Last week re-cap

Hello out there in blog world.  I thought that I would take a moment and re-cap what has been the busiest week in Solus Lighting LTD history.  Ok, well it's only 7 months in the making but still...it's history!

We were honored to have the opportunity to light the Sean Moore Memorial event.  This benefit was to raise funds to give some local students a vocal scholarship.  Many many great irish bands played the event and fun was had by all.  We took the irish theme of the event to a whole new level by projecting shamrocks on the ceiling of the main hall, as well as making the Irish flag with uplights in the new banquet room of the venue.  Check out some pics below and more on our Facebook page!

After we were done creating fabulous lighting for the memorial event, we at Solus Lighting LTD took our talents to the east side to do some wedding lighting.  First up was a wedding with festival lighting.  We hung "east 4th" (a little hometown reference for all of you Clevelanders out there) light strings over the dance floor.  With a zig zag design and the swags at all different heights, many people choose this type of lighting design for several reasons.  It is a fun, festival lighting feel.  However, it can also serve the purpose of bringing a high ceiling down so that the space has a more intimate feel.  We also had some uplighting at the base of the small maple trees at each corner of the dance floor.

We finished off the great weekend with another wedding.  This one had many different elements of lighting that we have talked about before on this blog as well as on our website.  Uplighting around the perimeter of the venue, palm leaves for a ceiling wash with texture, a custom monogram projected on to the dance floor and chinese lanterns hung over the dance floor.  Now typically I am not a fan of chinese lanterns, but this design has changed my mind.  Check out these amazing shots below...and don't forget to stop by our Facebook page and website!

What is your lighting vendor doing for you?

I have been a lighting designer for over 12 years. The last 5 years, I have primarily focused my services to special events. Planners and coordinators are the lifeblood of my business, and I was hoping to get some opinions and feedback on what is most important to all of you. It doesn't matter where you are located to participate in this discussion. After all, customer service and producing stunning events are universal in this industry. Any insight you can offer on the following questions would be appreciated:

-What is your current lighting vendor doing that you like?
-What is your current lighting vendor doing that you do not like?
-If you could wave a magic wand and change things about your current supplier, what would you change?

Other thoughts, ideas, and comments welcome!


-Maureen E. Patterson

Light up the Museum take 2

Museums are a unique space in which to hold an event.  Solus Lighting LTD recently lit up the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for a wedding reception.  The lighting package consisted entirely of incandescent lighting fixtures...some used as uplights for the skeletons of the Kirtland Hall of Prehistoric Life and some used to project palm leafs around the space.  We also recently added fixtures to highlight some of the permanent exhibits that show creatures in their natural habitat.

Have a look at some of these shots and to see more check out our website and our Facebook page.  Contact us for more information about lighting up the museum for your event!

Light up the Museum

Solus Lighting LTD had the excellent opportunity to light up a wedding at the Akron Art Museum.  It was a night to remember for all.  We had many lighting elements in all corners of the space.  The lighting package consisted of a mixture of LED and incandescent lighting fixtures.  The LED fixtures were used for lighting the architectural features of the space, for a ceiling wash outside on the terrace and also for dance floor lighting.  The incandescent lighting fixtures handled the work of uplighting, pattern projection and food/bar stations.

Check out some of the shots of the event below as well as on our website and on our Facebook page.  You can also see some awesome pictures taken by Ken Love Photography.

Sean Moore Memorial Event

Please come out and join this great cause - awesome live music, good food and tasty drinks.  Lighting by Solus Lighting LTD.  Tickets available at the door.

Tent Lighting

A popular choice for summer and fall wedding receptions is to hold them in a tent.  There are all different types and sizes of tents, and therefore all different design options and price scales for lighting a tent.  You have all of the same options of designs in a tent that you would in a more traditional reception space (i.e., a ballroom, or banquet center).  Most people wouldn't think that would be the case, but there are very little limitations when dealing with lighting a tent.

Check out our website for some awesome tent pics, and then give us a call to talk about how we can light up your tent.
Below is an example of a recent graduation party that Solus Lighting LTD lit.  I have included some shots of the tent before we started, a day shot of the completed hang and a shot of the final result.

Uplighting

Ok, it's been a while since my last intro blog.  I have known that I wanted to talk about uplighting for a couple of weeks, but have been trying to organize my thoughts.  That hasn't happened yet, so I am just going to wing it here.

Uplighting is probably the most common type of wedding venue lighting.  It can be used for most any event, but it seems that these days uplighting is a must at wedding receptions.  Wether you go with a static look, or have color changes happening through out the event, it is an affordable way to change the entire feel of a space.

Let's talk a little about what options are available to achieve this look.  First up is the simple one color look.  This can be achieved with incandescent lighting fixtures.  Solus Lighting LTD can provide you with any color you can imagine for your uplighting.  We will sit down with you and talk about the theme of your wedding, what colors you are going to have in your wedding party apparel and what colors are being used in any decor elements for the reception.
The second option for uplighting is to use light-emitting diode (LED ) lighting fixtures.  These fixtures, while a bit more costly, have the greatest flexibility.  We can have a subtle scrolling color change through out dinner at your wedding reception, a classic look for the first dance and then use these same fixtures to get crazy and do some fun looks during the party/dancing portion of the reception.  The LED fixtures while having this awesome flexibility, are also very green - as they do not use much power at all and will not produce any extra heat in the venue.

So that covers the "how", now on to the "what".  What should we uplight in your venue?  One option is to uplight all the walls through out the entire space.  This can make an extremely impactful first visual impression on your guests.  If your budget doesn't allow us to uplight the entire space, then we can scale it back a bit and just uplight the architectural features of the space.  Yet another option would be to put uplighting just behind the head table, food stations and/or bar area.

This might sound like a bunch of decisions to make, but we can walk you through the entire process from beginning to end.  As always, Solus Lighting LTD offers free consultations and site walk throughs to ensure that we are going to make your big day just as you envision.  So check out our website or give us a call.