Event Lighting: What Works and What Doesn’t

Posted : August 27, 2019

 

 

 

 

You finally got engaged to the love of your life and you’re ready to plan your dream wedding.  Or you’re planning the most incredible 40th birthday blowout or your company’s next big corporate event.  Congratulations!  Lighting is an important design aspect for any event.  Whether you choose subtle uplighting for a candlelit glow or you go big and dramatic with a color rich theme, lighting will heighten the look and ambiance of your event.  It can also be used to distract your guests from your least favorite feature(s) of your venue. Before you get started, we are letting you know what works and more importantly, what doesn’t.  Let’s get started!

Dance Floors:  Black glossy and black and white dance floors will not take gobo projections.  Translation: your monogram or brand logo will not be seen!

Drape:  Black and navy are classic colors, but black and navy drape do not light well.  If you decide to go ahead and uplight one of these drape colors, we advise that you double the number of lights to get it to light properly.  The same goes for projecting patterns or gobos on these color drapes.  White light will not show properly on dark drapes, nor will it work well on white drapes.  It becomes too stark.  A neutral color, like gray, is a much better choice.

Floor Plans:  When designing your floor plan, including décor pieces in the room and lighting elements that need power, you need a place to run the cords.  Cords can either be taped down to the floor or if the room has rigging, the power can be run up the wall and across the ceiling.  Some wireless options are available, but they don’t always work.

Rig Points:  If you’d like to incorporate chandeliers or similar hanging elements, your venue must have rig points in the ceiling in order to hang them.  Double check with your venue since some places do not have rig points!  Figure out where your venue’s rig points are before you design your floor plan.  The rig points might not always match up with your floor plan and you’ll discover that you can’t suspend that amazing chandelier because there’s no hang point.

The takeaway here is to know the ins and outs of your venue before you spend precious hours designing the event of the year just to find out it may not work.

Pittsburgh Event Lighting is a full-service lighting company. Your special day deserves lighting effects that bring out the beauty of everything. We believe that your event should be handled with great care, precision, and planning. Call today at 412.379.3907 or visit http://pittsburgheventlighting.com for the best lighting in Pittsburgh.