Brighten Up Your Wedding Day with these Five Lighting Tips!

You probably have chosen flowers, food and music that you love, but what about the lighting? Wedding lighting has evolved from simply serving to illuminate a space, to being a main element of design. The type of lighting you use can completely transform a space and ambiance, setting the mood of your wedding.

From candles to up-lighting, the options can seem overwhelming. With help from lighting and design expert, Susan Peters, the Owner of Halcyon Productions, we have created a few tips for choosing the best lighting for your space, budget and style. Follow these tips and impress your wedding guests!

Tip 1: Work with a professional

Even if you are planning on doing DIY lighting projects, hiring a pro will ensure your lighting reflects the space and your needs. A lighting pro has experience making everything flow and creating moods throughout the event. They will ensure that you have all elements needed (switches, controllers, dimmers, etc.) to make everything work throughout the evening. They will work with your ideas and come up with solutions that fit your budget and your vision.

Susan Peters shares, “When a lighting professional is involved, color and the progression of the event is evaluated, controlled and adjusted the entire evening. Having an onsite technician who can make adjustments and read the crowd is every bit as important as having a DJ or band who can also read the crowd because the guests’ experience is guided by lighting almost as much as the music….

It’s all about group behavior. “I recently witnessed during a wedding reception how important dancefloor lighting is. During the reception, the dancefloor was absolutely packed with guests (I was running lights that night) and I was asked to stop the dancefloor lighting because the bride’s father had a health condition and the bride was concerned, he would get dizzy. When I turned the dancefloor lighting off, the guests actually left the dancefloor and lost interest. The event planner and I immediately noticed this, talked and decided we had to bring the dancefloor lights back on and lo and behold, here come the guests back out to the dancefloor—packed again! Lively custom dancefloor lighting, at the appropriate time, ensures your guests have a great time and never want the party to end!”

Tip #2: Embrace your venue.

Depending on the location of your wedding ceremony and reception, you will have different needs for lighting.

Susan advices, “Unless it is a daytime wedding, it is important to consider that a major portion of wedding receptions or rehearsal dinners happen after dark. I recommend that the couple see their event space after dark to assess how it looks. Assuming the venue has natural light the reception space changes during daylight hours, as the sun sets and gradually darkness falls. If the wedding is in a ballroom with no windows, then professional lighting is even more critical to transform a room and create a beautiful, memorable and magical ambiance. Literally, there is no space that cannot be improved with lighting—we have even lit restrooms. We have even used lighting at daytime luncheons in a tent to correct for gloomy weather and to create the look of daylight in a tent that was heavily draped with colored fabric.”

Tip #3: Use color

Color is a key aspect of lighting design. There are certain shades that are more flattering on skin- soft rose, amber, and magenta. Others, like green are not flattering. There are many ways to use colored lighting to reflect the mood or ambiance you are striving for. For example, pink represents romance and love, making it a great option for weddings.

Susan from Halcyon informed us, “The most recent development in lighting has been the advent of entertainment LED fixtures in the early 2000s and they continue to improve. Make sure your lighting company has the latest technology in this area, the cheaper/earlier LED fixtures do not have the ability to generate the refined and delicate colors and pastels that are used in many wedding reception color schemes. I see color schemes come and go and we have to be ready to complement the latest color trends.”

Susan advises the basics for wedding day lighting include: “The basic “layer” in event lighting is to begin by washing/highlighting all the architectural features of the space. Stage, upstage and dancefloor lighting is also very important. Next cake spots, bars and food station lighting if applicable. It is not uncommon for Halcyon to work on very detailed weddings so if ceiling height allows, pin spots are next to highlight the florals.”

 Tip #4: Mix and match

Just like you choose different arrangements for flowers or tabletop décor, we recommend using different lighting elements throughout your wedding. Here are a few of the main types:

• Candlelight: Candles are an easy, cost effective way to create a romantic glow. Use floating candles, glass globes hanging from the ceiling, different size vases lining the aisle with floating candles, colored candles of different sizes, or lanterns. If your venue doesn’t allow flames, you could use a flameless candle.
• Up lighting: This technique can transform a space. These lights can turn an ordinary venue into something magical, dramatic or romantic. You can choose to incorporate your wedding colors or simply go for a soft glow.
• Pin Spot lighting: This type of lighting is used to highlight a special area. It could be the wedding cake, centerpieces or your head/sweetheart table. This lighting style typically is in white but can also be one color.
• Gobos/Monograms: If you want to project a design or monogram to a wall, ceiling or dance floor a “Gobo” (goes between the optics) is a great option. Having a special image or word projected is a way to make your event and design more personalized. Using a gobo pattern such as florals, lace, damask or leaves will add texture and break up space.

Tip #5: Bring your vision together.

The options for lighting can be overwhelming. A lighting pro such as Halcyon Productions can help you choose the best lighting styles for the look you want. This can vary from a dance floor that feels like an elegant, romantic reception for dinner and toasts and a nightclub later in the evening.

Susan informs, “A company such as Halcyon can be an integral design team member and offer ideas to reinforce the floral and décor scheme and help bring it to life — that is IF we are allowed to participate. Brides and grooms will get the best results from us if they let us in on their vision—we are not at the table to dictate what the look should be but rather to listen and offer suggestions to create the look. Décor and floral are beautiful in and of themselves but when darkness falls, all that beautiful work and effort disappears unless it is enhanced properly with lighting….

We work with many event planners, in many venues, in many locations and have seen hundreds of events so we do have valuable insight into what does and does not work. Even if it means sending us the décor and floral proposal (without numbers) be sure to let us in on the full scope of the wedding design scheme, so nothing is overlooked.”

Lighting can transform your wedding space, set the mood and compliment the design of your venue.

Susan agrees, “Lighting should not be just a line item that is checked off a list—it makes a huge impact on the look of the event and your guests’ experience, the photos and everyone’s memories of the reception that last a lifetime. This is why it is best to hire a lighting company rather than leave the lighting to a DJ or the band who will bring just a few lights and more than likely not have proper control over them.”

Are you ready to start planning? Find a lighting professional from our list of preferred vendors to help you with all of your needs!

A huge “thank you!” to Susan Peters from Halcyon Productions for sharing her professional insight and these great image from her past events.

Kelsey Stamps

Hey, I’m Kelsey! I studied Social Psychology at CU Boulder and now split my time between writing about dreamy Aspen wedding spots, clever planning hacks, and real talk on international marriages (yep, American guys and foreign girls). I also run a small psychology practice, helping couples navigate love, culture, and everything in between. Connection and honesty are my non-negotiables.