The anticipation
Something you will realize about your wedding is that all the planning, all the anticipation and all the eagerness culminates to the point of ‘I do’. The moments after those words have been uttered you feel the joy of the event flood over you, and relax completely in the beginning of something wonderful. What you also don’t know is that at this point you are in such a mindset that you just want everything to happen as you planned for it to happen, you want it all to run smoothly and you want to be able to enjoy the next best part of your wedding: the reception. But don't overlook the sound and lighting!
The reception
The reception is a place of celebration, it is a place for emotion and for love, where speeches take place and there is room for dancing, it is a place for interacting with one another and enjoying everyone around you. It is for all these reasons that the reception requires so much attention and detail when it comes to the sound and lighting that you hire for the event.
The event
The first thing you will have to do is contact the company you are hoping to hire for the event, you should have the following details in mind: type of event (aah.. a wedding), date of the event, location, theme (if there is one), how many guests you will be having, the dimensions of the space you are looking to fill and what kind of music you would like (band, DJ, laptop). If you have hired a band independently then you should know as to whether they come with their own sound and lighting equipment (monitors, microphones and so on) and if not what they will be needing for their performance.
Fulfilling Your Sound
The sound you will need all depends on what your budget is, what you are trying to create, what your restrictions are (if there are any) and how many people are at the event. If you are looking to have a full-blown dance floor with music coming from every crevice of the room then you will require more sound to create more volume. If you have a sound restriction this is also important to know as there is certain equipment and certain devices that can be used to muffle sound and keep it low.
One great thing about organizing your wedding is that you get to have a truly personalised experience that is specific to you and your partner, don’t forget these details when you are hiring your sound and lighting. If you having an all pink wedding then it is important to let the organizers know this, that way they can provide you with speaker with pink covers or other such décor to fit in with your overall theme.
Budget will obviously affect your decision, but luckily with something like sound there are many devices available that cost less, which are still of a high quality. If budget is your main concern then let the company know this so that they can work from there. For a medium-sized wedding it is generally better not to have unnecessarily large systems that will overpower the space in terms of their sound, for outdoor weddings you might need a PA system with more projection, and so on. So everything is specific to how you would like it done, where you are having it and how many people you are looking to cater for. Sound experts will be able to advice you what is best for your wedding as well, once they have an understanding of what it is going to be like (this is why, in my opinion, site checks are a key ingredient to getting the sound and lighting of an event right).
Illuminating Your Space
Lighting is the device you will use to transform your wedding from something good to something great. The way in which you elucidate your wedding and your reception will determine it’s rating on the magical hierarchy, and lets face it, it doesn’t matter who you are or what the theme is for your wedding, everyone wants to add a touch of magic to that special day. This is the unique ability that lies within wedding lighting.
There are some people who know exactly what they want and how they want their wedding day to look, and there are some who have no clue. Luckily people who are involved in the lighting and sound business will generally have a pretty good idea of what works best where and what lighting best suits your situation (here again I could make the point about site checks before an event but I think you’re beginning to understand it’s importance in terms of getting the entire look of the event right).
In quick summation here are some of the lights available to you when organizing your wedding event: LED disco lights, which are used on dance floors and move to the beat of the music. These lights are great to project from a height as they cover more space and can have a towering effect.
Another light used on the dance floor is a Moving Head, this form of lighting is more intelligent and allows you to implement a whole range of effects. For example you can create a spotlight for when the bride and groom are doing their first dance. They also have a range of colours, images and gobo filters that can create entrancing and incredibly effective outcome in a space.
Par-can lights are another favourite at weddings because of their ability to illuminate from above or from below, which can be great for throwing light on a focus point in a room- perhaps different coloured lights that shine up a walk way as people come in. Par-cans can colour wash an entire room if you need them to so they are a great way to add effect to a space. A central note to make is that these lights require individual power sockets, so power supply and outlet sources are an important aspect for every venue to have.
Lighting can be used to make an area look chic, make it look sophisticated, create colours and mystical themes, they can be used subtly (fairy lights in a tree) or blatantly (spotlight on a dancing couple) but basically their uses are endless. Any professional will be able to help you in transforming your space into something that you want it to be, and something that you love.
The Finishing Touches:
Lighting and sound make up a huge part of your fundamentals when it comes to turning your wedding into something you want it to be, however there are a few electronic added extras which can make a beautiful difference as well: smoke machines, bubble machines or laser lighting all add an effective touch.
Part of the deal when hiring sound and lighting and organizing an event is that you want things to run smoothly, you don’t want to even think about glitches going off during speeches or lights faltering during your first dance, so make sure that you are assured of professional quality when you hire the equipment. A good company will do a site check to understand what you are going to need and where they are going to put it, as well as finding all the power outlets and planning accordingly, they will install the equipment safely and securely and in time for your event to start, and they should have a promise of quality and professionalism when completing a job.
