Uplighting and extras
Venue uplighting in Kent — and the other extras worth booking
Wireless LED units placed around the walls, set to one colour, and a space that looked like a function room at six o'clock looks like an event by nine. Uplighting is the add-on people notice most and understand least. Here is what it does, and what else we bring.
What uplighting is, and what it does after dark
Uplighting is the simplest change you can make to a room. Wireless LED units sit on the floor around the walls, angled up, washing colour across the surfaces and picking out whatever the room already has — beams, pillars, panelling, the frame of a marquee. In daylight you barely notice them. After dark they do the work. Most venues are lit for eating rather than dancing: flat overhead light, pale walls, a big space that reads beige once the sun goes. Uplighting replaces that with colour and depth, and it does it without a single unit pointing at your guests. If you have seen it in other people's photographs without ever working out what you were looking at, this is it.
How it works on the day
You pick a colour. Most people match something they already have — the bridesmaids, the table linen, a company brand colour — and every unit is set to the same shade, so the room reads as one thing rather than a disco. Warm ambers and soft golds flatter almost any space. Deep blues and purples suit a later, clubbier feel. The units go in at set-up, before guests arrive, and they are wireless: battery-powered where there is no socket nearby, mains where there is. Nothing runs across a floor, nothing is taped down in a walkway, nothing needs touching once it is placed. We walk the room first and work to its shape rather than spacing units to a formula. At the end of the night they come out with the rest of the rig.
Photo booth, dry ice and light-up letters
Uplighting is usually booked alongside something else. A photo booth runs itself through the evening and gives guests somewhere to go when they are not dancing, which covers the long stretch between the first dance and the last hour. Dry ice is for the first dance: a low cloud sits across the floor for a couple of minutes, then clears. It is not smoke, and venues that will not allow smoke machines will often allow it — we check with yours rather than assume. Light-up letters give you a lit focal point for photographs, whether that is initials, a short word or LOVE, and they hold their corner all night without anyone operating them. If there is something else you have seen and want, ask, and we will tell you straight whether we can supply it.
One team, one set-up
Everything here is set up by the same team that runs the music, on one visit, to one schedule. That matters more than it sounds: one arrival time to give the venue, one pack-down, one person to speak to if the running order moves. Our equipment is PAT-tested and we are fully insured, so venues that want paperwork get it well before the day. Extras are planned in the same online form as the music — the one with must-play, play-if-possible and do-not-play lists — so the first dance, the dry ice cue and the moment the room changes colour all land where they should. We cover Kent, Greater London and the South East, and the same extras suit a wedding, a corporate evening or a birthday. How we run the music is covered on the weddings and corporate events pages.
What's included
- Wireless LED uplighters set to a colour you choose, placed around the walls and features
- Battery or mains powered — nothing trails across floors or walkways
- Photo booth that runs itself through the evening
- Dry ice for a first dance on a low-lying cloud
- Light-up letters — initials, a short word, or LOVE
- Placed at set-up and taken away with the rest of the rig
Common questions
Before you book
What does uplighting actually do to a room?
It gives the room edges. Overhead lighting throws everything downward, so by the evening the walls and corners fall away and the space reads flat. Uplighters push colour upward instead, so the perimeter becomes something to look at and the middle feels defined rather than open-ended. Guests read it as atmosphere without working out where it came from. Cameras read it as depth.
Will our venue allow uplighting?
Nearly always, yes. The units are wireless and free-standing — nothing is drilled, taped, hung or fixed to a wall, and battery power means we do not need a socket in every corner. Venues that are strict about their rooms are usually strict about rigging and trailing cables, and uplighting involves neither. We confirm it with your venue during planning rather than turning up and hoping.
Can you match the colour to our scheme, and can it change during the night?
Yes to both. Send a photo or name the colour — the dresses, the linen, a brand colour — and we set the units to match as closely as LED allows. Some couples keep one colour all evening for the photographs. Others go warm for the meal and switch to something deeper when the dance floor opens. We agree that with you beforehand.
Do we need to book the extras at the same time as the DJ?
It is easier if you do. Everything then arrives together, on one schedule, and your venue only has to clear a single set-up window. Adding something later is usually fine, subject to what is still free on your date. If you are undecided, say so early and we will keep it in the plan until you have made your mind up.
Also covering
Send us your date and venue and we will tell you what the room needs — 07768 633 840 or events@choicedj.co.uk.
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events@choicedj.co.uk
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Booking 2026 & 2027 dates across Kent and Greater London. Most dates are reserved 6–12 months in advance.