Q&A with Drew of Tangerine Media Group

I saw Drew, of Tangerine Media Group, at a networking event last month and we spent quite a bit of time discussing lighting, why it's important and the best ways to use it. After our conversation I thought it might be nice to pick Drew's brain and get a videographer's perspective.

Becky: How long have you been in the event/wedding industry?
Drew: I have been involved in the event industry for 15 years. I was a DJ for the first five and I have been a videographer for the past 10 years.

Becky: Why do you feel lighting is an important addition to a reception or event room?
Drew: Decorative lighting is the single most powerful and cost-effective way to transform your event space. Whether your event is in a hotel ballroom, a country club, an urban loft, a museum gallery, a historic mansion or an outdoor tent, absolutely any space will be greatly enhanced by the addition of decorative light. Lighting adds texture, depth and visual vibrancy. I often overhear guests say “wow” when entering an event space that has decorative lighting.
Lighting is also such a flexible medium that easily allows you to personalize your event space. Whether it is the use of your wedding monogram or corporate logo projected onto the wall or dance floor or the use of certain colors to evoke a specific mood or theme, lighting is the answer. It also can be strategically used to draw your guest’s eyes to the points of interest in the room that you want to highlight, such as the cake or centerpieces. When working with a lighting designer, they will ensure that the lighting scheme you choose augments all of the floral and decorative aspects in the room.
Decorative lighting also serves a very practical purpose in your wedding ceremony space. If you are getting married indoors in a location that is not a church or synagogue, etc., decorative room lighting ensures that your guests can see the ceremony and read the ceremony programs. If you are getting married under a chuppah, make sure that the chuppah is lit so everyone’s faces can be seen and the rabbi will have enough light to read the ketubah and blessings. Even if you want to have a “candlelight ceremony,” a good lighting designer can create that effect without making the room dark.

Becky: Is there something specific you always recommend to your clients? Why?
Drew: Often we find that many clients had not considered the possibility of using light as part of their décor. We always convey to them, if there is no decorative lighting, their facility typically has no choice but to dim the overhead fixtures usually leaving only “muddy,” unflattering light mixed with any candle light that may be on the tables. Bottom line, turning off or just dimming the lights doesn’t make the room atmosphere romantic or intimate, it just makes it dark, simple as that. So then what is the point of having beautiful flowers, linens, cake and elegant place settings in a dark and flat atmosphere?
Specifically, we usually suggest up lighting which tends to be the foundation of any lighting design. Then we suggest a nice color wash on the dance floor. We also suggest that the dance floor be evenly lit without bright “hot spots” and dark corners. From a videographer’s perspective, any pattern or design that is projected onto the dance floor area should be soft and diffused and not sharp. Sharp light patterns create a “Swiss cheese” effect on people’s faces as they are dancing, which is not very attractive. Also, any event with a live band should have the band lit with some color wash because it looks silly to have performers in the dark. If at all possible, it is preferable to have any monogram projection be on a wall ensuring that it will be visible all night long. A monogram projection on the dance floor disappears once guests start dancing.

Becky: How does lighting effect your job? Positively? Negatively?
Drew: Good lighting is almost a necessity to your videographer and your photographer. It helps us immensely because we can capture better images and video with depth and background. Decorative lighting allows us to use very little on camera lighting, sometimes none at all. That makes us be even more unobtrusive. We also “play” with the lighting to capture more artistic and dramatic video. Simply put, decorative lighting is a must.

Thanks so much Drew! it was great chatting with you and thank you so much for the insight!

Senior Prom, Sheraton Center City

We did a Senior Prom on Saturday night at the Sheraton City Center for about 800 students. They booked our truss rig that is put up around the entire dance floor. We used 100 feet of truss, 10 intelligent lighting fixtures and about 48 par cans for up lighting. Our PA system consisted of the JBL VRX Line Array speakers, one of the best small line arrays available. That room was jumpin!

Here are some pictures of the set up and the prom.

-Jason

Erin and Nate

Erin and Nate had their reception at Belle Voir Mansion. The couple chose pink and green as their colors and the pairing looked great! Matt DJ'd their reception and said the dance floor was busy all night. At one point the bride and groom got up on the stage with some of their guests and danced.


We did pink up lighting and a green Celtic heart wash on the dance floor in honor of the guests that traveled form Ireland to be there.


Erin and Nate, thank you so much for choosing us to be a part of your special day. We wish you all the best!

Thanks to Joyce from Casual Candids for the images.


-Becky

Jennifer and Alex

Jennifer and Alex had an awesome reception at the Mendenhall Inn in Chadds Ford. We had the pleasure of working with Erin Proud of Proud to Plan, and Tom of Thomas Lunt Photography. Jason and Kyle DJ'd the wedding and kept the dance floor busy with a lot of Duran Duran! We also uplit the room in purple, covered the dance floor with stars and the couples monogram.

Congratulations Jennifer and Alex! Thanks for letting us be a part of your big day!

Thanks to Thomas Lunt Photography for these great pictures!

-Becky

Ann and Philip

Ann and Philip had a great reception at the Harrington Fire Hall in Delaware. Mark DJ'd the event with Chris and Kurt as second DJ's and Jessica as their lighting designer. When Ann arrived, she caught a glimpse of the room through a slightly open room and told the crew how beautiful it looked. After the wedding, Mark had a chance to speak with Ann and she told him that it was great and she had a blast!

Congratulations Ann and Philip! Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day!

Thanks to Rob from Pinnacle Photography Services for the images!

-Becky

Things I learned through the planning process ...

My three year wedding anniversary is coming up next month and I thought now would be a good time to share some of the things I learned (and realized), throughout the planning process and at the wedding itself, with all of you brides (and grooms) to be.

-Things will go wrong. It is inevitable. There are too many people involved and too many outside factors that come into play for things not to go wrong. But the reality is, you are most likely the only person that will know. My bouquet was supposed to be all white mini callas, tied with white satin ribbon with the stems showing. Instead I got a bouquet of 5 large white callas, fully wrapped with a bow. Everyone told me how beautiful my flowers were. My cake was supposed to have large “dots” of frosting around the base of each tier; instead there were two rows of "dots," with space in between, at the base of the bottom tier. Everyone told me how beautiful and tasty the cake was. In the grand scheme of things, did it really matter that the cake and bouquet were "wrong"? No.

-Take a minute to enjoy your day. Stop, look around and just take it all in. It FLIES by. If you can’t get to that last table to say "hi", or don’t feel like dealing with anymore formalities, then skip them. Do what YOU want to do. It’s your day and you don’t want to look back on it with regrets. Listen to what everyone has to say and decide what works for you and your fiancé. Whether it is seeing each other before the ceremony, incorporating religious customs and traditions, doing a bouquet and garter toss, donating or giving a favor, or whatever else, do what is most important to you. Don’t do something because someone else tells you, you “should” or you “have to.” You don’t.

-Your bridal party – it is your wedding, but you are choosing to include them in this big day. Consider them when making some of your decisions. It can be hard to find bridesmaid dresses you like, but if the one you love is $300, consider looking for something similar with a smaller price tag. Being in a wedding can be very expensive – try to take your girls or guys into consideration when making some of your decisions. All of my girls wore the same dress. They picked their own shoes and did whatever they wanted for hair and makeup. Everyone looked beautiful, but most importantly, they were happy! And even if they don’t all take an active interest in every detail of the wedding or do as much as you “think” they should., they love you and they are there for you on your special day.

-Decide what is most important to you and spend your money on those things. Photography was very important to me, but I let other people’s views influence my decision and ended up disappointed. I should have allotted more money for photography in the budget. Most people will remember the music and if they enjoyed themselves dancing. My DJ was great – I’m still hearing about him three years later. He wasn't the most expensive and he wasn't the cheapest, but he kept the dance floor packed. I was having such a good time dancing that I skipped eating to dance; which wasn’t the best idea because I was hungry and I still hear about how good the food was.

-Vendor recommendations are great. Listen to what people have to say, do your research, but in the end, make the decision you feel is best for you.

-Details, details, details. The little things you do will get noticed. They are what will set your wedding apart from the dozens of others your guests have, and will attend. People will remember them and they are a great way to show off who you, as a couple, really are.

-Throughout the planning process, remember what’s really important. Yes you want everything to be perfect, but you’re marrying the love of your life. That’s what’s really important. Not the color of the tablecloths, the shoes the bridesmaids wear, the exact number of flowers that will be in each bouquet, the writing on the escort cards, or anything else for that matter. You are marrying the person you love and at the end of the day, you will be husband and wife. That’s what the whole day is really about. All the planning, the stressing, as long as you are happy at the end of the day and come out a Mrs. or a Mr., it is ALL worth it.


-Becky

Pictures

We recently got in a ton of great images from weddings and events we did over the past few months so I decided to share some. Enjoy!

Carol and Matt's romantic reception at the Philadelphia Country Club.

Photos courtesy of Laura Novak Photography.

Brenda and Joe's beautiful reception at Knowlton Mansion.
Thanks to Spark Photography for the Picture!

Ann and Philip had a great reception at the Harrington Firehouse. We did uplighting, dancefloor breakups, monograms and kept the dancefloor packed!
Thanks to Pinnacle Photography for the images!

Chris and Melissa's reception at Talamore Country Club.
We did up lighting and a monogram.

Jennifer and Alex's reception at the Mendenhall Inn.

Winter wedding at the Double Tree Center City.
We did uplighting, pin spotting and dance floor break ups.
Thanks to Claire Pruett for the images!

-Becky