bursting with personality, warmth, and the kind of joy that sets the tone for the whole day.

I asked her to share her thoughts on why couples should lean into joy- and what that can look like in the ceremony itself. Over to you Hazel!

Photograph by Rachel Burt

"My whole approach as a celebrant is rooted in the idea that your ceremony shouldn't feel like something you have to "get through", the boring part of the day before the party gets started. The ceremony should feel like the most you part of your entire day. It should be a celebration of you and your partner's relationship. For me every ceremony should be a joyous celebration of your life together, and there are so many fun ways to do this that also help to add a pop of colour- here are a few!

Ceremony Games

I love to get couples and guests involved in a game of "You or Me"... inspired by that old TV Show Mr and Mrs, the idea is that guests have to guess which partner is more likely to do something… "Who is most likely to cry during the wedding vows" "Who is the best cook" "Who is most likely to forget their anniversary date" Guests can place their votes by holding up coloured signs that represent each partner, and once all the guests have placed their votes, the celebrant can reveal the answers, leading to lots of laughter and a really fun way to get everyone involved.

Colourful Rituals

You can really easily add colour into your ceremony with rituals like a colourful ribbon hand-tying, traditionally this is done with two ribbons that represent your two lives joining together. Start by adding coloured ribbons to a few guests chairs, then ask your celebrant to call those guests up one by one, and have them place the coloured ribbons over your hands. Each ribbon represents a person you love and their hopes for your life together as a married couple.

Keepsakes

A traditional wedding certificate is signed by two legal witnesses, but if you're choosing a celebrant for your ceremony, you can create a totally unique and colourful keepsake certificate that you actually want to display proudly with the rest of your wedding memorabilia.

I often ask the couples pet to witness their ceremony by adding a colourful paw print on the certificate, and as the guests leave, you can ask them to give their seal of approval by adding their own fingerprint and name to the certificate too. You can use a host of different ink colours and really create a funky, rainbow certificate that you'll want to cherish forever.

There are so many ways to bring joy and colour into your ceremony, ultimately for me, It's about making it feel like a true celebration. When couples embrace that — when they let go of what they think it should be and focus on what they want it to be — that's when the ceremony becomes unforgettable, not just for them, but for all their guests too."

Outside the (Rainbow) Box: Other Ways to Bring Colour to Your Wedding

Beyond your stationery, there are so many wonderful ways to thread rainbow through your wedding day:

Shaped stationery is one of my personal favourites for a rainbow aesthetic- because when your invitations are already doing something unexpected with their shape, adding a rainbow palette feels completely natural. A rainbow-hued arch-shaped invitation, circular place cards in different colours, tag-shaped table names each in a different shade- the combination of unusual format and bold colour is genuinely thrilling.

More on the joys of shaped wedding stationery here!

The wedding party. One of the most joyful expressions of a rainbow theme is dressing each member of your wedding party in a different colour. Whether that's a different shade of tie or pocket square for each groomsman, or bridesmaids each in their own colour from across the spectrum, which look extraordinary in photographs and feel incredibly celebratory in person. If you're already picturing your wedding party each in an individual colour, match this to their boutonnières, corsages, and bouquets!

The cake can be perhaps the single most impactful place to put your rainbow outside of stationery. Whether that's a rainbow-layered interior revealed when it's cut, an ombre exterior, or individually coloured tiers, the wedding cake is your biggest canvas can be used beautifully to showcase your colour palette.

The confetti moment. And finally, the one that will end up on your mum's mantlepiece. A rainbow confetti exit is one of the most joyful photographs a wedding can produce, and it's worth doing properly. I love Flutter Darlings for this- they make luxury confetti in a massive range of colours so you can build a completely bespoke mix that matches your exact palette. The rainbow possibilities are honestly endless- and the photos will be everything.

Capturing Colour: A Word from Rachel

There is genuinely no one better placed to talk about how colour works in a wedding context than a photographer who lives and breathes it. Rachel shoots the most joyful, vibrant weddings and has an extraordinary eye for making colour feel alive and intentional on camera.

I asked her to share some thoughts on photographing colourful weddings- and what advice she would give to couples who want their day to look as brilliant in the photos as it does in their imagination. So let's hear from her!

"For me, colour = JOY. It's the life of your wedding day, the energy. So many of our memories are tied to colour, so capturing all the rainbow glory of your day is absolutely intrinsic to what I do. I've been described as a colour seeking missile- my eye is instantly drawn to bright tones and colourful details. It's one of the reasons why I love shooting weddings, and why I love Becky's stationery so much! Here's my top three tips for adding colour to your wedding day, and making your day a cacophony of wonderful rainbow goodness.

Colourful Wedding Outfits

Gone are the days where you HAVE TO wear white to your wedding. If you're bold enough, the world of beautiful, bold gowns and suits is your oyster! If you're not feeling brave enough for a full colour ensemble, you could always add colourful details- a rainbow veil, bright shoes, or bold jewellery are great options too. Go bold, have fun, and inject some fun and colour into your outfits. Bonus tip- add a note to your invites to ask your guests to wear colourful outfits too! Nothing brightens up your wedding like a sea of stunning colourful guests!

Be bold with your decor

The world is your oyster here… from florals to colourful table linens, bright stationery, favours and place cards- the only rule here is, the more colour the better!! If you have lots of creative ideas, but lack the time, skill or know-how, don't be afraid to hire a stylist to bring your rainbow ideas to life.

Hire a colourful wedding photographer

This might seem obvious, and a little biased coming from me, but of course, the best way to capture all of the colour and joy you have planned for your wedding day is to hire a colourful wedding photographer! Where many photographers desaturate colours and dull their greens, my editing style showcases all those gorgeous shades and tones and helps tell the story of your day, full of fun, joy and allllll the colour. I want your images to sing in all their colourful glory so that when you look back on your wedding day through your photos, you feel the same sparkly joy and remember exactly how you felt on the wedding day itself. So don't be afraid to be bold. Banish the beige, embrace the rainbow and have fun!"

Ready to Add Some Colour?

Rainbow is for the couples who want their wedding to feel like a celebration in the most literal, joyful, full-colour sense of the word. And, as you can tell from everyone who has contributed to this post, we are all absolutely here for it.

Whether you're drawn to Summer Garden, Rainbow Drops, or something entirely bespoke in your own version of the rainbow palette- your stationery is the beginning of the colour story, and I would love to help you tell it beautifully.

Here's where to head next:

*Browse the Design Shop* - explore rainbow and multicolour designs, including Summer Garden and Rainbow Drops

*Explore Bespoke Design* - for a custom rainbow palette that's entirely yours

*Read: Shaped Wedding Stationery* - because rainbow and shaped stationery together is a very good idea

*Read: Colour Block Wedding Stationery* - another bold colour direction worth exploring

*Read: Boho Wedding Stationery* - rainbow and boho are a match made in heaven

*Take the Quiz* - not sure where to start? Answer a few quick questions and find your perfect design

Life is way too short for beige invitations. Let's make yours joyful and full of life.