What is uplighting and where does it go?

Uplighters are fixtures placed at floor level that wash colour up a wall, drape or architectural feature. Spaced evenly around a room's perimeter they set the overall colour of the space and are the fastest way to change its mood.

Can the lighting change during the evening?

Yes. Scenes are programmed in advance and recalled through the running order: a bright, neutral state for the ceremony and speeches, something warmer for dinner, and a saturated look once the dancefloor opens.

Will the lighting affect our photographs?

Strongly, which is why it is designed rather than left to chance. We keep the light on faces neutral and reserve saturated colour for walls, drapes and features, and we are happy to coordinate directly with your photographer.

Do you need mains power at the venue?

Most installations run from the venue's existing sockets, and we check the available circuits during the site survey. Larger productions with heavy AV or LED loads may require additional distribution, which we arrange in advance.

Is the lighting design included with other styling?

Lighting is quoted as its own scheme but always designed alongside the draping, florals and stage set, since the same fabric and the same flowers read completely differently under different colour temperatures.

Creative Event Lighting Design London

Creative event lighting design is the planning and programming of every light source in a venue, the colour washing its walls, the beams picking out its architecture, the fixtures on its stage and the levels that shift through the evening, so a room supports each part of an event as it happens. Avari Events has designed lighting for weddings, corporate conferences, fashion shows, live productions and private celebrations since 2009, working throughout London and the Home Counties. Our schemes combine architectural lighting, ambient washes, uplighting, stage and feature lighting using professional fixtures, all programmed as scenes and recalled through the running order. Colour, depth and focus are specified to your theme rather than set on the night, and our technicians install, focus and operate the rig. The effect is a room that changes convincingly between ceremony, dinner and dancefloor.

What does an event lighting design include?

Typically four layers. Uplighting sets the base colour of the room, washing walls, drapes and architectural features from floor level. Ambient and architectural lighting picks out the character of the building, columns, arches, beams, so the venue keeps its identity after dark. Feature lighting focuses attention on the things you have paid to be looked at: the stage set, the cake, the centrepieces. Stage and performance lighting then covers speeches, first dances and live acts, coordinated with the audio visual rig.

How does lighting change through the evening?

Through programmed scenes. We build a bright, neutral state for a ceremony or speeches where faces need to read clearly and cameras need something to work with; a warmer, lower state for dinner that flatters the tables and pulls the room in; and a saturated, higher-contrast state for the dancefloor. Each is stored in advance and recalled on cue, so nobody is adjusting a fixture in front of your guests.

How much does event lighting hire cost?

Lighting starts from £250 and is quoted by the number of fixtures, the complexity of the programming and whether a technician stays on site to operate the rig. A perimeter of uplighters around a single room sits at the modest end; a fully programmed production with moving fixtures and stage lighting sits well above it. Installation, focusing and derig are always included.

Will the lighting flatter our photographs?

It will if it has been designed to. Saturated colour belongs on walls, drapes and features, not on faces, so we keep the light falling on people neutral and let the colour do its work behind them. We are glad to speak to your photographer or videographer before the day and adjust the scheme to suit how they intend to shoot.

Which events do you light?

We design lighting for weddings, award ceremonies, receptions and gala dinners, conferences, fashion shows and exhibitions across London, Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Essex and the surrounding counties.

How do we plan the scheme?

Send us your venue, your date and your running order, and we will design a lighting scheme around them. Get in touch to start.

Creative Event Lighting Design