Uplighting: Does it really make that much of a difference?

Rooftop reception setup for a wedding at the Florida Aquarium

One of the questions we get asked during the wedding planning process from a photography perspective is: “Should we really do uplighting in the reception space?” GREAT QUESTION and on that we like weighing in on. The short answer is YES you should definitely do uplighting!

We recently were at the Florida Aquarium bridal open house and they had the lobby and rooftop all decked out and asked us to get some room shots so I thought this was the perfect set of images to show. In this image below you can see what the rooftop looks like daytime and there are purple up lights around the perimeter. Above is what it looks like all lit up at night. If those lights weren’t there, you would still see the market lights but the ambiance and space would look completely different with no lighting (I wish I would have taken photos with all the lights off but alas I didn’t).

If you ever been to the Florida Aquarium during the day, you’ll see that the lobby looks completely different from what it looks like here lit in blue against the draping and those silver textury art pieces on the walls. The center pieces and linens are pretty simple but you can see how impressive the space looks with those lights. In my opinion (which you know what they say about opinions lol) uplighting is a must and honestly the biggest bang for your buck in terms of creating ambiance and delineating a space. So do it!! It will totally be worth it!! Also, how awesome is that dance floor by Xpress UrSelf Media? We’ve never seen anything like it!

Venue | The Florida Aquarium
Rooftop: Linens | BBJ | Chairs | A Chair Affair | Center Pieces | Apple Blossoms Floral Design | Dance Floor/Sweetheart Table Decor/Magic Mirror | Xpress UrSelf Media

1st Floor: Linens | BBJ | Chairs | A Chair Affair | Lighting and Draping | The Production Crew