A step by step guide to wedding lighting

At Koncept Productions, we have over 20 years’ experience of providing technical support at weddings and conferences. Our job is to make your day as spectacular and memorable as you hoped it would be from providing staging for your band, sound equipment for speeches, music and entertainment and of course, lighting. We think lighting is the most underrated ways of decorating your venue. 

Different Types of Lights

Uplighters

One of the most popular types of lighting for a wedding, used effectively around the walls of your venue to create colour and atmosphere.

Parcans

A basic form of lighting that creates a beam of white or coloured light. These are normally found lighting a stage, but can be just as effective lighting a room or the exterior of a building.

Flood lights

A basic form of light that is normally uncontrolled and spreads white light across a large area. By adding coloured filters to them we can change their effect, lighting trees, buildings and features at the venue.

Pea Lights

These are a cross between festoon's and Christmas fairy lights. They are log strings of very small bulbs space close together. These can be wrapped around trees and bushes, or to backlight drapes and stage sets. A simple yet effective way of adding atmosphere with light.

Festoon Lighting

Festoon's are a long string of bulbs hanging from a wire which are generally found lighting the outside of a venue. These create a festival atmosphere and are a cost effecive way of lighting large outdoor spaces.

Moving Head Lights

These effects lights area normally found around the stage or DJ at weddings. They can create numerous different colours, project shapes and patterns, and of course move the beams of light around the room.

Blinders

These are the bright lights you find on a stage, pointing back towards the audience, creating a blinding effect.

What to think about when considering your lighting choices?

When we are contacted by a couple who want to hire our services for their wedding, we ask some questions to get a feel for what their wedding will be like. This important information can help us guide them on their choices and make sure that what we provide is suitable for their special day.

Where is the wedding taking place? (Hotel, marquee, community hall, etc)?

Knowing the style of the venue can help us get a clear visual for the style of the event. It also helps us gathering important practical information, like how high the ceilings will be? Where we can hang/position lighting? It tells us how big the space is and how much equipment we will need.

What is your theme?

Is it a colour, a feel or a visual theme? We can often design our lighting systems around particular colours and even have projected effects and images to match with the theme of your event.

Are there any special moments, or things you want to draw attention to?

What is important to you as a couple, what have you worked hard to pull together for your guests that you don’t want them to miss it. The top table, centrepieces, or the stage? 

Any other decorations?

The beauty of great lighting is that it can act as decoration, covering large spaces with colour or effects that bring your event to life. If this is you primary source of decoration we want to know, equally, if you’ve got other elements planned, we want to be able to enhance those for you.

Indoor and outdoor wedding lighting

Depending on where you plan on having your ceremony and your reception, you will need different options of lighting available to you. If you are getting married outdoors and sunset, you won’t need the same lighting as you would if you ceremony is inside. The time of day, the location and the vibe of the wedding will all impact your lighting choices.

For indoor lighting

First off, it’s good to know what lighting already exists in the venue and how that can work for you. You can then add to it or work around it depending what atmosphere you are looking to create. Uplighters are great for highlighting architectural features or changing the colours on the walls to match you theme. Colour washing will create different moods throughout your venue. If you want the personal touch, we can even create customised projected lettering and images on the walls and ceiling of the venue. There are so many options available, work with us to find out what will work best for your special day.

For outdoor lighting



The biggest problem with outdoor lighting is the power supply (luckily we have qualified electricians on site and generators available to hire if needed) but the options are endless. Whether you want to light pathways to the venue, in the car park or to the facilities. From wrapping trees in hundreds of Pea Lights, to running lengths of festoon lighting, and flood lighting the outside of a building in your chosen colours. There are numerous ways we can transform the outside space and bring it to life with light.

A couple of other ways you can add lighting and mood to your wedding is by DIY some of it, the more personal touches, illuminating tables for example or the bar without using big lights. You could use, battery operated candles, festoon lighting, fairy lights, chandeliers or neon signs.

If you have any questions or require any guidance, we’re here to help so give us a call today so we can help you plan the perfect way to light up your wedding.