Outshine the rest with some of our favourite lighting ideas for your big day.
At Big Star Lights, we mostly advertise our lights as Christmas lights, but in reality, the applications are endless! One way that we love to use them is at weddings. Below are a number of ways you can use our LED products to bring light to your or someone else's special day.
There are two kinds of lighting: practical and decorative. Practical lighting is that which provides illumination for the sake of safety and comfort. Decorative lighting is used to create ambiance by contributing to the overall lighting scape. Both of these kinds of lighting are applicable indoors and outdoors.
The following ideas are mostly decorative, but some of them have the potential to be used as practical lighting. It all depends on how many lights you use!
1. String Lights Over Dining Area
“Festival” lighting can be defined as lights hung over an open space, be it a dance floor, a dining area, a patio, or a courtyard. At outdoor weddings, this kind of lighting is especially wonderful because it creates a lower ceiling even though you are outside and can also see the stars! We would suggest using G30 “Super Bright Globe Lights” or G50 festoon bulbs for this purpose, as they are beautiful round LED light bulbs that give off ample light while also being aesthetically pleasing. Each bulb is a foot apart, and they come in black, green, white, or brown wire, to fit whichever colour scheme you are working with.
2. Edison-Style Patio Lights
“Edison” shaped bulbs are all the rage these days, as they give that classic feel, while creating ambiance and a lot of light. Strung inside a tent, over a dance floor, or even around the perimeter of a party, these lights are a beautiful addition to any event. While the G30s listed above are also great for this purpose, the Edison bulbs and ST64 spiral filament bulbs are more conspicuous and can be the sole source of lighting if that is what you are looking for. It is possible to purchase Edison bulbs at places such as Costco, but anything you buy at the store is going to be made of glass, and will likely be incandescent and therefore less efficient. Our bulbs are made of plastic and the filament is actually LED, making them the most durable and efficient Edison style patio lights on the market.
3. Fairy Lights
Fairy Lights are named as such for a reason – they really do give off a magical vibe that is akin to the likes of Tinker Bell and her fellow fantastical fairies. Because these lights are made up of tiny little LEDs soldered directly onto copper wire, they are inconspicuous and incredibly malleable.
First of all, we love putting them in large mason jars or lanterns, to be used in place of candles. There are two ways to do this. One is to use the battery operated ones, and put one string in each receptacle. The second is to use the wall-powered lights, and connect the jars to each other to make it look like it’s all one system. We suggest using gold or silver wire for this purpose.
The second way we love to use these lights is in a table centrepiece. They add so much ambiance to a table scape, whether they are intertwined with greenery or used on their own. Obviously if they are being used with greenery, we would suggest using fairy lights on green wire, however if the lights themselves are the centrepiece, we love the look of gold or silver in that context.
While most of our products are perfect for outdoor use, we have found that fairy lights are best used as indoor string lights.
4. Curtain Lights
String lights can create a perfect backdrop when paired with fabric or used on their own. The “curtain” is made by multiple strings of 5mm mini lights hanging vertically, in parallel to each other. You can either use twinkle lights (where every few lights twinkle sporadically) to create a dancing effect, or you can use static lights if you would like a solid background of ambient light. This look, especially when the lights are shining through some pretty fabric, creates a perfect backdrop for the head table at a wedding, for example. It’s also a great way to disguise a wall or area that you do not want visible during the event.
While you could wire each string separately, we have an option that will make it much easier for you. With our “T” line, or curtain lighting power chain, you can attach multiple strings to one power cable that has multiple connectors on it. Now that’s handy!
5. Lighted Ornaments
Maybe string lighting isn’t your or your client's cup of tea for the big day… maybe you just want accents instead! Ornaments are the perfect solution. We have aluminum spheres that can be adorned with the lights of your choosing. They can either be wrapped or filled with 5mm mini lights, or a single Edison bulb can be hung inside to give the illusion that there is candlelight shining through. Each of these methods is equally beautiful.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to lighting an event, but listed above are five methods that we absolutely adore. We hope you like them too! If you have any questions about lighting your wedding or event, feel free to get in contact with us.