Holiday Style Guide: Black, White & Burgundy for the Whole Family

When your holiday family photo includes grown children, spouses, teenagers, and possibly several different households, getting everyone dressed can feel like a project in itself. Everyone has their own style, their own opinions, and their own idea of what “dressy” means.

The good news? You don't need everyone wearing the same thing to create a beautiful, cohesive family portrait. In fact, we think the opposite is true.

The most elevated family photographs have a sense of connection without looking overly coordinated. For this holiday style guide, we're working with one of our favorite combinations: black, white, and burgundy. It's sophisticated, festive, and incredibly versatile across generations.

The secret is to think of your color palette as a framework, not a uniform.

Start With the Color Palette, Not the Outfits

Before anyone starts shopping, decide on the colors you want running throughout the photograph. Black, white, and burgundy give you plenty of room to let everyone's individual style come through while still creating a cohesive final image.

Not everyone needs to wear all three colors. In fact, we recommend that they don't.

One person might wear a burgundy dress with black shoes. Another might choose black trousers and an ivory sweater. Someone else could wear a crisp white shirt with a black blazer. A teenager might incorporate burgundy in a sweater or accessory.

The colors become the common thread that connects everyone, while the individual outfits keep the photograph from feeling too uniform.

Pro Tip: This is particularly helpful when adult children are bringing spouses into the family portrait. Rather than asking everyone to follow an exact outfit formula, give them a palette and a general level of dress and allow them to interpret it in a way that feels like them.

Use Texture to Make the Palette Feel Luxurious

When you're working with an intentional color palette, texture becomes incredibly important.

Black, white, and burgundy can be visually stunning together, but if everyone is wearing the same type of fabric, the photograph can start to feel flat. Mixing textures creates depth and gives the eye something to move through.

Think velvet, wool, cashmere, satin, silk, leather, knitwear, and beautifully tailored fabrics. A burgundy velvet dress next to a black wool blazer feels rich and dimensional. An ivory knit sweater paired with tailored black trousers brings softness into the photograph. A satin blouse can add a subtle bit of shine without becoming overly formal.

Texture is also a wonderful way to make holiday photographs feel seasonal without relying on obvious holiday prints or novelty pieces.

Give the In-Laws a Framework, Not a Dress Code

When adult children are bringing spouses or partners, coordinating multiple households can become complicated quickly.

The easiest solution is to give everyone the same parameters rather than the same outfit instructions.

For example: black, white, and burgundy; elevated but comfortable; no visible logos; no competing patterns.

Your daughter-in-law doesn't need to wear the same color as your son. Your son's wife doesn't need to coordinate perfectly with your other daughter. Each couple can choose outfits that work together while still fitting naturally into the larger group.

This approach also makes shopping much easier. Instead of trying to find the perfect outfit for someone else, each person can shop within the palette and choose something that makes them feel confident.

The result is much more natural and much more stylish!

The Goal Isn't Matching. It's Enjoying Your Time Together.

When a family includes adult children, spouses, teenagers, and multiple households, everyone's personality should still have room to exist in the photograph. That's what makes a family portrait feel authentic!

The goal isn't for everyone to look like they went shopping together. It's for everyone to look like they belong together.

Choose your palette. Mix your textures. Let Mom wear the beautiful dress. Give each household room to interpret the colors in their own way. Then leave the rest to us.

We'll take care of the posing, composition, and guidance that brings everyone together in front of the camera. Because the best holiday family photographs aren't the ones where everyone looks exactly the same. They are the ones that you will look back on for years to come a treasure forever!