Wedding Sound and Lighting: A Planning Guide

Most couples don't think about sound and lighting until a few weeks before the wedding. By then, the playlist is sorted but nobody has figured out how grandma is going to hear the vows from the back row. Here's what we've learned from doing wedding AV across Christchurch and Canterbury, broken down by each part of the day.

Ceremony Audio

This is the bit people forget about the most, and the bit your guests will notice first if it's not right. Outdoor ceremonies are the biggest challenge because there are no walls to contain sound. Wind picks up, traffic noise drifts in, and the celebrant's voice just disappears.

What works well:

• A wireless lapel mic on the celebrant, so they can move naturally without holding anything
• A small PA on stands, angled towards the seated guests
• A handheld wireless mic for readings or speeches during the ceremony
• A line-in for music playback (processional, signing, recessional)

For indoor ceremonies in a chapel or function room, you sometimes don't need amplification at all. But if the room is bigger than about 60 seats, a mic and a couple of speakers makes a real difference.

Reception Sound

The reception has two modes: background music during dinner, and dance floor music later in the evening. The gear needs to handle both.

During dinner, you want music that fills the room without drowning out conversation. A pair of speakers on stands, maybe with a small sub tucked under the DJ table, handles this well. We set levels before guests arrive and leave a simple volume control accessible.

Once the dance floor opens up, you need more grunt. If the venue is a barn, woolshed, or marquee, bass can get boomy fast without the right setup. We pick speakers and positioning based on the specific room, not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Dance Floor Lighting

This is where things get fun. A dark dance floor with a couple of moving heads and a hazer looks fantastic in photos and gets people out of their seats. We keep it tasteful for weddings. No disco balls spinning at full speed during the first dance (unless that's what you're into).

Typical wedding dance floor lighting includes:

• 2-4 moving head wash lights for colour and movement
• A hazer for atmosphere (the thin haze that makes light beams visible)
• Warm white wash for the first dance and slower moments

We program different looks for different parts of the night. Soft and warm for the first dance, building to something more lively as the evening goes on. It's all controllable on the fly, so if the vibe calls for something different, we adjust.

Uplighting and Festoon

Uplighting is LED fixtures placed around the base of walls or columns, washing colour upwards. It completely changes how a room feels. Warm amber turns a plain function room into something that actually looks good in photos. We can colour-match to your wedding theme if you have one.

Festoon lighting works brilliantly for outdoor receptions, marquees, and courtyard areas. Warm white bulbs on black cable, strung overhead. It's one of those things that looks simple but makes the space feel intentional and inviting. We install and remove it, so you don't need to think about rigging.

Indoor vs Outdoor

Indoor venues like Trevenna, The Atrium, or a hotel function room are straightforward. Power is available, the space is contained, and weather isn't a factor.

Outdoor and semi-outdoor venues around Canterbury need more planning. Vineyards, farms, and garden settings are beautiful but come with challenges:

• Power may need a generator or long cable runs from the house
• Wind affects speaker placement and festoon rigging
• Rain plans change everything, so the lighting setup needs to be flexible
• Sunset timing matters for when the lighting kicks in

We've done plenty of both. The key is sorting the details early so there are no surprises on the day. Tell us the venue, the rough guest count, and what matters most to you, and we'll put a plan together.