Spotlight your Wedding

Bright Insight into Event Staging and Lighting

By: Michelle Sauer

There are many ways to bring light to your wedding day. From the decorations, to the people and places, each element has its own special brilliance. Nothing is more enchanting – other than a blushing bride’s delicate face – than the lighting and special effects a professional lighting design team can bring to the big day.

ACME Corp. Production Resources uses over 25 years of experience in lighting, staging and event production design to transform any event into a full-scale masterpiece. Your wedding is no exception.
Lighting, like most other wedding elements, should reflect the couple. “We try to fit what we do to their personalities,” explains Mark Miskimen, CEO and founder of ACME. “Each lighting proposal starts with a conversation with the couple. We take the time to learn their likes, dislikes, and personal tastes. Almost equally important, we work hard to design a lighting scheme that delivers what the couple envisions within their budget.”

Mark points out that each couple, prior to meeting with any wedding consultants, needs to “prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.”

“It’s important for you to balance the elements of the reception: lighting, flowers, candy bars with your names on them, table cloths, napkins. For some people, it’s going to all be about a certain aspect, and that’s where you need to focus your dollar.”

In terms of lighting, the key to its impact is the atmosphere it is meant to achieve. Not only does a couple’s personality play a major role in determining the direction of the lighting, but so does the overall vibe of the venue and the mood the couple wants to project. The ultimate goal is to create a distinct event that guests – and the couple – remember for years.

Sarah Friedman, ACME’s marketing and sales manager, states with a smile, “It really depends on the personalities, and because personalities are so varied, it’s hard to really mark the trends.”
“I think ‘uplighting’ is one of the most overused terms and overused elements in lighting now,” Mark adds. “Part of this is that couples don’t always know what can be done to light their event. We like to put a unique twist on all things and approach each wedding from the standpoint of designers. We ask the couple an important question: what would you like your event to look and feel like? Then we suggest the elements, methods, and equipment we can use to give you that result.”

A bride should not be focusing on how weddings have been done. It should be about her and her groom, and the atmospheric flavor they want to achieve. “You can’t call us up and say how much is your basic package, because we don’t have one. We create a custom package for you,” Mark explains. It’s also great to use your imagination. In terms of ACME’s expertise and resources, nothing is out of the question. “We like to say, we can make anything happen given enough time and budget.”
ACME goes beyond just bringing the best atmosphere for your event. They make sure that the planning process is just as enjoyable. “One of our clients pointed it out to us –we tend to make them feel comfortable,” Mark observes.

In the end, “It’s not about what tools you have, how many tools you have, or how expensive or cheap they are. It’s about what you can do with them. We help our clients understand their options and how they can achieve their desired effect, so they can make an educated decision on their event’s atmosphere. With our industry experience, we know how to adapt to different budgets, personalities, and venues.”

As far as anything else you want to know about ACME’s tricks of the trade, “Sorry, that’s a secret. You’re going to have to hire us to find out,” Mark gleefully remarks.