Event lighting is a growing trend in New York and Chicago events according to Sarah Pease of Brilliant Event Planning out of New York City. Clients are spending their budgets on “music, floral, lighting, and food”. I’ve started to see this trend here in the D/FW metroplex as well. Some clients are just doing a little bit of pin-spotting on their centerpieces and cakes and some are opting for all out room washes with gobos that highlight the couple’s monogram as well as themes such as trees on the walls or beautiful swirls or snowflakes.
So, what is “lighting” anyways? Well, to start, there are room washes that light up the entire room with a certain color. Why do a room wash? There is nothing worse than stark house lighting on everyone’s head. Color wash takes away the harshness of house lighting and replaces it with a mood or feeling of relaxation and fun. Imagine taking the unkind white lights out of the equation and replacing it with one or two of your wedding colors. Our favorite lighting color is 100% magenta washed with a little bit of blue. This stunning look makes everyone look good, the food looks great and the guests are ready to party. There’s no harder way to get people on the dance floor than with cruel house lights shining on them highlighting their every move. Replacing this with a color wash gets everyone on the dance floor and in my book that is a successful event.
What about pin-spots? Pin spots are a great way to highlight the design and décor that you have worked so hard on to make perfect. You should always budget pin spots into your floral design. You can also uplight each individual centerpiece with centerpiece uplighting. These neat little devices fit underneath your centerpieces and light up the water and takes your décor to the next level. I suggest doing both centerpiece uplights and pin spots on your tall centerpieces at the very least. I would also suggest pin spotting your cake. Shed some light on the items you’ve spent a lot of time deciding on so that they don’t get lost. You’ve taken the time to make these items perfect. So, take the time to make sure they are seen.
What is a gobo? A gobo is a light fixture that sends light to your dance floor or walls in the shape of your monogram or other fun shapes such as trees, snowflakes, swirls, or words. For instance, if you’re theme is Hollywood, you can do a gobo that has the Hollywood sign projected right onto your dance floor or on one of your walls. The most popular gobos are monograms on the dance floor. Gobos add so much to your event’s décor that everyone will be talking about it for weeks to come.
So, to light or not to light? That is the question. Well, if you want an event that is out of the ordinary, lighting is definitely for you. If you want an event that is chic and unique, lighting is definitely for you. Don’t forget about lighting when you are creating your wedding budget. Whether it is a little bit of pin spotting for your cake and centerpieces or a full on room wash with gobos and centerpiece uplights, lighting is definitely for you.
