Event Lighting

You are in the planning stages of your upcoming wedding reception, and one of the things you are considering is whether you need any lighting for your reception room. If your budget allows you the opportunity to add this feature you are in for a great experience. Another thing to consider is, whether it is ideal for you to add lighting, and to be honest not all weddings need lighting, but that will depend on specific circumstances. Just remember adding the right lights to your room can not only enhance the atmosphere of the room but also add elegance, drama and warmth to overall look. In order to assist you with making a decision let us cover some types of lighting and their benefit.

Uplighting , can help to tie together your decor you have worked so hard to add to your space. Over the past years there have been many advancements to make this type of lighting a very useful tool. Uplighting has many different ways they can be controlled, and these tools also allow them to be fine-tuned to millions of color variation (Depending on the fixture capabilities) that will complement the colors you have chosen for your décor. Uplighting can also be effectively used to highlight key architectural features of the room, or breakup a plain wall with splashes of color.

Venue uplighting vs lighting company vs DJ uplighting , more common these days are venues who have added a form of uplighting to their list of services provided, the issue is that many of these setup are minimal, limited to colors preprogrammed when installed, and they are static for the entire night. Depending on what level of lighting you plan to use for your event, static uplighting can drain the energy of the dance floor. Now another option would be to rent or hire a lighting company to come in and setup uplighting in your room, but once again this is most likely a static color setup. Depending on your budget set aside for this service will dictate how well lit the room will be. Lighting companies will charge you delivery, setup, tear down and a price per fixture. Typically they do not leave anyone behind so if there is a problem with the light you will not be able to address it until they return to pick it up. So that leaves us with DJ uplighting. This is probably going to be your best option because you will probably get a package deal since they are already there providing you with a service and will be there the entire evening. Adding uplighting through your DJ gives you that peace of mind that if something was to go wrong with one of the lights they are there to correct it. Also because they are the ones providing you the entertainment they also can incorporate these fixtures and change the colors, or patterns the lights can perform. With lighting software your DJ has the capability to change the behavior of the lights when the dance floor opens up and have them react to the beat of the music or energy of the song or if you want they can also be used as architectural enhancers and remain static. It is a decision that you can have with your DJ to see what is right for you.

Uplighting when it comes to an outdoor event , so you are having an outdoor wedding under a bright white tent. Well let’s talk about uplighting one more time and why you really should spend the money on it. I do not suppose when you decided to get married outdoors that the focal point of your decor would be a bright white, empty slate above you. Adding uplighting, cleverly positioned changes everything and brings life to the underside of that white tent! All of the sudden the space is enveloped with color and ties in and enhances the decor you worked so hard on. There are many methods employed by DJs who have experience with outdoor weddings, so that they ensure lighting is safely deployed allowing them to aim towards the center to make the entire space come to life!

Dance floor lighting , can be an option for you when planning your special day. This can be deployed on its own, or in conjunction with uplighting. Returning back to uplighting a bit, there have been many instances where we have been asked to use both. An example would be where we used uplighting in static mode to enhance the room features and tie them in with color to the decor the couple brought in. Then we use the dance floor lighting to add energy to the room. Now the question you should be asking yourself is this, “Is all dance floor lighting the same?” Well I am going to say, no. When it comes to lighting fixtures there are hundreds of possible combination and depending on who you go with they probably have a go to setup they prefer. Where this conversation gets interesting is how they deploy their lighting setup and how they are controlled. I am sure you have attended a dance where you literally felt like you were getting dizzy because it seemed to you the lights were just out of control. Swirling, blinking and moving around half hazardly. This is probably because they were in sound active mode. Sound active mode means that the fixture that are used is supposed to respond to the bass beat of the music and run internal effect programs. The lights usually have a small microphone sensor at the back that it will use to pick up sound and produce random effects on the light. So basically each fixture is running off the microphone on the back of it and is randomly producing an effect and the control the DJ has is to turn it on or off. There is no coordination with the other lights. The other option is deploying these same light fixtures using DMX. What DMX does it allows the user to completely control all the lighting fixtures and coordinate speed, movement, colors and effects. Most commonly this is advertised as a “Computerized Dance Floor Lighting” In many cases when a DJ deploys this method their DJ software directly communicates with the lighting software and digitally sends the beat of the song to the lighting software so that it reacts in beat. This method is more expensive to the DJ but provides a much better experience, provides a coordinated color scheme and reduces that turning in your stomach.

Want to see your name in lights , Then a monogram is the way to go! There are a couple of ways to accomplish this, you can do so by having what is called a gobo created for your special day. The cost of creating this gobo is 100% passed onto the client and after the special day is over there is no way for the couple view this gobo unless they have the correct light fixture the gobo was created for. The other option is when by projection, projection is basically a digital image that e is delivered using a projector. The beauty is that at the end of the event the DJ can send you a digital copy of it for you store and view through any device that can project a picture. The beauty of this technology is that it has evolved to Motion Monograms, and Cake Mapping. Both of these add a different element as it allows the projection to come to life and rather than having a static image projected now you have movement. If you search the internet or ask your DJ you will find many different examples of these new and upcoming services. There is an added cost due to setup and production of the final product but it is well worth the money to add this wow factor on your special day.

A wow factor that is not lighting , I know up until now we have been discussing lighting effects but there is an effect that will add a huge wow factor to your special day, and that is the Dance on a Cloud effect. This effect done correctly will not only wow your guests during your First Dance, but will also will give your photographer and videographer a special moment to capture for you. Please do not be fooled by Imitations this should not be done with a low lying fog machine, please take the extra time to find a professional who uses the correct equipment that performs this effect with dry ice. The key item is the Dry Ice, because using fog will more than likely set off the fire alarms and I do not think you want to spend your special day in the parking lot until the firemen clear the venue to ensure everything is okay. The use of dry ice to provide this effect is a chemical reaction to the hot water it is being immersed in and the beauty is that because it is cold the effect goes down, while fog goes up because it is hot. When dry ice is used it will remain below your waist level and will dissipate prior to rising. A few things to consider which your professional should alert you of, this effect should be only done indoors. Any fans or air handlers should be turned off while to effect is being used. Finally you should keep your First Dance song to no more than 4 minutes.

So let’s end this with some advice as to when you don’t need lighting. If your special day is a daytime wedding with lots of direct sunlight because there is a wall of windows, or you having an outdoor wedding than save the money, you do not need lighting. Something also to consider is what time is sunset on your special day. If you are getting married in the summer time and there is just an hour between when the sun goes down and the end of your reception, than I would say it is probably not worth the expense for just an hour. When discussing lighting with your professional there are a few things you should check first before making any decisions. What type of lights are in the room, can they only be turned on/off or are they dimmable. What are the venue’s policy about the room lights, will they allow them to be turned off partially. What colors are the walls in the room, are they dark or light. Dark walls will absorb any uplighting you deploy, but light walls will enhance the lighting.

Remember first impressions entering the room will be lasting memory and set the tone for your special day. Lighting the room properly will bring it to the next level and add that wow moment to the hard work you have done planning and decorating for this special day. Allow the lighting to add life to the room and when appropriate add energy to the dance floor and encourage your guests to dance the night away!