Doin' it *UP* right - Light it up!

This is our reception room:

As you can see, it's pretty with it's little chandeliers, unique tiled floor and stone fireplace that rests in the center of the room.  It's going to hopefully comfortably hold about 200 people come wedding day.  And in the light of day like this, it's a nice room.  But it will be almost dark by the time our guests are escorted into this room come April 16th.  And I want to transform it into a romantic, fun, and vibrant space.

So I was super excited to hear about all the lighting our DJ, Generations Entertainment, was able to provide us at a very affordable price!  Below are ideas of what are lighting will look like based on the different elements we are incorporating.  (All of these photos are from our venue, Rancho Las Lomas)

We will have about 16 red uplights lining the perimeter of the entire room.  The tablecloths are a bright turquoise color (you can see them here in the centerpiece post).  So I want to bring in the red accent with the lighting.

It will not be nearly as dark as this because we will use the chandeliers and wall sconces for some extra help.  Mr Fix It does not want it to be super dark in the room (at least not until the dancing is full blown underway!)  Our DJ also suggested that it's not a great idea to have lights in a room that are turned off...he said something about it just doesn't look right usually.  So thankfully, all of the lights in this room are on dimmers so that we can have them turned on with some very subtle lighting so that the uplights and candlelight on the tables all ties in well together to give a soft romantic feel but still leaves the guest with plenty of visibility.  (Of course, we'll turn up the house lights during the toasts.)

Here's a shot of the room with the chandeliers off but the wall sconces slightly dimmed:

I originally considered the aqua colored lights...like maybe alternating red and aqua throughout the room...but we just weren't feeling it:

Photo courtesy of Generations Entertainment

This picture reflects the room with just the chandeliers and wall sconces turned on and no additional lighting provided.  However, it's also still daylight outside. 

Mr Fix It doesn't know it, but I also threw in the cost of having a GOBO light of our monogram projected onto the fireplace behind our sweetheart table.  I was getting such a deal I just couldn't refuse!  Obviously these are not our names, but it will look like this on the fireplace:

Photo Jim Kennedy Photographers

Ours will look like this:

Finally, we will also have the cake lighted with two pinspot lights.  These will give it just a little bit of a glow and set it off as a show stopping piece of the reception and decor.  Let's just hope the cake is worthy of the spotlight!  :)

                               

So, what are your thoughts?  Will you be incorporating any additional lighting outside of what your venue provides or any special effects or extra added lights?