3 Reasons Why Lighting up Your Wedding is a Bright Idea

Welcome back to the Bodleian Wedding Blog. Today, we aim to shed some light on how to make your wedding shine. Lighting is so important; it’s particularly important in an entrancing, grade 1 listed building like the Old Bodleian. Lighting can be used to enhance your décor and improve your overall experience in the Bodleian. It creates atmosphere, and boosts impressiveness. Lighting can be used to really transform the space.  

1: In the bleak midwinter

You can really get the most out of Divinity School by lighting it up. But how does this work?

As aesthetical as 200 LED lanterns filling the Divinity School does sound, the light generated by these just won’t cut it. One of the most impressive things about the Divinity School is its incredibly intricate stone-carved ceiling. This ceiling certainly needs attention during the winter months and LED uplighters are your way to go.

What are uplighters?

Uplighters are LED lights that channel direct beams of lights upwards. These lights can vary in strength and colour. Plus, if we’re thinking green, LED uplighters are great because they’re much more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, but they still look and feel the same.

At the Bodleian, uplighters are the most effective way to light the room because they are easy to set-up and switch on, they are placed around the sides of the room meaning that they don’t take up much space, and the light bounces off the all-important ceiling, creating a wow-factor for you and your guests.

2: Lighting up the party!

So far, we have focused on autumn/winter wedding receptions, but what about summer weddings? Is lighting necessary during the summer?

Put simply, the answer is yes. If your guests are partying until the early hours of the morning, lighting is necessary. Unlike modern venues, at the Old Bod, it’s not just a case of turning on the lights at the end of the night.

During one of our events in 2019, there was one occasion where an events manager asked us if we could ‘turn the lights on’ as dusk settled in. We politely had to explain that the reason it was so dark was because the ceiling doesn’t have any lights and it therefore wasn’t a simple task of just ‘switching the lights on.’ (They hadn’t considered the importance of factoring lighting into their budget – whoops!)

Fortunately, you will not need to worry about turning the lights on, because our wedding reception packages include 20 standard uplighters that are provided by AV and Lighting Company, THAT Event Company. When booking your wedding with us, we will put you in touch with their team to discuss all your lighting and AV requirements. Then, on the big day, their team will turn up at the start of your hire time and get to work on brightening the room for your wedding breakfast and evening reception.

Do you have a specific colour in mind?

Maybe you’ve chosen your complex hydrangea arrangement, but you’re worried the lighting will clash. Again, don’t panic. THAT Event Company will work with you to find the perfect colour combinations that will not only match your colour theme but will also bring the evening to life.

(On a side note, warm white and amber uplighters would pair perfectly with white hydrangeas!)

3: So many options

We’ve mentioned this in previous posts, and we’re about to mention it again. You have so many options when it comes round to lighting your wedding. Consider for a moment: You wouldn’t have a photoshoot without good lighting, you certainly wouldn’t see a stage production without bold and dramatic lighting, so why compromise on lighting for a wedding? Your wedding photos will be filled with group shots of you and your loved ones in the venue that you fell in love with, so why not capture those precious memories with beautiful lighting?

We’ve come up with a few other lighting suggestions based on previous weddings:

• Ceiling wash/projections – This really gets the party started. Spotty balls of glitter projected around the room
• Festoon lighting in the Old School Quad – Works well if you want to pop outside for a breath of fresh air. The party can continue outside then too!
• Band lighting – Want to create a gig-style evening reception? Consider getting additional lighting that can be placed around your band or DJ

Until next time…

We hope this post has inspired some sparkly new ideas about how to maximise lighting at your wedding. For more details and additional décor ideas, click here to read more. Thanks for reading and see you soon!

Photo credits (by order of appearance)
–Allister Freeman
–byLumiere
–Alexandra Jane Photography
–Zaki Charles Photography

Website: visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/venue-hire/weddings
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