Help! Are uplights an absolute necessity or just a waste of money?

My wedding will be outdoors so I wouldn't spend the money on it but I think it looks really pretty for an indoor venue. My daughters sweet sixteen was indoors and the up lighting looked really nice.

We're probably not uplighting. I need to double-check the lighting of the space at our venue. I attended formal events there in the past and none of them had uplighting or any additional lighting besides the lights in the rooms and it was fine.

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We already had a unique reception venue (wine cave). You might not be able to tell from the photos but the uplights really changed the mood--the warm orange glow fit our colors and I can't explain it but color can really change the ambiance and create feeling in a space.

Only only mistake was due to the curved walls, we should have pulled the lights away from the walls more to create a wider spray of light up the walls. We raced to complete our DIY decor though so oh well!

before uplights

after uplights

These are some pretty impressive transformations I pulled from the web:

uplights before and after

uplights before and after

I don’t think they’re necessary. We won’t have them because our venue has lots of windows and it won’t be dark outside

I think it depends on your venue. If the regular lighting is not enough and the place looks kind of dark then I say you need it. However the room would look nicer with it and more uniform. Up lights tend to cover the natural lighting of carpet or the imperfection of a wall or discoloring.

Personally I couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money. One DJ we met with included it in the package, but then again he was about double the cost of the guy we chose. Ultimately it’s up to you, but I don’t think going without them will make a difference.

They arent neccessary, but it also depends on your venue. My DJ package comes with the uplighting, so we have it, but I probably wouldn't have even thought about uplighting if it wasn't for that

I don't believe they're necessary either! As many of the ladies stated nothing is necessary, if it's in your budget and your feel like your reception space is missing something in terms of decor, why not! Also if your DJ is provided some lighting via the dance space I think that can provide enough.

I was absolutely set on having uplighting but my DJ actually forgot to set it up. I ended up getting a partial refund and from what I have seen on photos so far it looked great without it

They come with my DJs package and he suggested that I do use them since my venue is so dark.

We are having uplighting, but only because it's not costing us anything extra. Our DJ offers it as part of his package. But if it was extra money, we probably wouldn't be doing it, for the reasons you stated, that money could be better spent somewhere else.

I think it's a waste do things natural.

I personally don't think they are necessary. They're really great at what they, setting the mood/tone of the room. However, i've never been someone who found them to be something you need. My FH had originally added them into our DJ package and at our initial meeting i said we didn't need them. Well, i finally won, our venue has theater lighting so we basically have them already, and we removed the unnecessary up lighting...it took off $600 from our quote. $600 for lights is just absurd. I say use that money someplace else.

We're skipping additional lighting. Our venue has chandeliers in the room and it's beautiful without additional lighting that interferes with photography and looking weird without testing how it'll look beforehand.

My DJ had lights so it added a nice touch

A lot of venues have them already pre-build in the hall but don't really list it on their websites. I found out about ours only because I saw multiple pictures of previous weddings with coloured uplights. Ask your venue and see if they have built in uplights

I am super lucky that it is included in the price of my venue! I think if you want it so badly that you are writing a post about, bite the bullet and do it. It will most likely enhance your photos and give a great ambiance! Best of luck!

I decided against them. I think they are cool. But I'm going to be in a rustic/industrial building and they didn't really fit into the vibe.
If I were going to be in a ballroom, that may have changed the way I thought about them.

Hey Emmeline! Did you decide to go for uplighting?