How To Create Ambient Lighting On Your Wedding Day

Ambient lighting can transform any wedding venue and create a wow factor for you and your guests that will be talked about and remembered for years to come. In the past, the major elements of planning a wedding have always been flowers, catering, entertainment and choosing the venue.

Now it’s safe to say ambient lighting can be added to the tick list as a wedding must have. Elia Nicolas, Director from Beyond Certainty who is an expert in this field answered our questions on ambient lighting trends and more.

  • 5 Star Weddings: In the recent years mood lighting for weddings has become very popular, why do you think this is?

Beyond Certainty: The reason that mood lighting has become increasingly popular is because over the years weddings have started to become bigger and better. Today, weddings are more like an event, with an added emphasize on entertainment and great food. Couples want to make their special day as perfect as possible, and they want their celebration to look and feel fabulous. The want to do something different, edgy and personal.

Mood lighting can really set the tone of a wedding and transform any venue. By matching the colour theme, or changing the lighting at different stages of the wedding it can add that personal touch that will reflect both the bride and grooms vision. It also gives that wow factor as guests arrive that will be remembered long after the wedding bells have stopped ringing. Investing in aspects such as ambient lighting creates a memorable experience and will make a couple’s wedding day stand out from their friends.

Wedding Tables

  • 5 Star Weddings: What is the difference between, mood lighting and uplighting?

Beyond Certainty: Mood lighting generally washes the whole venue in colour. When using mood lighting, warm colours like burnt orange, deep yellows and calming pinks can make the room feel warm and welcoming for guests. Uplighting picks out architectural details in the room and usually consists of a narrow beam of light.

Both these light forms can add depth and dimension to any venue, creating spectacular effects that will enhance the mood of any event. By using lighting effects that match the colour theme of a wedding, mood lighting can transform any venue and can create a wonderfully romantic and whimsical atmosphere.

Wedding Lighting
Wedding Lighting
  • 5 Star Weddings: What is the most popular lighting used at weddings? Do you predict this to change much in the future?

Beyond Certainty: At present the three most requested forms of lighting for weddings are monograms, uplighting and moving lights. Uplighting has always been a popular choice and can really make an event standout. Couples are now becoming more risqué when using uplighting and want to change the colours throughout the event to signify different stages of the night such as the reception drinks, dinner, speeches and dancing.

Initials/monograms that can be projected behind the top table or on the dance floor are incredibly fashionable as they are one of the most simple, personal and effective touches you can add to any event.Finally, the use of moving lights is becoming popular as they can be used for multiple purposes. These lights are initially used to cast atmospheric shapes on the venues ceiling throughout the dinner, and then they are used later on in the evening as sophisticated dance floor lighting. I predict the use of these types of lighting to become the norm as weddings become more and more theatrical.

Wedding Lighting
Wedding Lighting
  • 5 Star Weddings: Should ambient lighting complement your colour theme? If so, how do you make the most out of lighting effects to enhance and differentiate your wedding from others using the same colours?

Beyond Weddings: Lighting should always compliment a colour theme as the look and feel of the wedding will then be consistent and have more impact. At present the most popular lighting colours are warm shades such as amber, deep purple and burnt orange. To differentiate your wedding from others, my top recommendation is to always to use different shades of the same colour.

This not only adds depth to a room it also ensures that you won’t be using the same shades as another wedding. Through using clever lighting you can make any venue look different. I also recommend to use colours from the same colour palette that complement each other once the party starts after the dinner. This can create a completely different look and atmosphere that will alter the ambience of the room. By using lighting effects that match the colour theme of a wedding, mood lighting can transform any venue to reflect the bride and grooms own vision which is sure to be different from another couples.

Indian Wedding Decoration
Indian Wedding Decoration
  • 5 Star Weddings: You supply indoor, and outdoor lighting and special effects equipment. Should a couple consider using all of this when choosing lighting for their wedding?

Beyond Certainty: When it comes to choosing the right lighting for a couple’s wedding day, I would say that if they were not sticking to a particular budget then having indoor, outdoor and special effects would make their wedding unforgettable. However if there is a tight budget for lighting then there are ways in which to reduce costs. For instance don’t have any lighting outdoors, but instead just light any pathways with candle lanterns which will still create a magical atmosphere for outdoor areas. This way more money can be put towards indoor lighting which is where the most impact will be made.

  • 5 Star Weddings: What is the most important thing to consider when choosing ambient lighting for a wedding?

Beyond Certainty: It is important that the ambient lighting complements all the other aspects of the wedding from the colour scheme to the interior of the venue. Ambient lighting helps to create the overall wow factor of the room, however it is essential to choose the colours carefully so the theme is carried on throughout the whole event. Any lighting specialists should be able to talk you through the colour options that will be right for you and your venue.

Wedding Decoration
Wedding Decoration
  • 5 Star Weddings: What creative advice would you give to a couple who want to use mood lighting for their wedding?

Beyond Certainty: The best advice is to use the LED wireless lighting units where possible. These will create the most impact as they have the ability to change throughout the night. Although they are expensive you will need less of them to create a bigger impact when compared to inferior models.

Monograms for Weddings
Monograms for Weddings
  • 5 Star Weddings: You provide a wide range of other services including; theming, staging, dance floors, chair covers, draping and backdrops – how do these different elements contribute to the overall ambience of the wedding?

Beyond Certainty: I would say all these elements are essential as they all help to create a running theme that allows the event and venue to ‘flow’. By implementing all the services the look of the room changes from being one of mediocre to one that oozes style, class whilst still remain enchanting.

Table Setting Purple Lighting
Table Setting Purple Lighting
  •  5 Star Weddings: In your opinion what makes a 5 star wedding?

Beyond Certainty: Whether it’s the grandest reception or a more intimate family event I always think less is more. But the crucial thing is choosing the right elements, that once combined will make the whole event comes to life. Lighting, sound, flowers, decor, linen all need to be carefully chosen so that everything has a classic, opulent look and fits into the chosen venue. This attention to detail combined with a few optional extras will create an incredible 5 star wedding.