How Lighting Will Effect the Dancing at Your Event
Lighting is such a crucial element when it comes to getting a wedding crowd to dance. If you’re dreaming of a ragin’ dance party after your reception dinner, you can not overlook the wedding lighting:
- For indoor venues, does your venue have dimmers?
- For outdoor receptions, what time is sunset?
- Are you planning to string up bistro lights or paper lanterns?
- Are there curbs/stairs or other tripping hazards for your guests?
- Strobes? Disco ball? Black light? Choices! Choices!
L: (c) Natalie Bopp, R: (c) Leif Brandt
DARKER WEDDING LIGHTING = MORE DANCING
The bottom line? People are much more likely to cut loose & party when it’s darker–this is why nightclubs are dim! Broad daylight is just not conducive to partying–period. While this is intuitive to most people, the average engaged couple has only ever seen their wedding venue during the day & will not find out until their reception whether they planned too much light (uplights + string lights + the back-of-room lights can’t be dimmed…) or not enough (guests tripping, bottles getting spilled).
In these videos below, see first hand how darker/dimmed atmospheres fared against bright atmospheres.
(c) San Diego DJ Staci
DARK WEDDINGS
Tatum & John :: 1.3.15 :: dancing starts @ 1:30 in the video
Brittany & Zach :: 10.6.14 :: dancing starts @ 4:28 in the video
(c) San Diego DJ Staci
BRIGHT WEDDINGS
Chrissy & Aaron :: 10.27.14 :: dancing starts @ 3:12 in the video
Samantha & Mark :: 9.28.14 :: dancing starts @ 2:38 in the video
(c) San Diego DJ Staci
WEDDING LIGHTING PHOTOGRAPHY TIP
If you like the look of the darker images for the dance floor, make sure to tell your photographer that you prefer “natural wedding lighting”…i.e. no flash! Many photographers (ok, most) will fight you on this. I highly recommend you try the Wedding Photojournalist Association‘s listings if you don’t want to worry about convincing your photographer why you prefer things “au natural.”
