Wedding Venue Lighting

Every venue has unique lighting needs based on the elements of their location. For a wedding venue, the lighting has to be just right to satisfy the happy couple on this important day. When it comes to lighting for weddings, here are a few tips to help make your venue the go-to choice for brides and grooms.

1. Choose a flattering color temperature

For a wedding venue, the lighting should be flattering for skin tones without being overly harsh. If you choose a temperature that is too cool, it may wash out colors and feel too much like an office setting. If you use something too warm, you run the risk of a dingy vibe. The goal is to stay closer to warm colors since they are more flattering than harsher, cooler tones, but stay more to the middle of the Kelvin scale. A good rule of thumb is to opt for around 3000-3500K for a gentle, romantic color temperature that is flattering.

2. Avoid overly high lumen outputs

Along the same lines of color temperature, having a solution with a high lumen output can be off-putting for this type of location. While you don’t want to sacrifice on visibility, wedding venue lighting should be softer and more romantic in general, and one way of achieving this is with lower lumen outputs.

3. Create layers of lighting

Of course, not all weddings will require the same lighting levels. If you create layers of lighting, you leave the wedding party the option of customizing the lighting situation to better meet their preferences. For example, you should have general overhead lighting, wall sconces, plenty of outlets and options for hanging lights, and some natural light sources if possible. With several layers of lighting, the happy couple can choose the right lighting option for their needs.

4. Light the space in sections

A great way to create a layered lighting plan is to plan lighting in sections. For instance, overhead lights may be ideal for the dining area while wall sconces are better suited to the dance floor area where lower lighting is needed. It is important to conceptualize the pace as sections or areas instead of as an overall room in a traditional sense.

5. Make it easy to control

If you have created a carefully planned, layered lighting system for your wedding venue, there should be multiple controls in place as well. A wedding day is a special day in the lives of not just the happy couple, but all of their family and friends there to witness it. The lighting controls should be easy to operate and user-friendly for the average person without intense lighting training to help the day run smoothly.