Whether your wedding ceremony or reception is held indoors or outdoors, these wedding lighting ideas will amp up the romantic vibe.
How Do You Light up a Wedding?
There are many ways to light up your wedding. But in this article, the wedding lighting ideas mainly use the festoon lights and fairy lights. These lightings are easy to hang and decorate.
Wedding Lighting Ideas Using Festoon Lights For Reception Areas
1. Alternate Festoon Lights and Streamers
Streamers or flag buntings are a good substitute for the usual leafy garlands for a festive feel.
The vaulted ceiling brings an emphasis on the viewer’s attention upward. Make use of the available rafter or ceiling joist by wrapping it with black cable commercial fairy lights for a more cinderrelaesk feel.
Add frosted warm white light bulbs just below the rafter to add a more celebratory atmosphere. And you’re ready to dance the night away with family and friends.
2. Greenhouse Vibe Wedding Lights
White motifs draped with fabric and lush greens can give an outdoor feel to an indoor wedding occasion.
You can accentuate the visual presentation by letting the black Edison droppers with lights curiously hang out of those lush greens. As if they are excited to be part of this milestone in your lives.
It will be a classic joyous occasion your family will be talking about for years.
3. Maypole-Style Drapes In-between
Look up and enjoy the white hanging festoon lights in between the drapes. It will be a great contrast behind a starry outdoor night or even the darkest night.
Let the wind help you celebrate the occasion by blowing the drapes into a wavy-like action…no wind? Add industrial fans facing up to do that for you.
Tip: For a more secure fit and fewer wires going here and there, attach Festoon lighting splitters to make thighs less of an eyesore. Plus, it would be easier to set up and take down.
4. Over the Dance Floor
The dance floor is where the magic happens during a wedding. All the more if it’s an outdoor celebration.
Lead your guests by highlighting the area with poles on each corner and lining them up with festoon string lights. You can opt to have the multi-coloured ones or just chill with white lights.
So, remind your guests to bring their dancing shoes…or just go barefoot on the grass.
5. Classic Festoon Lights Canopy
A garden dinner reception will definitely look and feel better by setting up a canopy of festoon cool white light bulbs. People enjoy food more when they can see it better. And the faces of people across them too.
Feast, celebrate with light, sounds and great food.
For energy-efficient tips: Use outdoor solar festoon lights.
6. Accent Wall
Blank and drywall where the bride and groom are sitting? Accentuating it by draping warm white tear drop light bulbs from top to bottom.
This will be an excellent backdrop for beautiful photos to capture intimate moments of the newlyweds with their new in-laws.
Wedding Lighting Ideas Using Festoon Lights For Arches, Altars, Backdrops, and Photo Booths
7. Wedding Arch
A wedding arch is essential in capturing the meaningful celebration of bride and groom…choose among the various festoon lights to match that wedding arch motif.
These lights can withstand any weather conditions, so you can set them up a day before without worrying about any damage. Plus, they’re durable and shatterproof too.
8. Rustic-Themed Photo Booth
Guests will always want to stamp the occasion with photos to last a lifetime. Drape the backdrop with festoon white hanging festoon lights or white low voltage commercial festoon lights for a more amazing still photo.
You can also opt to attach a remote for low voltage dimming of lights so they can have both options.
9. Boho Altar
Boho weddings are primarily natural, relaxed and doused with a few chic elements. It focuses on authenticity.
Suggests a loose and actual atmosphere with a little bit of something. What else should be that something but the altar where the true magic happens…
Line it up with white commercial festoon lights with a festoon light rope dropper pendant. There will undoubtedly be no limits to creativity in marking the day you and your partner become one before the Lord.
10. The Big Tree Altar
Saying your “I Do’s” on a big tree altar is truly a wow factor.
Lining up with lights is a challenge. Not all string lights can manage such. It’s a good thing festoon lights are created for this very purpose.
Connect each string light with light splitters and extension leads to make the lights continuous and to achieve the design you want.
It’s shatterproof, and its LED lights are ECO-friendly. So you can enjoy a worry-free evening. Now, stop looking at the lights and face your man for a heart-felt “I do.”
11. Monogram Backdrop
Surround your monogram backdrop with the choice of fairy lights, clear warm light bulbs, frosted bulbs, warm white, hanging lights, and pendant light bulbs, just to name a few.
Your options are your imagination with festoon lights.
Wedding Lighting Ideas Using Fairy Lights
12. Wind Around The Wooden Pillars
Barn weddings are still popular these days. If you plan to host your wedding inside the barn, one of the ways to set up fairy lights is to wind them around the wooden pillars.
Tips: If possible, choose fairy lights and extension cords that blend in the background.
13. Accentuate Sheer Drapery Panels Hanged On High Ceilings
Drapes are an excellent way to fill soaring ceilings. Aside from draping gauzy panels overhead, you can add fairy lights to achieve a dream-like atmosphere.
These wedding lights create the illusion of starry skies though the venue is done indoors.
14. Behind Floor-To-Ceiling Curtains
Having floor-to-ceiling curtains in a wedding reception adds softness to a rustic theme. But this wedding decor can still add drama with fairy lights.
Though this is a simple lighting design, it is also one of the elegant wedding lighting ideas anyone can think of.
15. Spread Fairy Lights on Marquee Frames
Marquee frames are easy to set up for outdoor wedding receptions. While some use fabrics for the roof tent, let’s use fairy lights instead.
Thousands of fairy lights on the tent’s roof will transform the reception area into an enchanting wedding celebration.
Top Tip: To make the best of this lighting design, ensure that the fairy lights are evenly spread. The little extra effort required to evenly space the lights apart will make this wedding lighting idea extra special.
16. Under My Umbrella
Using umbrellas for wedding decor may not be that popular among the many wedding lighting ideas. But, if you want to be quirky and different, use umbrellas as an accent in your venue.
No one wants to rain on their wedding day, yet it’s not a bad idea to create an illusion of glittering rain with strings of fairy lights.
17. Twinkling Branches
Staying indoors doesn’t mean we can’t use other elements like branches. Instead of simply winding fairy lights on the pillar, level up your wedding lights by adding decorative birch (or aspen) branches to the posts. Then, wind the fairy lights up on the decorative branches.
18. Cascading Icicle Lights
For wedding venues set on tropical landscapes, having cascading lights is one of the best wedding lights. Simply hang fairy lights vertically from tree branches, and that’s it.
This idea can also be done indoors if the reception area has high ceilings.
Tips: The keys to a good display are:
- correct spacing
- choosing the right design for the tree
- proper power layout
19. Lanterns of Fairy Lights
Fairy lights are also great on table set-up. You can add a lantern filled with battery-operated pillar candles and fairy lights and make these a centrepiece.
20. Vineyard Fairy Light Canopy
This wedding lighting idea mimics the grapevine canopy. Set up your long tables in the middle of the canopy of string lights.
Ensure the string lights are cascading down to the ground to make the best out of this type of lighting plan. Make this set-up utterly romantic by adding glimmering candles to the table.
Bonus Wedding Lights Ideas
21. Balls of Lanterns with Festoon and Fairy Lights
For classic wedding receptions, you can never go wrong with lanterns. Regardless of your theme, lanterns fit well.
You can go with different colours, shapes, and sizes. These wedding lighting ideas are simply stunning.
Other Options: Encased the pendant lights with round lanterns.
Ball lanterns, string lights, fairy lights, pendant lights, canopy lights, and other wedding lighting ideas are great additions to make your wedding vows even more memorable.
Whatever you choose will matter, but remember that all these are secondary to the day you and your spouse celebrate a bond that will last a lifetime.
