Creating the correct ambience for your wedding can be achieved by your choice of venue and the styled decor you dress your space with, but to really help set the atmosphere selecting and utilising the correct lighting is paramount.

Wedding Venue Lighting Ideas

Your wedding day will unravel like a sequence of events, such as guest arrivals, the ceremony, the wedding breakfast and of course the evening celebrations, each will require differing lighting to set the tone which can involve a selection of hue’s from a wide range of sources.

Enhance your wedding with mood lighting

Whether your wedding vision entails a vintage affair, a relaxed boho theme or an outdoor extravaganza, lighting will enhance the experience and certainly needs some consideration, you could potentially add a little romance with strings of fairy lights, enhance your dancefloor experience with dramatic party lights and up-lighting or create a glowing backdrop for guests to admire.

To understand how the right lighting can transform your wedding, we chat to the experts at Dreamwave Events, a wedding & event lighting hire service in Essex and Suffolk who deliver your vision with both passion and style.

Why is lighting so important and how can it change the atmosphere and feel of a wedding?

Lighting can completely change the atmosphere in the space it is utilised and it’s important that the lighting used creates the right feel and design in an area, this could be to create a focal point, a feature or to add the perfect ambience when the day turns into the night.

If a venue already has lighting, why should couples invest in additional lighting?

Many venues offer some fantastic feature lighting built-in. This might be decorative chandeliers or wall lights that are part of the architecture or additional lighting designs outside. We find when couples wish to put their own stamp on a venue to compliment their wedding theme or style, this is when the hire of additional lighting services can enhance the space and make it more personal to them.

Ways to bring lighting into different types of venues

Different lighting effects lend themselves to different styles of venue. In our experience if you are booking a barn or more rustic wedding venue, the use of festoon lighting or hanging filament light bulbs really compliments the architectural construction, with its open high beams and brick or wooden walls.

For a more classic look, the fairy light is a very versatile product. Canopy effects can be created within marquees and tents. Even the most traditional of wedding venues can be enhanced with up-lighting, table spots, and breakout effects.

We have collated many photos of our lighting displayed in a variety of types of venues, from modern concept backdrops in barns to atmospheric up-lighting in ornate churches and clever outdoor feestons surrounding marquees. If you can dream it, we can use our experience to dazzle.

What are creative and popular ways couples can use lighting on their wedding day?

To enable us to use lighting creatively we initially find out the overall wedding vision you have for your big day, usually upon contact  many of our couples tend to have some form of inspiration in mind. This could be from Pinterest or Instagram or an image they have seen that they wish to try and recreate.

Our task is then to incorporate the lighting into your venue and the surroundings. Popular options could be to design a focal point of interest within a space. This could be a feature backdrop behind the top table or band/DJ area or a show stopping suspended feature of lighting incorporating foliage or other decorations overhead.

Concept lighting designs such as the images above can incorporate geometric hanging lamps, filament bulbs, feestons in cages, vintage lampshades, floating candles or chinese lanterns. If desired we can create quirky and unique, a real talking point for your guests.

What outdoor options are there for lighting?

There are many options available for illuminating an outdoor space. Popular options include lighting over a seating or dining area. We are able to create this with festoon lighting on supporting poles. Tree & shrubs, buildings and lakes also look fantastic when lit well with a wash of colour.

What to consider when hiring lighting

When contacting a lighting supplier provide them with as much information as possible. The inspiration already mentioned is essential to allow a design to be recreated. Details, images or plans of the venue certainly help and will let us inform you if there are any restrictions and what is possible.

The venues access and availability around your wedding date is vital as some lighting rentals may require access the day before to make the installation. Support rigging might be needed on some lighting designs which needs to be ensured possible in the venue during the planning stages of wedding lighting hire.

About Dreamwave Lighting

Dreamwave Events is an established lighting company that works with individuals, planners and companies to provide rentals, production services, dry ‘DIY’ hires, product sales and installations for the wedding and event industry. We specialise in complete production services, including; creative, innovative lighting design and installations.

Adhering closely to our clients’ requests from the offset, we employ a thorough and innovative approach when creating the initial design concept for your turnkey solution, continuing through to the finished product.

A final word from Wedinspire about lighting up your wedding

When you commence your initial wedding style inspiration, you may be surprised to see how prominent the lighting is, obviously it is a necessity but the type you choose can not only enhance the whole experience of your wedding day but compliment and add to the style and theme you wish to create.

Speak to your venue, suppliers and the experts to allow the dressing of your venue to coincide with the way you light up your day, let your love shine as much as the twinkling fairy lights!