Tips for Lighting Your Wedding Reception

There are so many things I could say about lighting for sessions, ceremonies, etc but for now I am going to stick with one topic: RECEPTION LIGHTING. Because this is often something that can be controlled and we see SO many different scenarios.

One of the most common things to happen during the first dance is for all the lights to be turned off. Which means people are usually dancing in the dark. Less light makes people feel more comfortable! But when it is too dark that can sacrifice the quality of the documentation of your moments. However, there is a great middle ground where people can feel comfortable without it being super dark.

String lights! You can never have too many. Trust me, Lex and I are all about them. I hate using flash and don’t like bringing out external lights especially when I don’t need to. If you are a photographer that likes using lights, than that is totally fine. I just feel like it takes away from the moment. And it is not that I don’t know how, trust me. I use all sorts of lighting set ups for corporate work I never share. And I always bust my flash out for dancing. (keep reading below). I feel like especially during the first dance or when dancing with your mom and dad, having bright lights pointing right at you or a flash going off all the time is distracting and takes away from the moment. Not to mention, there is something SO magical about the warmth of a string light reception that enhances your moments instead of a light going off an taking away from them.

Plus, I think more often than not your photographer or videographer will swoon a little when they walk into the space. I mean, who doesn’t love string lights?

Can’t put up string lights? Candles. DJ lights, accent lights around the room always help too. For our wedding, we bought these colored lights that you can put on the floor and point up to project certain colors on the wall. We used it behind the head table to add a splash of color to our outdoor wedding. Tina and AJ used them directly below in the first few photos to bring some pink tones to their reception.

We don’t often get to a reception and see that there aren’t DJ lights or any lights but it does happen. We recently met a DJ who worked for a company and thought the lights were unnecessary and got in the way of the party. I had to stop myself from disagreeing because I am passionate about this topic. Bring on the funky and colorful lights please!

I can’t speak to every photographer or videographer about this subject but I can speak to my team and I. We have had several people connect with us BECAUSE of the way we photograph receptions. Their biggest request is photos of everyone having fun, with the lights streaking across the image. During a reception we like to get creative with our shots and the best way we do that is working with the awesome party lights provided by a DJ.

I totally get that people don’t like to dance in a well lit room. Your guests are more likely to bust a few moves if the reception hall is darker! But embrace the colors. Let them get people in a fun mood to get out on the dance floor. You won’t regret it!