Your wedding should be an event to remember.  You’ve planned every minute of your big day and like any production, you need to remember to plan your lighting.  Lighting is a great way to create a mood and can enhance your theme.  There are many lighting options from which you can choose, from fun and exciting to elegant and formal.

Lighting for the Wedding Ceremony

Whatever style you’ve chosen for your wedding ceremony, whether you’re going with ultra formal and elegant or quirky and fun, the lighting should reflect your theme.  The proper lighting can enhance your dress, for instance.  Did you choose a dress with an explosion of sparking crystal beading?  Then you need to make that dress shine like a sunrise with subtle lighting spotlighting and highlighting every facet.  Are you getting married on a raised alter?  Think stage and set the mood with dozens of candles to cast just the right glow.  The time of day you choose for your ceremony will also determine your lighting choices.  If you’re getting married in the morning, take advantage of the natural light that may be available in the church or other structure.  Is it an evening ceremony?  Candles or ambient lighting can create just the right romantic setting for your vows.

Lighting for your Wedding Reception

The wedding reception is, first and foremost, a celebration.  It’s a time for the whole family to let their hair down and have a great time as they congratulate you on your marriage.  Lighting can have a huge impact on the theme you’re trying to create.  If your reception is at night, you may want to consider creating a night club atmosphere.  A few colored disco lights and a mirrored ball can turn your event into the party of the decade.  If you’re going for something a little more elegant, you can still have the mirrored ball to add sparkle, but use white lights instead of color to keep the party on a more elegant basis.

Is your reception happening in the afternoon?  In that case, you’ll want to consider increased lighting option throughout the event.  If the party rolls on past sunset, you’ll need to supplement the natural light you may have had earlier in the day.

Don’t Forget the Pictures

You may have hired a professional photographer to capture both portraits and candid images throughout the big day.  Remember to communicate the lighting conditions of both the ceremony and the reception to your photographer so they can plan for the right film and shutter speeds.  You’ll also need to find out if they have their own stationary lights for the portrait session after the ceremony.  Lighting is crucially important to flattering photographs of you, your wedding party and your guests.

Think Theme

Weddings today have become more and more theme oriented with individuals choosing to honor their heritage with themed weddings.  An Irish wedding may want to incorporate green lights to highlight a few areas of the reception hall, for instance.  A Valentine’s Day wedding can utilize red lights.

Whatever lighting you choose for your wedding, be sure to do a test run to make sure all of the fixtures are working properly.  Even candles should be checked to make sure the wicks are long and strong enough to burn correctly.  And remember, for the cost of a light bulb, you can easily go from elegant to fun and back again, simply by adding a little color to the fun.

Author Bio: Andrea Boley is a writer and blogger with Storkie.com.  She has been writing articles and blogging for over 10 years and is always happy to share her passion for life and experiences through her work.  Her educational backgrounds in psychology and journalism have given her a solid foundation from which to draw experience and expertise in an array of topics.

You choose your wedding dress, wedding car, bouquet, wedding cake, and even the venue by yourself, very carefully considering every small requirement so that everything gets the touch of your personal taste and your partner’s choice. All these things are meant to make your wedding special and unique, thus, we are particular and anxious that every aspect of your D-day is just perfect. These things tend to reflect our persona and choice. However, when it comes to your wedding decorations most people usually leave it on the mercy of event managers or decorators. What couples don’t realize is that decoration is an important aspect of a wedding and it is the first thing that the wedding guests will notice. Thus, you cannot afford neglecting the wedding decoration and giving it a special personal touch for your dream wedding.

Selection of the material and styling for your wedding decorations can either be based on the wedding theme or you can select it as per your and your partner’s personal preference and budget. For instance, if you are a nature lover and are fond of flowers, then you can use more of a flowery arrangement at your wedding venue, which can include your favorite flowers or colors. On the other hand, if you want an indoor type arrangement then some balloon decorations with a combination of ribbons, silk drapes, flowers, and frills can also be a great idea. Here you can also play with colors by including either multi-colored balloons or ribbons or simply going with the while and red (the color of love) balloons. Experimentation can be done in terms of the shape of the balloons.

Every couple has their own idea of their wedding ceremony execution. If both the bride and the groom are of little introvert and do not like too much at one place, then having a formal decoration with very decent and elegant decoration is a good option. On the other hand, if both the bride and the groom are of fun loving and like to flaunt their style, then bringing some versatility to your decoration can be a good idea. In this case, you can play with colors and bring some unique items together to provide the venue a funky and playful look.

If you are among those, who have been planning from weeks to do something unique in your wedding so that it becomes the talk-of-the-town in the coming days, then go for over-the-top and sophisticated decorations. Try some specific themes like beach wedding, musical, 70s theme, retro theme, fairy tale and others, to give a unique charm to it. Try captivating lighting arrangements, if you are tying the knot in the night. Lighting schemes along with soft silk drapes with flowers will not only look elegant and charming, but it also very well fits in tight budget. It is not essential that lighting effect is given through artificial lighting only, but it can also be brought through candles. Candles are a good way to bring out a romantic and soothing atmosphere to your wedding; try scented and colorful candles for more effect. Another innovative lighting effect can be spotlights; however, they are more of a technical category and can prove out to be a little expensive.

Hope all these ideas and your personal touch ensures that you have a perfect wedding that will be cherished by not only you, but your loved ones as well for years.

This article has been written by an expert associated with WeddingMuseum.com, a company providing wedding decor ideas for today’s brides and grooms.