Never Go Out Of
Style
Planning a wedding is no easy feat, and several couples have a strong vision in mind for their special day. Many may prioritise the obvious essentials to achieve their dreams – the venue, the photographer, and the attire. However, something often overlooked, but still incredibly important, is the unique styling and aesthetic you choose to evoke. Melbourne Wedding & Bride explores the significance of styling your wedding with clever and deliberate lighting choices. In conversation with Stav Hatzipantelis, founder and creative director of Pro Light & Sound, Lucy Wadelton delivers an in-depth study of all things wedding décor.
Image courtesy of Pro Light & Sound
Bright Ideas
“Whether it’s an intimate wedding or an extravagant reception, styling is a core component to achieve a dream wedding,” Stav Hatzipantelis assures readers. He believes the styling of your wedding is incredibly significant as it is an “experience and a journey you want to take your guests on”. Styling covers everything from bridal tables, backdrops, seating charts, furniture, and table décor. It can be as minimal as a touch of floral arrangements, to as grandiose as a full room transformation. By infusing your wedding with light, texture, and accessories, you’re adding depth and emotion to your ceremony and reception. Furthermore, you’re also ensuring that you and your guests are transported to a romantic space that exists outside of the realm of reality.
Hatzipantelis observes that lighting isn’t always the first thing on a couple’s check list, but that “it’s an element that can completely change the mood and overall atmosphere of the room”. At Pro Light & Sound, lighting is a significant aspect of planning clients ideal wedding ambience. The right lighting can create warmth and cosiness – warm white being a popular tone for wedding entrances while light pinks or corals can be used to add to a romantic wedding theme. They can also draw attention to important moments throughout the night, for instance the first dance, entry moment or the cutting of the cake. Hatzipantelis remembers a favourite project that incorporated stunning lighting, a fairylight installation at Metropolis Events. “We created a starry night sky over the dance floor, with pendants weaved throughout to match [the couple’s] winter season wedding,” he reminisces. The installation was breathtaking, and perfectly complemented the venue’s high ceilings and large windows so that guests felt like they were celebrating under a real night sky. “It was truly magical,” Hatzipantelis recalls.
Pro Light & Sound don’t stop there – the team offer custom chandeliers, impressive ceiling installations and a myriad of backdrops, florals and table décor to bolster the magic of your celebration. One of their recent triumphs was an installation of more
than thirty metres of tassels, floral and lighting at Crown Palladium. “[The project] was definitely one of a kind and took hundreds of hours in planning, designing and commissioning all seven of the components,” Hatzipantelis recalls. Every detail is considered – the entrance décor, the gloss dance floor, the stage and the bridal table – so that your wedding is intricate, thoughtful and romantic. “There is nothing like a spectacular ceiling installation, unique backdrop or custom bridal table to elevate a wedding,” Hatzipantelis attests. “These are what are captured in the photos and videos, those special moments for couples through the night with that personalised touch,” he affirms, coining the little details to be cherished for years to come.
Uniquely You
When considering your endless styling options, it’s imperative to consult what mood and theme you want to achieve at your wedding. During your initial quoting process, your styling company should work with you to turn your budding ideas into a tangible reality. Your florals, stages, bridal tables, and backdrops can be customised to reflect your specific theme. A client’s personal style is always the initial inspiration – from boho to fairy-tale – the sky is the limit. “It isn’t unusual to mix themes such as traditional and industrial,” Hatzipantelis reassures us, so there’s no need to worry that your concepts are too niche. “There’s ways to find common ground.” Hatzipantelis approaches unique or rare wedding themes with complete excitement. “It’s not an everyday occurrence,” he affirms, describing the team’s approach as a “deep-dive” into researching an unusual design brief. “We’re not just stuck to one type of theme, if you bring your ideas to the table, we’ll try and go above and beyond to make it happen.”
The other factor that finalizes your styling elements is a breakdown of what Hatzipantelis dubs “milestones” – significant wedding moments such as bridal party entrance, the first dance and the cutting of the cake. To showcase the night’s best moments, Hatzipantelis suggests a combination of things – lighting, monogramming, backdrops
and depending on the venue, ceiling installations. “We often recommend moving lights which can be controlled to highlight specific areas and dim during special moments,” Hatzipantelis explains, for example dimming the chandelier lights to make a focal point of the dance floor during the first dance. Stunning backdrops in cascading florals can be placed at the end of the altar, or behind the bridal party table to infuse romance into every aspect of the wedding. Other stunning ideas include low lying fog and Pyrotechnics, which can create a dreamlike feel during the newlywed’s first dance, followed by a transition into strobe lighting for the perfect dance club atmosphere. By carefully curating your styling to enhance specific “milestones” throughout the celebrations, you’re helping create “a core memory cherished by both families and a stunning photo opportunity”.
A Dream Come True
Hatzipantelis’ advice for couples looking to be actively involved in customising their wedding styling is simple: “be prepared and open-minded”. Find the venue that will facilitate your installations, curate a guest list, decide on a theme and calculate your budget for the styling portion. Once you’ve found the right wedding stylist for you, communicating your vision is key. “We love to throw our ideas out and for clients to do the same,” Hatzvipantelis explains.
When reflecting on what makes his job gratifying, Hatzipantelis describes it as two-fold. “The first reception reveal is something you can never get over,” he states. “The appreciation and excitement from the bride and groom is always touching and pulls on our heart strings.” It’s so fulfilling for the team to know they’ve brought so much joy into someone’s intimate celebrations.. “When [the couple] see their vision come to life we know we’ve done our job,” Hatzipantelis states. The other rewarding part comes from the team, he explains. “When we spend hours prepping, running around, perfecting every component of a wedding, by the end of the set-up we often find ourselves gather as a team, stand in silence, with smiles on all our faces.”