I pulled out a copper kit a few weeks ago and went through my blanks. I wet a blank with a paper towel to give the color it would be with a finish on it. I did this in a bright light and found some colors to be great match for copper. I was surprised how many did not match.
I keep my blanks separated by kinds and colors. Some wood's color vary from tree to tree and even within a tree, so for this reason I went through about 200 checking to see what would look good. I could not pinpoint why one blank from a batch of several looked good but the rest did not. I also found that blondish/goldish pens as in the gold ironwoods that I have did not match. Of my blanks, - some reddish, black, dyed blue, one dyed green blank and holly looked great with the copper. I have not made one since I did that. But I do have those blanks separated for the copper.
I appreciate your question as I do see wood color and grain as very relevant to pen plating color, as well as style , when looking for the best possible presentation. There is a lot to be said for a beautiful pen that just "happens," but I still try to go by the old adage of "luck/success favors a prepared mind."