Hire our Stage lighting

Planning event lighting

Three jobs lighting does

Light the people so they can be seen and filmed; light the room so it feels like an occasion; and light the performance so the band or the first dance has something happening behind it. Most events need all three, and they come from different fixtures: par cans and moving heads for faces and stages, uplighters for walls, blinders for the moment the music starts.

Working out what you need

• Start with the front light. If faces are dark, nothing else rescues the photographs.
• Add movement — moving heads, blinders — only where there is a performance or a dance floor to light.
• Haze makes beams visible and turns a few fixtures into a show; check the venue allows it before ordering.
• Photographs and video are worth mentioning: they change how much light is needed and where it comes from.

Dry hire, or designed and operated

• Dry hire suits venues with a fixed rig and someone who knows it.
• We can design the lighting for the room, rig it, programme scenes for speeches and the first dance, and operate it.
• Or we rig and programme it and leave you one button to press.

Common questions

How much lighting do I need for a wedding?

Enough to light the top table and the dance floor, plus colour on the walls if the room is plain. Uplighting plus four or six fixtures on stands covers most receptions; a band pushes the numbers up.

Is haze allowed in my venue?

Many venues allow water-based haze and refuse oil-based smoke, usually because of fire alarms. We use water-based haze and check the venue rule before it goes on the van.

Can the lighting be set to our colours?

Yes — the fixtures mix to any colour, so tell us the scheme or send a photograph and we will set the palette before the event.