Lighting plays a huge role in the vibe and success of your dance party! In this blog post, please keep in mind that I am only talking about lighting during the actual dance portion of your day. There is a lot that can be done for lighting during cocktail hour and dinner to make a room look awesome (we offer up lighting at HiFi Productions!), but that won’t be the focus right now.
Usually, here in Kansas and surrounding areas we do the first dance and parent dances after dinner and directly after toasts. For those dances I keep the lighting very simple, maybe turning up the white lighting that is focused on the couple dancing but absolutely no moving lights or shining crazy colors and putting spots on the couple. I don’t think that having a green colored party light hitting the bride’s dress will look real good in this heavily photographed moment. Plus, the song is most likely a slow song and doesn’t call for such energy. During those special dances keep the lighting very simple.
Immediately following the Mother/Son dance or whatever might conclude those special dances, we typically go into opening up the dance floor. At that time it is best to dim considerably or turn off the house lights all together. Please keep in mind that you do want some lighting around the room for guests to be able to see but overall things should be darker, especially over the dance floor. If the wedding DJ is placed properly, the dance lighting will hit the floor correctly. Besides DJ lighting, you really want that area to be as dark as possible. People don’t like to dance in really well lit areas.
Many times I have seen an outsourced ambiance lighting company being hired that might hang light bulbs and a ton of extra lights directly over the dance floor. Although it may look amazing during cocktail hour, dinner and during your first dances, if this is a route you’re considering taking please be very open to turning those lights off during your dance party as they will only work against a party vibe and full floor.
I won’t get much into the specific type of DJ lighting being used because trends can change quickly but overall I typically don’t like “blinky” lights or lighting that throws tiny balls of light on to the guests. This can look bad in pictures projecting red spots on faces or a bride’s white dress and I think the look is typically out dated. A DJ having control over and knowing how to use lighting is important. Some DJ’s might just set their lighting to auto mode and leave it there all night. The energy of the lighting should match the energy of the music and auto mode or sound mode doesn’t do a great job of that. The same lighting patterns all night long can also fatigue the eyes and wear off the appeal of getting out there.
When booking a venue it’s a good idea to consider the lighting of the room. Are you looking at booking a barn in the country that has a ton of natural lighting? Keep in mind that in the summer, that room might not get dark until 9:30. Ask if they have shades or any way to darken the room when the party starts. If you’re wanting a more “club” type of feel, try a venue that doesn’t have as many windows.
In the end, hire a DJ that can control some classy lighting on the dance floor and try to keep the room as dark as comfortably possible, especially on your dance floor. I promise you that this will enhance the chances of people being willing to get out there and let loose!