It doesn’t get much bigger than your wedding day. And given that it’s one of the most important days of your life, it’s absolutely imperative that you get everything right. There’s no opportunity for a do-over. Everything from the cake to the stage you’ve hired for the live band has to be right.
The same is true of your wedding lighting. The problem is that it can often be an overlooked aspect of your day of celebrations. It’s not until it’s too late that many couples realise that they’ve missed a trick with their wedding lighting.
So that’s why we’ve put together this in-depth guide to ensure that you get it right the first time and ensure that your day is every bit as special as it should be. So let’s start with the basics and answer the most common question: why are your lighting choices so crucial for a wedding?
Why Are Your Wedding Lighting Choices So Important?
You’re right if you’re thinking that there are items that perhaps have higher importance than the event lighting, such as perhaps choosing a venue in the first place or deciding on a dress.
But you underestimate the influence of your wedding lighting choices at your peril. When you actually pause to think for a moment, it soon becomes apparent just how much of an impact they will have on your wedding. From the disco lights that draw your guests to the dancefloor to the mood lighting provided by your wedding uplighters, almost every aspect of your day and evening of celebrations will require lighting of some description.
That’s why when you get them wrong or miss something crucial, it’s very noticeable. No spotlight for the happy couple's first dance? No outdoor lighting to help people see where they are going when they leave the marquee reception? Yep, these are just a few examples of when your lighting choices, or lack thereof, will have a very visible influence on your wedding.
So now we’ve convinced you that lighting has the utmost importance when it comes to bringing together your wedding production; let’s run you through some of the most likely candidates that you’ll want to add to your lighting hire “shopping list.”
Wireless LED Uplighters
When it comes to wedding lighting, there is one device that is almost always going to be required – wireless LED uplighters. In fact, they are so important that we’ve dedicated an entire blog post to covering their abilities here. So once you’ve finished up here, why not head over there to read up on their full range of capabilities?
To summarise, these fixtures are floor-based lights that do not need cabling, making them an excellent choice for outdoor weddings and receptions taking place in marquees and teepees, for example.
They can be positioned against walls and ceiling and emit all shades of colours to completely alter your chosen venue’s look and feel. You can choose to have them emit one solid colour, or you can program them to roll through a range of colours to deliver an engaging lighting display.
They are brilliant if your wedding venue’s decor doesn’t quite match the theme you’ve decided upon. They are also functional, too, in case you want to light an outdoor space and need a wireless option.
Wedding Stage Lighting - Spotlights
If you’re having a wedding, then the chances are that you are hiring a wedding stage. Whether your evening entertainment is a DJ or a live band, or both, you need a stage to provide a central focal point. With hiring a stage comes the need to light it correctly, hence the need for stage lighting fixtures.
Fresnel lanterns are likely going to present an excellent solution to your stage lighting dilemmas. From accentuating the lead singer on stage to highlighting the happy couple on the dancefloor, these spotlights are incredibly versatile.
That’s without mentioning the fact that you can pair them up with gobos (stencils you can place over spotlights) to project patterns or shapes onto the walls or ceilings of your venue when the stage isn’t in use.
Wedding Stage Lighting - Moving Head Fixtures
Moving head fixtures are great for so many purposes, and it’s almost unfair to limit them to “stage lighting” as such. However, they are primarily used to light whatever is happening on stage, so that’s where we’ve put them.
As you’d imagine, these lights are great for providing a flowing/moving wash for your stage, but they offer so much more than that. You can use them to create all kinds of aerial effects, and they are an excellent addition to any disco lighting arrangement you may have. There’s a reason we stock so many of them!
Speaking of which, you can choose the ROBE Robin Spikie which is a super-compact moving head fixture that boasts the ability to continuously pan and tilt, allowing for genuinely amazing aerial effects when programmed.
Alternatively, you can choose from one of our two models of Clay Paky fixtures which are synonymous with the moving head fixture full stop. We stock the versatile B Eye K10 or the classic Sharpy. It’s up to you which you decide to go with! Of course, we’ll be on hand at every step of the journey to talk you through the pros and cons.
Wedding Pin Spots
As you may have guessed from the name, pin spots are closely related to spotlights. However, they emit a much smaller, narrower beam to focus on specific items. In the context of a wedding, pin spots are often used to light specific aspects on a table, such as floral centrepieces.
They are usually ceiling-mounted or rigged to truss beams to get the correct angle for their target. If you want them to highlight specific items on your tables, such as a floral display, we suggest using four pin spots per table, one from each corner of the room focused on each side of the display.
By fully covering the centrepiece with light from all angles, it ensures that the feature does not display any shadows and will look fabulous from all directions. Trust us; when you look at a photo of a pin-spotted item and one with any lighting in a photo, the difference is almost literally night and day!
Retro Lighting
Retro has been back in vogue for a while now. While many weddings are still very much set on “glitz and glam”, many others are going for a more rustic, laidback look. Retro lighting that uses old technology is perfect for this type of affair because it emits a warm glow as opposed to bright white light.
That we stock lighting fixtures such as the Portman P1 Retro that uses real halogen lamps. It’s great for creating that so-called “tungsten glow” that works so well at marquee or teepee wedding receptions in particular.
But, of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to these specific fixtures if you want retro. We stock many variations of those seemingly obligatory festoon lights (sometimes called fairy lights or bistro lights) on a string with their warm orange glow. Again, we would argue that these are pretty much essential for any outdoor wedding!
Wedding Disco Lights
What would a dancefloor be without any disco lights? While some of the fixtures we’ve already mentioned may form part of your dancefloor arrangement, we also stock specific light fixtures that provide the classic disco effects you’ll be looking for.
We can also provide additional equipment such as lasers and dry ice machines to really make your first dance special (they create a layer of fog to give the appearance of you dancing on the clouds).
But we can do a lot more than fog machines, as we are about to explain!
Hire All Event Production Equipment from On Tour Events
It’s fair to say that we’ve got you more than covered when it comes to wedding lighting. But why stop there? We offer the full spectrum of wedding event production services. While there’s no doubt that we can do an incredible job on the lighting side for you, it makes far more sense to outsource all of your wedding production needs to one company.
So what exactly can we provide? Well, first off, we can provide you with the best sound equipment in the events industry. We stock a massive range of PA speakers from leading brands such as d&b audiotechnik. But we also provide all of the supporting equipment too, such as microphones, stage monitors, amps, and even line arrays should you need them.
Then there’s our stage hire and set design services. That’s right; not only can we provide you with a range of stages to choose from for your wedding, but we can also design and manufacture one from scratch! And why not finish off your wedding production with a couple of LED screens?
Last but by no means least, we can take care of all your wedding’s live streaming requirements. These days, live streaming has become an essential add-on for weddings to cater for guests who can’t make it or to allow those only invited to the reception to remain a part of the ceremony proceedings.
In other words, you can count on us to provide anything and everything you need on the technical side of your wedding in exchange for one straightforward, all-inclusive price. We even set it all up and take it all away for you too. It really doesn’t get any easier than this, which is excellent news for you as we’re sure you’ve already got more than enough on your plate!
Choose On Tour Events as Your Wedding Production Partner
Whether you’re a wedding planner or the happy couple themselves, we provide everything you could possibly need for your wedding from a technical standpoint. From the disco lights to your marquee, there’s nothing we can’t supply to your wedding event.
So why put up with the hassle of trying to juggle multiple vendors? We think it’s a far better idea to streamline things so you can reduce your stress levels while planning what is one of the most important days of your life!
So, if you would like to talk to us regarding any ideas you might have in mind for your wedding, please don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and give us a call on 020 8058 0093. We genuinely can’t wait to hear the vision you have in mind for your special day!
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