The best lighting is an essential consideration for any event. Lighting can transform a venue and change the mood or tone of an event. Lighting options for outdoor venues don’t have to be bland or predictable. New fixtures, better features, and adaptable lighting systems create all sorts of options. Better lighting for outdoor venues will elevate the overall event and allow you to offer more in each event package. Let’s take a look at some ideas you could use for your outdoor venues and events.
Why You Need Better Lighting for Outdoor Venues
Exterior lighting helps ensure the safety and security of the entire venue area. Poorly lit spaces provide more cover for trespassing or vandalism when the venue isn’t active. Poor lighting can also create hazards for guests when the venue is in use.
Good exterior lighting creates a sense of welcome for guests, and discourages illicit entry on the premises after-hours. Better lighting at outdoor venues also helps prevent accidents: when guests can see pathways, steps, surfaces, and clearly lit entryways, they can navigate from one area to another easily. A good outdoor lighting system doesn’t have to ruin the mood to enhance safety and security. You can adjust light settings for the right ambiance where people are gathered, and still create safe movement with the right lighting fixtures in the right places.
Upgrade Event Packages with Better Lighting
When you create an event package, you consider a lot of factors: use of space, number of guests, activities, setup, supplies, parking, staff needed, and more. You might not have considered lighting elements as a way to add value to packages without adding much additional cost.
With exterior lighting, you make a one-time investment in the fixtures and the lighting system, then a small amount for each usage. Fortunately, with LED bulbs, these lights are energy efficient. You’ll use the upgraded lights over and over again, for many events and many clients. You can also use temporary lighting displays which you offer to clients at a mark-up from what it costs you to have them professionally installed for the event.
Perfect lighting always helps set the mood. Event packages that cover the lighting requirements gather more attention than others. Offer a handful of lighting options, according to the event package, to enhance value and give customers more customization options for their event.
Better Lighting to Improve Events
Good outdoor lighting has so many benefits: it creates a warm welcome for guests. It highlights and adds drama to the architectural features and decor of the venue. Outdoor lighting creates ambiance, and makes the space both comfortable and entertaining. You can use exterior lights to adjust the mood of an event, from high-energy to romantic or cozy. Proper lighting has a lot to do with whether things feel right at an event. Overly bright, harsh lighting evokes a very different atmosphere than well-placed and properly angled fixtures with the appropriate brightness. Exterior lighting is what creates that first impression, too. Want your guests to be wowed? It starts long before they walk inside. Better lighting for every outdoor part of a venue, from driveway to deck, creates that polished look.
How to Offer Better Lighting at Your Outdoor Venues
Here are a few of our favorite exterior lighting ideas. Some are essential parts of a venue and would be part of every guest’s experience. Other could be used selectively and added as options to event packages.
● Moonlighting or ‘Moonscape’ Lighting – Moonlighting inmates the natural moonlight into the yard. This type of lighting gives a subtle and elegant vibe. It’s perfect for an evening wedding reception or a corporate dinner; the mood evoked is both classy and magical. It’s become more trendy recently, so don’t miss out on this soft and natural effect that can add drama and whimsy to many events.
● String Lights – Trees wrapped with string lights look festive and are, of course, perfect for holidays. But string lights go way beyond Christmas traditions. They’re suitable for many special events, and trees are just the beginning. String lights can create a “wall” of lights, separate different areas, and add a soft glow to tents, canopies, and gazebos. Bistro lights are another type of string light that have larger bulbs and create a cafe-like vibe for outdoor dining areas and patios.
● Entrance Lights – An eye-catching entry is bound to make the best possible impression. The proper lighting matches the decor and feel of the entire venue. The right fixtures can create a warm, homey feel or something more dramatic and impressive. What’s right for your venue?
● Lighting for Water Features – Water features are always visually interesting, and at night, with the right lighting, they’re downright mesmerizing. Adjust the lights for a customized feel that can range from exciting and energizing to calming and contemplative.
● Photo Booth With Spotlights – Create an interactive ‘Photo Experience’ for weddings, social gatherings, and corporate events. All you need is a good backdrop, some props, and great lighting. It’s an easy upgrade for event packages that gets guests involved with very little additional cost. Plus, the photos become automatic marketing material for the venue.
These aren’t the only types of better lighting for outdoor venues. We love working with our clients to design the best exterior lighting system. Get in touch today to schedule a free consultation.