Sound and lighting for a barn wedding

What a barn does to sound and light

A barn is beautiful in daylight and difficult after dark. Dark timber and stone swallow light, so a couple of lamps disappear into the walls. The ceiling is high, so sound has a long way to travel and comes back as a ring. Sockets are wherever the farm put them, and the floor is often original, so nothing can be taped down. Battery fixtures and a modest PA solve most of it.

Lighting the room

• Six or ten battery uplighters wash the walls and pick out the timber. Ten matter when the room has columns, side aisles or a long run of wall.
• Warm white or amber suits a barn better than strong colour. The building is the feature; the lighting is there to show it.
• Festoon along the beams or across a canopy adds a second layer of light that photographs well and needs no sockets. It is hired by the metre run.
• Light the ceremony end softly and evenly. A bright wash behind the couple puts their faces in shadow.
• Keep a practical light on the bar and the cake table. Those are the two corners guests walk to in the dark.

Sound in a hard room

• Put the speakers in front of the band or the speaking position, not behind them. A hard room plus speakers behind the microphone is how feedback starts.
• Start quieter than you think. A barn fills up with people and the room gets louder as the night goes on.
• Use radio microphones for the speeches so no lead has to cross a stone floor.
• Expect the low end to run away in a room with hard walls. A subwoofer is worth having for the party, at a lower level than in a carpeted room.
• A soundcheck in the empty room is not the same as a full one. Allow an hour, and check again once guests are in.

Power, access and the practical bits

• Ask the venue where the sockets are and what they will take. One circuit shared with caterers is common, and it is the reason a rig cuts out at the worst moment.
• Battery uplighters take load off those sockets, which is one of the reasons we use them.
• Check the load-in route before the day: gravel, steps, a narrow door and a low beam all add time.
• Confirm whether anything can be fixed to the beams and who is allowed to do it. That is the venue’s decision, and we will say what we need to make it safe.
• Ask about haze and the fire alarm before planning any beam effects. Old barns are exactly where a hazer sets off a detector.

The evening

A band in a barn needs a front wash so the audience can see them and the photographer has something to work with. Light behind the band separates them from the wall and gives the stage depth. The change from band to playlist is a cue, not a re-rig, so agree it in advance rather than at the end of the set.

What it costs

Six wireless uplighters are £70 for the event and ten are £100. Festoon is £1.50 per metre of run per day. The plug-and-play party PA is £115, or £140 with local setup, and includes a mixer, stands and a wired microphone for the speeches. The essential stage and band wash is £120. The live music atmosphere package, which adds pixel bars and room uplighting programmed for the band and the party, is £460 including setup and the front-of-house tops; the band brings its desk and monitors. The full production with moving heads and haze is £620. The quote covers your dates and the venue’s access.