Top 10 Best 2021 Pantone Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow Wedding Color Palette Combinations

Ultimate Gray and Illuminating yellow are the perfect Pantone colors for 2021 because they are a perfect reflection of the times. Strong, steady Ultimate Gray gives us the courage to face the upcoming year after experiencing the life changing pandemic of 2020, while Illuminating yellow reminds us that the sun will rise, even after the most tumultuous of storms.

These colors will undoubtedly provide brides and grooms with inspiration when planning their 2021 nuptials. Sticking with Ultimate Gray and Illuminating yellow as your only wedding colors is always an option. Choosing just two colors can make planning your décor a lot easier, but if you’re looking for a color scheme that offers more depth, you’ll want to add additional hues to your palette.

Here are 10 of our favorite color palette combinations that are all inspired by the 2021 Pantone colors of the year, along with a few expert décor and attire tips you can incorporate into your wedding.

Inspired by Pantone's Color Palettes for 2021

This first section of Ultimate Gray and Illuminating yellow ideas is inspired by Pantone’s recommended color combinations for 2021. We have chosen five of our favorites that include both of Pantone’s 2021 colors of the year, along with additional hues that will lend themselves beautifully to any of this year’s wedding celebrations.

Teal, Yellow, and Gray Tablescape: Wedding Colors, Green Wreath Featuring Peacock Feathers: Rock My Wedding, Yellow and Gray Feather Bouquet: Every Last Detail, Peacock Blue, Illuminating, and Ultimate Gray Color Palette: Pantone

Peacock Blue, Illuminating Yellow, and Ultimate Gray

Inspired by Pantone's Aviary theme, this refreshing and unexpected color combination is inspired by feathery bird plumage. We love the combination of these three colors as they are bright and cheerful without going overboard.

Consider including feathery details in your wedding if you choose these colors. Peacock feathers, pampas grass sprayed yellow, and died ostrich feathers can make your wedding day unique.

Dried Lavender and Billy Ball Floral Arrangements: Snixy Kitchen, Light Pink and Purple Table Setting: Style Me Pretty, Bride and Groom in Front of a Pastel Backdrop: Bridal Gush, Prism Pink, Lavender, Illuminating Yellow, and Ultimate Gray Color Palette: Pantone

Prism Pink, Lavender, Illuminating Yellow, and Ultimate Gray

Playful, youthful colors from Pantone's Enlightenment palette encourage you to take a trip down memory lane to recapture the wonder and imagination of your childhood. The cheerful hues of this combination lend themselves especially well to spring and summer weddings.

If you want to incorporate hues like Prism Pink and Lavender into your wedding without it looking too girly, find ways to incorporate these colors organically. For example, you can incorporate real dried lavender into your centerpieces and peonies into your bouquet, along with details like lemons and gray ribbon to make your wedding feminine—but not too feminine.

Spice Route, Willowherb, Illuminating Yellow, and Ultimate Gray Color Palette: Pantone, Hanging Yellow Lanterns Above a Centerpiece: OneWed, Fruit Centerpiece: Shades of Blue Interiors, Simple Wood Ceremony Arch With Sunflowers: Wedding Wire

Spice Route, Willowherb, Illuminating Yellow, and Ultimate Gray

Pantone's Intrigue palette features Illuminating and Ultimate Gray, but we especially like pairing these two 2021 colors of the year with Spice Route and Willowherb. This combination is quirky and unique, but still offers timeless style and appeal, especially at a late summer or fall wedding.

This color combination is the perfect opportunity to match bright, quirky details with more natural décor. Hang yellow lanterns and incorporate oversized sunflowers into your decorations, but you can also incorporate cinnamon sticks, plums, or figs into both your décor and your menu.

Cranberries and Yellow Flower Centerpiece: Creative Juice, Wild Ginger, Oil Green, Illuminating Yellow, and Ultimate Gray Color Palette: Pantone, Winter Ceremony Arch: Brides, Wild Ginger Colored Wedding Shoes: Engage Weddings

Wild Ginger, Oil Green, Illuminating Yellow, and Ultimate Gray

If you are planning a winter wedding and don't want your colors to be too cliché, or you simply prefer more earthy tones, but don't want your wedding to look too dark, look to the Sun and Shadow palette for inspiration. Using these four colors, you can create an earthy, nature-inspired color scheme that is beautiful and unique without being too trendy or overpowering.

Decorate with dusty cedar branches and cranberries at a winter wedding, or choose details like a ceremony arch covered in greenery and bridal accessories in brownish red for a fall wedding.

Simple Chrome Ceremony Chairs: Wedding Wire, Green Glimmer, Heavenly, Luxe Lemon, Chrome Color Palette: Pantone, Yellow and Teal Place Setting with Shimmering Silver Candles: Style Me Pretty, Glittery Place Setting With Shimmering Blue Menu: Rock My Wedding

Green Glimmer, Heavenly, Luxe Lemon, Chrome

2021 will encourage us to think and live in new ways after the lessons we’ve learned in 2020. That means thinking beyond traditional flat colors and thinking about your wedding colors in new ways. The Orbital palette is one of our favorites because with its shimmering metallic tones, it's truly out of this world. Chrome and Luxe Lemon are the glittery versions of Ultimate Gray and Illuminating. When paired with Green Glimmer and Heavenly, you get a three-dimensional color look that guests at your wedding will have never seen before.

Galvanized metal charger plates and geometric metal ceremony arches can give your wedding an industrial feel, while sparkly blue tablecloths and greenery sprayed with gold glitter can elevate the look of your big day.

Creative Pantone 2021 Color Inspiration

Beautiful wedding color combinations that are inspired by Pantone’s colors for 2021 go far beyond the suggestions they make in their dedicated color palettes. Below we have chosen some of our favorite Pantone color shades that are predicted to be big in 2021 that look great with either Illuminating or Ultimate Gray, depending on which 2021 Pantone color is your favorite.

Dusty Brown Bouquet: Junebug Weddings, Bare Branch Décor Featuring Yellow Blooms: Laughing With Angels, Raspberry Sorbet, Desert Mist, Willow, and Illuminating Color Palette: Pantone, Mini Raspberry Sorbets Served in Lemon Cups: Fab Mood

Raspberry Sorbet, Desert Mist, Willow, and Illuminating

One of our favorite combinations is perfect for spring and summer weddings because the colors look so fresh and bright, especially when used together. Raspberry Sorbet and Illuminating ensure there’s plenty of color at your wedding, while Desert Mist and Willow provide you with a neutral base that grounds your décor.

For example, you can serve raspberry desserts paired with bright yellow drinks, but create understated, earthy place settings that feature bare branches and rosebuds in creamy tones.

Yellow and Orange Table Setting: Ruffled Blog, Marigold, Buttercream, and Illuminating Color Palette: Pantone, Yellow Suit Details: Unconventional Wedding, Glam Orange Eyeshadow: Stay Glam

Marigold, Buttercream, and Illuminating

If you’re looking to create a stunning backdrop to your wedding day that is as bright and cheery as you are, it doesn’t get any better than Marigold, Buttercream, and Illuminating. Marigold is a bright orange hue that looks stunning when paired with Illuminating. Buttercream provides the perfect neutral hint to ensure this color palette doesn’t come across too strong.

Choose bright, beautiful flowers in your bouquet and centerpieces, but don’t forget about the details. Yellow pocket squares, bright wedding shoes, and orange eye shadow are all unique and surprising ways to incorporate these colors into your big day.

Colorful Balloon Wall: French Wedding Style, Raspberry Sorbet, Marigold, Illuminating, and Other Brights Color Palette: Pantone, Rainbow Bridesmaid Attire: Green Wedding Shoes, Bright Rainbow Floral Table Arrangement: The Perfect Palette

Raspberry Sorbet, Marigold, Illuminating, and Other Brights

Don’t stop at Marigold and Illuminating if you really want to make your wedding day bright and colorful. One trend for 2021 is choosing brights as a color scheme in lieu of choosing just a few colors. It can give your wedding a real festival or 90s vibe. Think Lisa Frank updated for the 21^st Century.

This color palette lends itself well to quirky details that might have once been considered outdated just a few years ago. Take balloons, for example. They don’t come to mind when planning a beautiful wedding, but when done properly, they can look quite stunning.

Gray Bridal Party: LVL Weddings and Events, Purple and Orange Cocktail: Gastronom Blog, Purple and Coral Reception Flowers: Mod Wedding, Amethyst Orchid, Burnt Coral, Ultimate Gray Color Palette: Pantone

Amethyst Orchid, Burnt Coral, Ultimate Gray

If gray is more your thing, focus on including Ultimate Gray in your wedding instead of Illuminating yellow. It doesn’t have to be boring either! When it’s combined with Amethyst Orchid and Burnt Coral, your wedding can look both colorful and classy.

Create a backdrop of gray suits, gray bridesmaids dresses, and gray table settings, but include punches of color with purple orchids, orange desserts, and antique mercury candle holders in shades of purple and orange-gold.

Cloud Dancer, Shadow Green, Ultimate Gray, and Other Neutrals Color Palette: Pantone, Desert Table Featuring Macramé Hangers: Regnier Cakes, Neutral Boho Bridal Bouquet: Kathi and Chris Photography, Chola and Succulent Arrangement: Dalla Vita

Cloud Dancer, Shadow Green, Ultimate Gray, and Other Neutrals

If bright colors aren’t really for you, because let’s face it—Illuminating and many of the colors it looks good with are bright—focus on Ultimate Gray instead. It can look quite stunning with neutral shades like Cloud Dancer, Shadow Green, and other earthy hues. This color palette is an especially good choice if you’re going for a boho look at your wedding.

Choose wooden details, like chola wood, to arrange air plants on tables, cover tables in gray chiffon, and use macramé plant hangers to display leafy green plants.