Are you or someone close to you getting married this summer? Do you know what kind of lighting you are using at the event yet? If yes, then we applaud you. If not, we are happy to offer some tips and ideas for wedding light decorations! We know as well as anyone that lighting often gets forgotten about until the last minute.
There are two kinds of lighting: practical and decorative. Practical lighting is that which provides illumination for the sake of safety and comfortability. Decorative lighting is used to create ambiance by contributing to the overall lighting scape. Both of these kinds of lighting are applicable indoors and outdoors.
The following ideas are mostly decorative, but some of them have the potential to be used as practical lighting. It all depends on how many lights you use!
Lights over dance floor & dining areas
“Festival” lighting can be defined as lights hung over an open space, be it a dance floor, a dining area, a patio, or a courtyard. At outdoor weddings, this kind of lighting is especially wonderful because it creates a lower ceiling even though you are outside and can also see the stars! We would suggest using “Super Bright Globe Lights” for this purpose, as they are beautiful round LED light bulbs that give off ample light while also being aesthetically pleasing. Each bulb is a foot apart, and they come on black, green, white, or brown wire, to fit whichever colour scheme you are working with.
Something that we offer at FestiLight for outdoor wedding lights is a portable post system that allows you to hang lights anywhere! Want to put your dance floor in the middle of a field with no tent? No problem! These posts will allow you to get the same festival lighting feel.
Edison Style Patio Lights
“Edison” shaped bulbs are all the rage these days, as they give that classic feel, while creating ambiance and a lot of light. Strung inside a tent, over a dance floor, or even around the perimeter of a party, these lights are a beautiful addition to any event. While the G30s listed above are also great for this purpose, the Edison bulbs are more conspicuous and can be the sole source of lighting if that is what you are looking for.
It is possible to purchase Edison bulbs at places such as Costco, but anything you buy at the store is going to be made of glass, and will likely be incandescent and therefore less efficient. Our bulbs are made of plastic and the filament is actually LED, making them the most durable and efficient Edison style patio lights on the market.
Fairy Lights
Fairy Lights are named as such for a reason – they really do give off a magical vibe that is akin to the likes of Tinker Bell and her fellow fantastical fairies. Because these lights are made up of tiny little LEDs soldered directly onto copper wire, they are inconspicuous and incredibly malleable. While there are a million things you can do with these lights, we have two methods that we love the most.
First of all, we love putting them in large mason jars or lanterns, to be used in place of candles. There are two ways to do this. One is to use the battery operated ones, and put one string in each receptacle. The second is to use the wall-powered lights, and connect the jars to each other to make it look like it’s all one system. We suggest using gold or silver wire for this purpose.
The second way we love to use these lights is in a table centrepiece. They add so much ambiance to a table scape, whether they are intertwined with greenery or used on their own. Obviously if they are being used with greenery, we would suggest using fairy lights on green wire, however if the lights themselves are the centrepiece, we love the look of gold or silver in that context.
While most of our products are perfect for outdoor use, we have found that fairy lights are best used as indoor string lights.
Curtain Lights
String lights can create a perfect backdrop when paired with fabric or used on their own. The “curtain” is made by multiple strings of 5mm mini lights hanging vertically, in parallel to each other. You can either use twinkle lights (where every few lights twinkle sporadically) to create a dancing effect, or you can use static lights if you would like a solid background of ambient light. This look, especially when the lights are shining through some pretty fabric, creates a perfect backdrop for the head table at a wedding, for example. It’s also a great way to disguise a wall or area that you do not want visible during the event.
While you could wire each string separately, we have an option that will make it much easier for you. With our “T” line, or curtain lighting power chain, you can attach multiple strings to one power cable that has multiple connectors on it. Now that’s handy!
LED Ornaments
Maybe string lighting isn’t your cup of tea for your big day… maybe you just want accents instead! Wicker ornaments are a perfect solution. We have spheres and stars, in multiple different sizes, and in both natural wicker and painted white wicker. They can either be wrapped or filled with 5 mm mini lights, or a single Edison bulb can be hung inside to give the illusion that there is candlelight shining through the wicker. Each of these methods is equally beautiful.
These ornaments are most often hung from trees, however they can also be used inside tents, above a dining area, or even inside a building with tall ceilings. A small tip is to use a mixture of sizes, which provides more visual texture to the space.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to lighting an event, but listed above are five methods that we absolutely adore. We hope you like them too!
If you have any questions about lighting your wedding or event, feel free to get in contact with us and visit our Outdoor Lighting Event page for more ideas
Happy Summer!