When you are planning an event, there are many things to be considered: You have to find the perfect venue, choose your theme, order the right food and create the customized gorgeous décor. But, there is another component that must not be underestimated: LIGHTING! Clever use of lighting can support your event theme and create an effective atmosphere in your venue. It can also minimize the need for other décor. You can illuminate room-filling effects with dramatic light. For lighting your event, as far as creativity is concerned, the sky is the limit!

Venue Lighting

You can create indoor and outdoor light effects. Inside events offer plenty of possibilities, but you can also use lighting to deliver a stylish upgrade your tent at the next corporate summer party!

One of the easiest ways of creating a certain atmosphere is changing the color of the light. For a nice and cozy atmosphere, think about using pink, red or orange light. Indirect lighting creates a comfy environment. Install pipe and drape around the perimeter of the room and shoot lights behind the curtains or use lights that can be thrown up on the walls or on pillars.

If you are planning a winter-themed event, white and blue lights create a frosty ambiance. Here is a picture of a Bright Ideas-produced event. We created a wonderful winter scene using white linens and furniture and projected light-blue lighting on white walls. We also used some winter gobos on the walls and ceiling.

See how the light is illuminates the walls? Doesn’t it look gorgeous?

Another really cool way of getting creative with light is to use gobos. These patterned projections come in almost every shape and color you can think of, which makes them a perfect solution for customized yet affordable venue decor. You can project them onto the floor, the ceiling or walls and even use them in an outdoor tent. For a Christmas party, try to create some snowflake or Christmas tree gobos. If you would like to add some glamour to your venue, have check out these amazing tree gobos on the ceiling of the tent in the picture.

Light up your décor!

Feel like lighting up your whole venue is a little too much for your event? Don’t worry! You can still achieve some really nice effects by simply using some light inside your décor centerpieces. It doesn’t matter if you use traditional candles or modern LED lights, both ways will definitely look amazing.  And there are many bright décor ideas to choose from.

For example, have a look at this gorgeous centerpiece: Simply take a tiny LED light and combine it with some colored marbles and a  nice flower in a glass. The items don’t cost much, but the effect will be huge!

Another cool idea are these glow-in-the-dark jars. Just grab some jars or vases and swab them with glow-in-the-dark paint. When you put the glass in the sunlight during the day, at night they will automatically begin to glow in the dark.

They look really awesome just by themselves, but you could also combine them with fresh orchids, ostrich feathers or velvet ribbons to enhance the look of the jars.

Top Lighting Trends

Thanks to technical progress, you can now illuminate almost everything. This gives us some really nice opportunities for our events. One of the biggest trends right now is illuminated furniture! Did you ever see a glowing bar for example? These bars use LED technology, so they don’t use much power and they can even change colors! You can set up a customized program before your event starts and surprise your guests with a green-lighted bar for the reception and a blue one at dinner time. You can also rent LED lounge furniture to support the chilled-out character of your lounge area. Or think about getting illuminated tables for your next dinner to give it that ‘special something’.

Want some more pictures to pique your imagination? Why not check out our Pinterest board. We collected some additional lighting ideas for your inspiration.

You may also like the following blogs:

Summer 2014 – “Hot Pink Event Ideas”

Embracing the Exotic

The Beauty of Brazil