Idyllic Illumination: Five Ideas to Light Up Your Wedding
10 Nov 2015
Illuminating a wedding with magical lighting can transform a space and create a spectacular experience for you and your guests. Explore the glowing world of lighting with these five bright ideas
Image gallery
Image gallery
The venue is booked, the menu organised, the theme decided, but what about the lights? It may not be a consideration that is at the front of your mind, but creative lighting can make a wedding sensational with the right props.
Ellis Walby, creative director of prop company, Aisle Hire It, shares her top five lighting ideas for weddings and explains why unique illumination can make a wedding reception.
1. Giant illuminated letters 
Nothing creates the same wow factor as giant light-up lettering. Whether you have your newlywed surname in lights, first name initials, opt for Mr & Mrs, hire a giant light-up love heart, or want to spread the love with giant ‘LOVE’ lights, they create an instant impact of illumination. 
Giant letter lights look fantastic on any dancefloor. They create wonderful mood lighting, add a memorable addition to first dance photographs, and pictures throughout the wedding reception. Light-up letters such as ‘I DO’can also work beautifully at the ceremony –whether that’s in a quirky city venue, a beautiful country house, or your local church –which leads us to our next point…
2. Lanterns
Lanterns are not only very practical when it comes to lighting a pathway or entrance in the evening, but they are extremely romantic and give the event a heart-warming feel. Lining the church aisle or ceremony aisle with blossom trees and lanterns creates a truly elegant scene that will never go out of style. If candles and lanterns, combined with the essence of bringing nature inside (for example blossom trees or bay trees) are good enough for royals William and Kate, then they must be a winning combination. Even the celebrity wedding of Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan included a beautifully-styled wedding aisle, to include wonderful trees, floral elements and plenty of lanterns.
3. Quirky illuminated props
Adding quirky props makes any event or wedding fun. Many couples we’ve spoken to lately had magical engagement stories. A few were engaged in New York or other arts of the States, so used our 6.5ft Statue of Liberty which gestured to the American/NYC vibe, and the light created a special glow in the evening. Different, unexpected and very effective.
4. Votives and tea lights
Whether it’s a high class luxury wedding, a timeless affair, a rustic woody vibe, or a retro chic wedding, tea lights and votives will always add a gorgeous lighting effect. From crystal votives to jam jars –scattered across the bar, on the cake table and on tables around a centrepiece is bound to assist that warm, mood lifting lighting effect.
5. Candelabra 
These can create such an elegant, timeless feel. In the evening, they allow an indulgent mood to be set, with the slow, gentle flickering of their candles. Naturally, you’ll need to go for non-drip, long-lasting candles, but when guests have watched their friends or family marry, and have indulged in a wonderful meal and the odd drink, adding candlelight in the form of beautifully chic candelabras is always a good move when it comes to reception styling.
Don’t be afraid to keep things simple with plain candelabras. If you’re in a beautiful high ceiling venue, go for metre-high ones, which we have to hire, as they’re incredibly impressive. Alternatively, get creative with your florist, or spend the time sourcing alternative candles or different coloured candles. The rainbow inspired retro fairground photoshoot we organised had a simple, five-armed candelabra, which was a metre tall, with five different coloured candles. It worked perfectly for a modern, cheerful twist on something so very elegant and timeless.
Want something different? Here’s Ellis’s top tip: Don’t forget the awesome colour palettes and lines you can create up the walls by using venue uplighters. If you’re not feeling candelabras, but are after something glamorous but different, why not consider hiring crystal globe centrepieces, with LED light-up plates inside to inject colour?
Where to hire:
Aisle Hire It offer all of the lighting props mentioned, which are available here:
- LOVE Lights
- MR & MRS letter lights, Illuminated Initials, I DO letter lights
- Illuminated Heart
- Illuminated Sparkle Heart
- Lanterns
- Statue of Liberty Illuminated Prop
- Votives and Tea Lights
- Candelabra
- Crystal Globe Centrepieces
- Venue Lighting
Photo credits:
Rob Tarren Photography
Saz Chapman Photography
Salshan Photography
Samuel Docker Photography
Bigeye Photography
Marta May Photography
