Tent Lighting

The lighting design in a tent can range from functional lighting to full-scale lighting design. This will all depend upon the budget as well as what the client tries to accomplish with the lighting design.

Functional Lighting:

For functional lighting we can use down lights. These lights create color washes to cover tables, specific or entire areas across the tent ceiling.

Another great way to provide functional lighting as well as incorporating a decorative element is to utilize String Lighting. Paper lanterns can be added to String Lights to tie in your event colors.

Full-scale Lighting

Full-scale lighting design can be as involved as your budget allows. We can add several down lights to highlight your cake, main table, bars, guests tables and buffets; project pattern lighting effect on the entire ceiling or tent walls; provide stage lighting to illuminate the live band; and provide dance floor lighting to easily create a nightclub lighting experience at your event.

For full-scale lighting design, we would love to have the opportunity to meet with you to go over options and to see what layout design you are working with. A layout is always helpful for lighting design whether you are working in a tent or a venue.

The above images are one of our favorite tent lighting designs we’ve done. On this wedding, we used down lights to serve as functional lighting highlighting cake, buffet, bar, newly weds and guests tables. Up lights were used to lit the tent walls. Pattern lighting effect added a dramatic effect on walls with nature type designs. A basic set of stage lights illuminated the band giving very nice contrasting colors and finally our dance floor lighting created a nightclub experience once the dancing started.

Types of tents

There are two different types of tents we typically work with; FRAME and STRUCTURE.

A frame tent is perfect for small to medium sized events and it provide several places to attach very lightweight lighting fixtures.
A structure tent is the ideal choice for medium to large events. It provides more attachment points for our rigging by using the tent framing that is accessible throughout the ceiling. This is crucial if you want for us to place speakers & lighting equipment attached to the ceiling securely. We currently don’t have tents as part of our inventory but we can help you to find the perfect solution with a professional tent supplier.

The type, size and tarp material (clear or white) of the tent being used will determine the lighting fixtures, the amount of rigging and what kind of rigging we can do within the tent for lighting.

Power requirements

Important details when realizing an outdoor event such as if there is enough power on site, proximity of electrical panel to tent area, capacity and connection type are crucial for a successful event.

In case a generator is needed, we can supply an exclusive generator for our audio & lighting needs or a complete power service no matter the required amount of power is needed and we will handle the power logistics for all vendors. All we need to know to get started on power is amount of days or hours the generator will be used, the amount of power each vendor requests and the location of where that power needs to be placed. With this information, we will provide a custom proposal. A technician will stay on site during your event to handle any last minute power needs.