Why to Hire an Event Lighting Planner

The five senses - sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Ask anyone what the five senses are and sight is always first on the list. It is no wonder that light evokes such emotional responses in us. The right lighting can transform an area from dark and foreboding to warm and inviting. The best example of this is perhaps the sun appearing after a shower, bringing with it a beautiful and ethereal rainbow. Having the right lighting at your event can help make it a success. Which is why you should hire an event lighting designer. Lighting style and design vary from event to event depending on the nature and the venue of the event. A lighting designer will help you create the effect you want to with the right lighting scheme.

The key to great event lighting is to turn down the ambient lighting of the room by a factor of 20 to 30%. This darker area creates a canvas for the lighting designer to work on. Individual elements can be lit to draw focus on and your event becomes romantic existing and dynamic. For example you can highlight the bar with a soft blue or green hue, depicting it like a cool, refreshing oasis and bathing the buffet in a warm welcoming glow providing just enough light for the guest to see the food. In a corporate event the lighting can be used to showcase the item of focus, a new product for example. Dimming down the light will enhance the impact on the areas you wish to highlight and hide the less attractive elements.

Set aside a decent portion of the budget for the lighting. Labor is the main cost factor. Check the power availability at the venue. Factor this in when planning the lighting. The power circuits at the venue may not support a grand display. In this case you can hire a 25kw generator for about $800 a day. Also factor in loading and setting up time. The loading and setting up time is both labor and time intensive, but are inversely proportional to each other. If you require a quick setup hire additional labor, but check with your budget. Time is money, my friend.

Event management companies offer green exhibit lighting fixtures that use LED bulbs. These bulbs reduce the energy to achieve the same effect at a lower cost. LED also produces an insignificant amount of heat and since they produce no heat they can be packed up rather than waiting for the lights to cool down. In conclusion, the lighting at your event needs to have theme congruent to the purpose of the event. Highlight areas of importance like the bar, stage, buffet, etc. But remember to keep the lighting simple. Use different colors to draw focus to areas instead not too much lighting. If a lot is at stake at your event do not take a risk; hire a professional event lighting designer in conjunction with your event planner.