Maine Uplighting Service

Over the next few months I’ll be publishing a variety of articles discussing many of the lighting options I offer. Understanding event lighting can be overwhelming, especially when it’s something new to you. Odds are, event lighting isn’t something you are familiar with and I get that. The educational component is a key factor in helping you understand the differences between services. My goal isn’t to make decisions for you; instead, I want to give you the tools necessary to assist you with making your event a representation of you and your vision.

Today we’re going to take a closer look at uplighting. If you’ve been to a formal event in the past few years, there’s a good chance you’ve seen uplighting. But, what is uplighting and how can it be used? Let’s dive in and take a closer look. For my clients, the uplighting fixtures that I use are battery operated and communicate wirelessly. So, what’s the big deal? Is that better than traditional uplights? The short answer: yes! Battery operated and wireless communication offers complete flexibility and customization. In the design of the space you aren’t bound by electrical outlets and you don’t need to worry about cords everywhere. The result is a clean look that is visually appealing.

Think about your event space and the architecture of the room. The goal of uplighting is to enhance your event space by strategically placing lights. Uplighting should compliment the event space and bring out its unique features. When I design a space, I place fixtures around the perimeter of the room and look for balance and symmetry. Once the perimeter is done, I look at the architecture and determine what else may need to be lit. When done correctly, the transformation that uplighting provides can be dramatic and breathtaking. What I love most about uplighting is that it is elegant and the perfect addition for sophisticated/formal events.

Total Transformation

So what’s all the hype? Uplighting has become increasingly popular over the years. When I first started offering uplighting 10 years ago, battery operated fixtures weren’t available. Every light had to be powered and to get them to change color required a lot of labor. Therefore, the cost for uplighting was significant. Over the years, technology advances have increased the functionality of uplighting and how it can be used. Because of the batteries and wireless communication, the cost of the individual lights are higher now but the ability to deploy a full lighting package is much less. Why? Labor costs are significantly less. Which means that you get a bigger, better and more feature packed experience for less.

Feature packed? What does that mean. We’re talking about uplights. Well, the best part of wireless communication is that the lights can be programmed to change color. This means slow fades, quick color changes, following along to the beat of the music or alternating color schemes. The options are endless and this is a huge benefit to using the new technology. Sure, uplighting a room one color all night still looks nice. But when the entire room changes color seamlessly there’s definitely a ‘wow’ factor. 

A Lasting Impression

It’s also important that the uplighting service you contract has enough fixtures to adequately light the room. I hear stories all the time about companies using 6 or 12 uplights for a space. If you haven’t seen it before, you may not know that you’ll definitely need more fixtures than that! Ask for before and after examples before making a final decision.

Here are just a couple of before and after examples from recent events I’ve done in large spaces that required a lot of fixtures.