Meeting Planners: Lighting Tips for Indoor and Outdoor Events

If you’re planning an event, don’t overlook the importance of lighting. The table decorations, stage displays, pipe and drape, and registration table are important, but the lighting at an event can make a BIG impact on the entire look and feel of your event.

Event planners spend countless hours and money planning and decorating event spaces, but you don’t have to stress out about the lighting when a lighting designer can do the work for you. Event lighting is extremely versatile and can make an ordinary space look extraordinary at both indoor and outdoor events. Your event will shine with some creative lighting strategies. When you use the right lighting, it will drastically transform your event.

THE CLASSIC: Uplighting

One of the most common event lighting techniques to enhance your event is uplighting. Uplighting is easy! Place the LED light fixtures with white or colored bulbs at floor level in an upward fashion and watch your space become engulfed in light! Display near walls, archways, under tables or in corners of a room to project the most effect. Uplighting creates an elegant ambiance with the soft glow of color in your event space. It’s easy to match the color theme of your event with colored LED lighting fixtures. The inviting glow will brighten up virtually any space and set the tone for your event.

THE CREATIVE: Novelty Lighting

Bistro lights, twinkling lights, mini lights, moon balloon lights, chandeliers…Oh my! Get creative with novelty lights for your indoor or outdoor event space. You can add an extra special touch to tie in your event theme with these special lighting options.

THE RAVE: Moving Lights & Lasers

Create an exciting look at your event with moving lights and lasers! It’s flashy, stimulating, exciting, and adds an intense feel to your event’s experience. While these moving lights and lasers are typically used at live music events, they can be used at almost any event! The colorful, dynamic light show you get with moving lights and lasers will definitely “WOW” your attendees!

THE CUSTOM: Goes Before Optics (GOBO)

Are you looking for a classy, but cool way to make your logo or marketing message stand out with a creative use of lighting? Lighting designers can create a custom “Goes Before Optics” (GOBO) for your next event. The GOBO lighting display is a custom template that allows light to shine through for projection onto a flat surface (like a wall, building or other object) that will best show off your message. Instead of creating a GOBO with your logo, you can also go with something standard, like leaves, shapes, hearts or a monogram to keep it simple at your event.

THE DRAMATIC: Swagging

If the event space has less than desirable looking ceilings, you can completely transform your event space with ceiling swags or ceiling drapes. This is the literal description: you cover your boring ceiling with draping to create an impressive focal point with lighting to complement it. The first step is to choose the drapery that will best reflect the lighting and appropriately match the decor and event space. If you are using colored lighting, white is typically the best color choice. (It’s also a neutral color that is optimal for anything from a wedding reception with 150 attendees to a formal gala with 5,000 people.) Once the drapes are in place, the lighting fixtures built into the ceiling will be adjusted to accentuate the drapery and provide a spectacular space for your event.

Lighting designers are true artists that can bring your event to life! Consider relieving the stress of decorating your next event by hiring a lighting designer.