Stress-Free Wedding Planning Podcast #185: Uplighting Secrets, Elevating Your Wedding to Unforgettable Heights.
Uplighting does it all!
The Stress-free Wedding Planning Podcast
Recognized as one of the Top 60 Wedding Planning Podcasts by Millionpodcasts.com
Meet Sal and Sam, your hosts for The Stress-free Wedding Planning Podcast. Additionally, this podcast is for engaged couples who feel overwhelmed with wedding planning and family expectations but want a memorable and fun wedding day.
Join us in the Stress-free Wedding Planning Facebook group
Sal and Sam are your hosts, two professional DJs with over 80 years of combined wedding expertise and thousands of happy couples. Furthermore, they’ll guide you through planning your wedding. As a result, taking you from concern and being overwhelmed, to a memorable, fun, and stress-free wedding.
Also, listen for engaging interviews from event professionals and insightful topics.
In This Edition
In this week’s edition, we uncover the secrets that lighting can play in not only boosting your decor but also setting the perfect mood.
Firstly, discover how this lighting technique can elevate your big day from bland to breathtaking with just the tap of a button.
Additionally, get the inside scoop on avoiding common mistakes and ask the right questions.
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Stress-Free Wedding Planning Podcast #185: Uplighting Secrets, Elevating Your Wedding to Unforgettable Heights.
Host: Sal & Sam
Music: “Sam’s Tune” by Rick Anthony
Join our community for free tips and suggestions – Stress-free Wedding Planning Community
Produced by Atmosphere Productions in association with After Hours Events of New England
Transcript
Uplighting Secrets, Elevating Your Wedding to Unforgettable Heights.
DJ Sal: Welcome to Uplighting Secrets, Elevating Your Wedding to Unforgettable Heights.
DJ Sam: It’s one of the most powerful yet underrated design elements of your wedding: uplighting. And trust us, this one is a game-changer.
DJ Sal: Have you ever walked into a reception and instantly felt the room come alive? Yeah. That was no accident. That was Uplighting doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes.
DJ Sam: So today we’re breaking down the Uplighting Secrets the pros use to transform a space from bland to breathtaking, with just the tap of a button.
DJ Sal: And now lighting can not only just boost your decor, it also shapes the mood, the photos, and even the flow of the night.
DJ Sam: We’ll be discussing these aspects and tell you the critical questions you need to ask your Uplighting vendor before booking them. That’s all in today’s edition of the [00:01:00] Stress-Free Wedding Planning Podcast.
Speaker: Welcome to Stress-Free Wedding Planning, the podcast that will transform your wedding planning journey from chaotic to enchanting. Sal and Sam bring over 80 years of combined wedding expertise and exclusive insider information to the table. If you’re recently engaged, feeling the pressure of wedding planning, struggling with family expectations, but still dreaming of a joy-filled wedding. You’ve come to the right place. Get ready to unveil the best-kept wedding secrets. Discover practical tips and strategies and learn life-changing lessons for a stress-free wedding. Your unforgettable wedding day awaits. We’re here to take you on a transformative journey of love, laughter, and memories, so don’t miss out on the podcast, that just might change your life. This is the Stress-Free Wedding Planning Podcast with Sal and Sam.
DJ Sal: Thanks for joining us. Hi, I’m Sal from After Hours Events of New England. That’s After Hours Events Of N.E. dot com.
DJ Sam: I’m Sam from Atmosphere Productions. That’s atmosphere [00:02:00] hyphen productions dot com. Learn more about our experience and the journey to help you with Stress-Free Wedding Planning in the trailer or pilots of this podcast.
Vanessa: This is the Stress-Free Wedding Plan podcast with Sal and Sam.
DJ Sam: Uplighting is one of the most impactful and most overlooked design elements couples can use to elevate the look, the mood and the experience of their wedding day. We’ll explain these four insider lighting strategies.
DJ Sal: Instant Transformation: making the beauty of the room really elegant-looking and making it pop. Mood and Color Control: it could create romance or excitement. Photo Enhancement: proper lighting that makes your florals and all your decor look awesome. Dynamic Lighting Effects: modern wireless uplighting that allows smooth transitions.
DJ Sam: With the perfect uplighting plan, your wedding doesn’t just look elevated, it feels elevated. A few [00:03:00] well-placed lights can completely transform your space, set the mood and bring your vision to life in a way that’s effortless, stylish, and totally stress-free.
DJ Sal: But, first thanks to Katie for watching us on our YouTube channel. You can do the same and get a special shout-out by going to YouTube and subscribing to the Stress-Free Wedding Planning Podcast with Sal and Sam. Thanks again, Katie.
DJ Sam: Lets’s start by simply explaining what “Uplighting” is. Uplighting are fixtures of lights, typically wireless that go around the perimeter of a ballroom or event space to light up that particular area. They’re not floodlights. They are lights that light up a specific area of the wall or space that the light fixture is put in. These especially designed LED lights now they don’t actually have to be shining [00:04:00] up. They can also be hung from a fixture and shine down. Those are downlights, but they have the same effect. They’re lighting up a specific area or space. And these series of lights should be connected to a computer or some sort of lighting board so that instantly the lighting can change from color or texture or depth.
DJ Sal: Great way to describe it, Sam. You nailed it. Yeah, and here’s the secret. Uplighting is the fastest and most affordable way to completely transform your room without blowing your decor budget. You can choose warm ambiance for dinner or switch vibrant party colors, later on, for dancing.
DJ Sam: That’s the key Sal. The lighting, once they’re LED and wireless, gives you two looks for the price of one. I have known lots of clients that have done one color during cocktail hour and dinner, and then partied up with different flashing lights during dancing. We [00:05:00] love the efficiency of this.
DJ Sal: Now let’s talk about color psychology and vibes. Color choices matter ’cause they set specific moods. If you want something that’s more elegant, romantic, you could use a warm amber. Soft blush for that dreamy and timeless look. Bold purples and blues for the party atmosphere. It creates such energy at the right time of the night.
DJ Sam: The right lighting makes your flowers pop. Your cake glow and your photos look like they came straight out of a magazine. Photographers love it when they find somebody that knows how to light a space properly. Now there’s one color that I don’t like but this is a personal preference. I’ve used it in the past with clients and that’s the color green. For some reason my mind does not like green in a room. To me it looks like somebody just threw up. But that’s me. You may love the color green. But there are some colors that you are [00:06:00] gonna absolutely hate. So make sure you find a vendor that can show you all the different colors so that you can either match it with a dress, a napkin, flowers, tablecloth. That way you get the right color in that room.
DJ Sal: It’s funny, Sam, that you mentioned the color green, ’cause that’s one of those colors we try to stay away from all the time. So let’s talk about common uplighting mistakes.
Mistake number one, choosing a venue with beautiful architecture and letting it disappear in the darkness. One of the things I’ve seen is many facilities now are trying to do their own uplighting, but what they don’t realize, they don’t know how to do uplighting and they’re not lighting the right thing.
I’ve had a room, it’s, oh, it’s nice lighting all around the room, but you miss the most important parts of the room. The architecture, these nice columns that would just look beautiful, being lit from the ground up to the ceiling. These are things you wanna look for. You wanna make sure you hit the architectural part of the [00:07:00] rooms to make them look great.
And sometimes you have those false walls in a room, and people don’t put lights on those at all. You need to make those walls come alive and add lights to them too.
DJ Sam: Mistake number two. Too few lights. Now if you’re gonna do uplighting do enough to make it balanced. Sometimes I get clients that say “well I I only want two or three in the room”. Well that’s fine if you’re just lighting the cake. The rest of the room is gonna look empty. Also, too many lights can look ugly. For instance too much pink can make a room look like a pink Barbie palace. You know what I mean?
Absolutely there. That’s so funny and I have seen that, Sam. Mistake number three, letting your DJ or lighting company use old school lights. No, don’t do it. No, thank you. Wireless L.E.D lights and cordless, you have to have both words. Now, wireless and cordless. Wireless means we control it from a board or from a computer. Cordless [00:08:00] means it’s not tethered to the wall in an outlet. You want things that are battery-operated and movable, so you could do whatever you want with them, and they’re in a place that looks nice.
DJ Sam: Great explanation there Sal, and we’ve got loads more advice. But first do you have a question or concern? Go now to Facebook and join us on the Stress-Free Wedding Planning Community and now, in the Connecticut Wedding Advice Community. You can also join us on YouTube and just search for the Stress-Free Wedding Planning Podcast with Sal and Sam. Like comment subscribe, and get it first. We’d like to thank you for listening and watching on YouTube because of you, we are now ranked at number 13 in the Top 60 Wedding Planning podcast by million podcast dot com.
Vanessa: This is the Stress-Free Wedding Plan podcast with Sal and Sam. A podcast for engaged couples concerned about wedding planning and family expectations, but who wanna have a stress-free, [00:09:00] fun, and unforgettable wedding.
JR: You are not the same as the person next to you. You dress to reflect your personality. You enjoy customizing your drink at the coffee shop. Even your pet’s collars match at least two pairs of your pants. It’s only natural that your wedding would showcase your unique touch After Hours Events of New England gets this. They like to give their clients full artistic control.
If you find yourself lost, their team of event specialists can help. They handle everything from DJs, photo booths, event lighting. photography, videography, even officiants. Give them a visit on the web and call today. Let’s get planning. After Hours Events of New England. After Hours Events Of N.E. dot com.
Don’t forget to like and follow on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel. All at After Hours Events Of N.E. That’s After Hours Events Of N.E.
DJ Sal: And now it’s Wedding Tip Wednesday.
DJ Sam: On today’s Wedding Tip Wednesday. Engagement Shoot Footwear. For an engagement shoot, wear shoes that you can [00:10:00] walk safely and comfortably in. The scenery may look beautiful but wearing stilettos could be dangerous on rocky paths or sandy beaches. Trust me I’ve tried it. Safety first is the key. Here’s a pro Tip for you. Carry your shoes. Don’t wear ’em. It makes for a better shot and your photographer will love you!
DJ Sal: And that’s another wedding tip from Sal and Sam.
Adam: Wedding Tip Wednesday is available on the Stress-Free Wedding Planning Facebook group page every Wednesday. Join the group for free.
DJ Sam: Thanks for joining us back on our second half of our topic: Uplighting Secrets Elevating Your Wedding to Unforgettable Heights. We’ve already discussed color psychology and vibes and some common uplighting mistakes. I’m Sam from Atmosphere Productions
DJ Sal: And I’m Sal from After Hours Events of New England.
DJ Sam: And don’t forget, as I promised before, we’ll tell you about those critical questions you need to ask your uplighting vendor before booking them. Alright, [00:11:00] here come the insider secrets.
DJ Sal: You know how Sam and I always like to give tips. Here’s a couple. One is use color transitions. Start with your wedding colors for the cocktail, then switch to a romantic amber during dinner to change things up. And then of course, when it’s party time, use something vibrant and really creates excitement.
DJ Sam: Number two highlight key areas. Think about the cake table. Your sweetheart table. Your entrance. These photos will be absolutely stunning. Don’t forget your ceiling. Yes! Light your ceiling. Think about Starlight effects, cloud formations, patterns. Almost anything nowadays can be projected onto any surface. Also, now this may be something that some DJs don’t like, and some DJs do. I like to light up my speakers because they are column speakers. So I put a light in front of both speakers and you have a nice little lighting effect. So when people are dancing there’s at [00:12:00] least some lighting in the background for those pictures.
DJ Sal: All right, now it’s the time you’ve been waiting for those critical questions, you need to ask your uplighting vendor, before booking them. Now, very first question. Hard to believe you have to ask this, but it’s still a thing. “Are your lights wireless?” And let me add cordless. Again, wireless is transmitting, uh, information to the lights. Cordless means it’s not tethered to a wall, to a power outlet. “Can you change the colors during the night?” This could be something very important. Do you want it to be just one color through the whole night and just keep a bland look?
You wanna keep things exciting by changing things up a couple times. “Do you handle, setup and tear down?” That is very important too. Also finding out when do they have to come for setup? When will they be there for tear down? Because you need to work that out with your facility.
DJ Sam: A question that uh you should definitely ask a critical question is “Can I see examples from weddings at my venue?” Of course, not every DJ has been [00:13:00] to every venue but if it’s a popular venue they should be able to show you some lighting pictures that they have done or if not they can show you what the venue has done. And of course my favorite is “Are the lights bright enough for my space?” Most of the lighting of today’s technology will probably be bright enough for any space. But you’ve also gotta factor the size of the room, and how you want it lit. Because a ballroom and a barn, do not need the same amount of power or the same amount of lighting effects. So that’s a great question to ask “Are the lights going to be bright enough for the space?”
DJ Sal: So there you have it. At the end of the day, uplighting isn’t just about color, it’s about creating an experience. It’s the difference between a room that feels nice and a celebration that feels alive. With the right lighting, your decor pops. Your photos glow, [00:14:00] and your guests walk into a space that feels intentionally crafted just for your love story.
DJ Sam: Up-lighting has The power to guide the energy of the entire event. Calm and romantic when you want it. Vibrant and electric when the party kicks off. And the best part, it’s one of the simplest upgrades you can make with the biggest budget payoff.
DJ Sal: When you understand how to use lighting strategically, you’re not just enhancing your wedding. You are elevating the emotion, the atmosphere, and the memories your guests will carry long after the night ends.
DJ Sam: Uplighting helps you transform your space, set your vibe, and tell your story. All the while keeping things beautifully, effortlessly, stress-free.
DJ Sal Fusco: Now as you spend the next week planning your wedding, if you want me, Sam, or our community of stress-free engaged couples and wedding experts to answer any wedding-related questions, join us over in the Stress-Free Wedding Planning Facebook group.
DJ Sam: Once you’re in, go [00:15:00] ahead and share your concerns and worries, and we’ll let you know if you are on the right track or if there’s something we need to work on.
The link to join us is in the show notes of this edition, or go to Facebook and search for the Stress-Free Wedding Planning community.
DJ Sal: A new edition is released every Wednesday. Subscribe and get it first. Remember to do something nice for someone today, and if you can’t do something nice for yourself, we’ll catch you then. CAOI!
DJ Sam: Thank you for listening to this edition. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve just heard, leave a review and share it with a friend or someone who would benefit from this information. Until next time, it’s TTFN Tah Tah For Now.
Wayne: The Stress-Free Wedding Planning Podcast is produced and copyrighted by Atmosphere Productions in association with After Hours Events of New England.
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Atmosphere Productions LLC is a CT Wedding DJ with over 40 years of experience in wedding, radio, and nightclub entertainment.
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