Wedding Lighting - What You Need to Know

There are many factors that need to be considered when planning a wedding. Whether it’s picking the right venue, finding the best catering, or choosing the best entertainment, many couples forget how important lighting is for their special day.

The type of lighting you pick can change your wedding’s atmosphere, which is why you should learn a bit about the different types of wedding lighting to help you achieve the right look. Here is everything you need to know about wedding lighting.

Types of Wedding Lighting

Before you begin looking for vendors for quotes, it’s best to get an idea of the types of wedding lighting available for your big day.

Here are some examples:

• Gobo light is a template which light shines through to produce a monogram, pattern, or motif on the wall, ceiling, or floor.
• Texture lighting is like a gobo light. However, it includes a present pattern like a starry night sky.
• Spotlights are used to project a narrow beam of light on a particular object or area.
• String lights are strands of lights that are the most cost-effective and versatile way to light up your space.

Photo credit: Hayley B Weddings

Hire a Professional

As there are so many different types of wedding lighting, it can be hard to know which route to go down. It’s not advised to handle your wedding lighting alone. Therefore, hiring a professional lighting hire company will make sure that you have an experienced team in place to help you pick the best lighting. For example, Energy Distribution specialise in lighting hire, providing professional installations for custom or dry hire. The team can help you establish your exact requirements, create a solution, and then install, test, and retain your temporary lighting hire.

Photo credit: Ori Carmi

Consult with the Venue

If you’re on a strict budget and are counting the pennies, you should check whether your wedding venue provides lighting in their package. If your venue has all the lighting options you need, it may be better to have the venue manage everything for you. When speaking to your wedding venue team, they will know the A-Z of what lighting works best in their space, and what they’re capable of handling.

Photo credit: Fresh Shoot Studios

Speak to Your Vendor

To determine the right kind of lighting for your venue, it’s advised to bring your lighting designer along to perform site checks. There are several factors to address, such as whether your wedding will be held inside or outside. Make sure that you let your lighting designer know as this will affect the production costs and setting. Also, they need to be in the know about what your wedding theme is and how you want your special day to look and feel. Drawing up a budget from the beginning will mean your team can work within your means and help you save money on your wedding.

Photo credit: Ori Carmi

Don’t Overdo It

To get the most out of your wedding lighting, it’s best to follow the less is more rule. While you may want to cover every area of your wedding venue with lights, you run the risk of it looking tacky rather than beautiful. If you add too much coloured lighting or apply a variety of lighting types in one setting, this will have the opposite effect of what you want to achieve. It’s best to keep things nice and simple instead of overdoing your lighting.

When it comes to designing the perfect wedding, the lighting is one of the most undervalued elements. Regardless of how you want your special day to look, the lighting you choose can either complement your theme or stick out like a sore thumb. All the advice above can help you on your journey of choosing the best lighting for your wedding day.

Photo credit: Jonathan Borba

Enhance your wedding theme and lighting with a personalised wedding magazine

We create a luxury booklet styled to seamlessly compliment your wedding theme and colour scheme giving you a remarkable way to share your authentic love story with your wedding guests. These unique and lasting mementos can include your proposal story with engagement photos, wedding party introductions, venue history, honeymoon details, and wedding stationery essentials such as the order of service and menu.

Photo credit: Hayley B Weddings

Get on touch with liz@wedition.co.uk to start the most enjoyable part of your wedding planning journey with our award winning, friendly and easy to use service.