Even Diamonds Don’t Sparkle Without Light—Make Your Event Shine With the Right Lighting

article and photos By Edward L. Griffin, MWV™, The Wedding DJs/Hardcastle Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Wash.Lighting is a powerful and effective tool for decorating, but it’s much more than that. Great lighting can transform a venue, capture a mood, tell a story, and add extra pizzazz.The key to polishing your event is finding a lighting designer who understands the event and that everything they put into the space is now part of the décor. Discuss what you want the room to look like, the colors and textures you will incorporate into the décor, and the budget. The three biggest things that limit a lighting designer are: their own skill and creativity, power, and the budget. As a planner, it’s also important to know the basics about lighting. Here’s a primer:Uplighting is Easy and EffectiveUplighting is simply floor-based lighting. It’s a quick, easy, and very cost-effective way to enhance the atmosphere of any room. Consider amber lighting, which make rooms feel warmer and look richer. It’s also about the only color to make people look healthy and alive. It even makes those of us from Seattle look tan. Avoid green lighting at all cost! It makes people look ill, or worse, like aliens. Traditional par cans used with halogen lamps give you a warm, pleasing light. To change the color, a gel or mylar film is placed over the top. The drawback is that you need to swap out that color gel to change the color.LEDS Have Power and RangeDue to advances in technology, LED uplighting has become very popular. Because this technology is relatively new, better and brighter LED lights that cost the same or cheaper are continually being developed. Some people believe LEDs don’t use any power and don’t get hot. That isn’t completely true. True, LEDs use less power, but the LEDs that actually put out as much light as a traditional halogen still use power and can get hot. With LEDs, it’s not just the “bulb,” it’s also the circuit board that uses power and can get hot.To fix the harsh look of white LEDs, find fixtures with amber color correction. A big advantage of LEDs is the range of colors they can produce with the push of a button when using a DMX console for linking controllers. It’s even possible to overcome the need to connect each light with a cable when using wireless DMX. Of course, it costs more. However, some LED fixtures can be preprogrammed with a custom color before your event, removing the need for DMX cables. Ask your lighting designer. Some LEDs are even battery-powered with wireless DMX all-in-one.Gobos Transform and Add TextureGobos allow a pattern to be projected from a theater light called Ellipsoidal or Leko. Projecting the bride and groom’s name or initials is a nice touch, but fairly common. However, using gobos for texture can really make a room “pop.”  Aim them on the ceiling, walls, or dance floor. Themed gobos also add to the décor. Imagine orange leaves for an autumn-themed wedding in a building with old wooden beams. On rare occasions where you have attach points above, you can aim them on the floor for a gobo aisle runner.Moving Heads Create Hollywood EffectMoving heads are very powerful and versatile light fixtures that look like a headlight on the end of an egg. You see them on TV at every awards show. Their ability to spin and tilt make them able to hit almost anywhere in a room. Some are used for spotlights and color washes. Others have rotating gobos, so you can use them for texture on the walls. When the dancing starts, these lights can come alive by moving, strobing, changing colors, and rotating the gobos—all at the same time. Moving heads are fairly expensive and require a skilled DMX programmer, but they can be very impressive.The Secret to Great Tent LightingLighting in a tent is a must. When the sun goes down, light is needed, so you might as well make it look great. Uplighting and chandeliers are standard. Down-lighting can also look amazing when installed between the top of the tent and the liner. The liner diffuses the light and helps create a warm feel. You may want dimmers here, especially if you have a DJ or band and dancing is planned. With tents, however, power can be an issue. Distance from a power source may require you to rent a generator. Don’t skimp here.  If your caterer has heating ovens or coffee pots, they may use more power than your lighting and your entertainment combined. Even if you are close to a building with power, it may not be desirable to run cables between them if they cross a major walkway. You could put the generator on a corner and run cables where no one will trip over them.Make it over the top!Create a “lightscape,” not just a couple splashes of color. Turn off all florescent lighting. Layer your lighting with color using uplighting and textures with gobos, and enhance both with moving heads. Use lighting to take your bride’s, groom’s, and guests’ breath away the minute they walk into the room.