Lighting is a huge aspect of your wedding. The lighting you choose creates the mood, the tone, and the feel of your big day. Creative lighting can transform your ceremony and your reception.
We wanted to know what hot lighting trends to expect this wedding season. So we turned to Brian Waltz, owner of award-winning LightSmiths, a boutique lighting vendor in Seattle.
Brian has been a trailblazer in the wedding industry for decades. He told us he was the first in the region to create and use wireless uplighting. “I could uplight a room in five minutes and no one else in town could do this.” He has also been working with wireless chandeliers and wireless pendants since 2013. Wireless comes in handy because you can use it at venues that have little to no outdoor power. And there aren’t those pesky cords getting in the way of the design and more importantly your guest’s safety.
While he started as a DJ, his background in electrical engineering made for a natural transition to lighting. And it’s not your grandmother’s lighting. Brian’s motto? If you can dream it, he can do it, saying, “I get really excited when people ask for something non-standard. I tell all my clients you’re going to run out of budget before I run out of ideas.”
One of those ideas? Grasselieres.
The grasseliere is part chandeliere part greenery. It’s a wireless drum mesh frame you can attach greenery and florals to, real or faux. Brian’s invention sprung from another trend. “I see greenery trying to be attached to everything right now. I wanted to play off that.”
One lighting trend Brian says that will blow up in 2020 is the twinkle light canopy look.
Instead of a couple swags of string lights, the string lights become the canopy of the tent. “I get tired of seeing string lights everywhere, so what can I come up with that’s different?”
And this is definitely different. Cue the Wonderwall. “I had a couple for a wedding and they wanted a twinkle light backdrop behind some drapes. I thought that’s cool. But they wanted a big dance party too so I thought, ‘how do I do something different?’” Brian built a twinkle light backdrop that’s pixel mappable so it was warm and classy during dinner until the DJ took over. Then the Wonderwall could do dynamic things like matching the hype and energy of the dance party.
Brian also told us rustic, pendant lights are a hot item. “You can do a lot more of these than you can with grandiose chandeliers, where you can only do two or three. I have a unique inventory.”
And the trends don’t stop here. Brian is always thinking about what’s next. “I’m the vendor who is trying not to do the same thing every time out. How can I make this wedding different.”
Lighting makes your wedding different. It ensures your photos look incredible. It keeps the party going into the night after the sun has set. And it creates and fosters the mood. That’s true even if you’re designing a custom installation, uplighting your reception or bringing in lighting to hang from the ceiling.
Lighting for your wedding truly is a game changer!
Until next time! ~Katie
Photography & Video Credit | LightSmiths
