Complete Guide to Wedding DJ Lighting

by Chris Brower
Last Updated: November 27, 2023

A good wedding DJ lighting setup is essential to any wedding DJ’s presentation. After all, it’s not only the great music you’re playing but also the lighting that can help get a wedding party going and rocking for hours.

So what lights does a wedding DJ need?

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The possibilities are practically endless for what you could use for your wedding DJ lighting setup. However, there are some important considerations to keep mind as you choose your lighting options.

So let’s take a look at the different types of wedding DJ lighting and what might work best for your setup.

Dance Floor Lights

Most of your wedding DJ lighting will be for the dance floor.

Generally, you want one or two lights that can cover the dance floor with different colors, shapes, and patterns.

That’s right – you don’t need dozens of lights for the dance floor. Two can often be enough.

Currently, I use two lights, which provide lots of light, color, and shapes:

The light patterns and colors vary, so it’s not just a static spotlight the whole time.

To see these two lights in action, here’s a video from my wedding DJ Instagram.

Of course, there are many other similar lights on the market that can provide you with a lot of shapes, pattern, and lights. Some possible options include:

In many cases, each light costs around $100. So you can likely buy two good dance floor lights for around $200.

Starting a wedding DJ business can be expensive, but thankfully, this can be one of the smaller, while still important, expenses.

What about strobe lights?

For most weddings, it’s good to avoid strobe lights, which can be annoying or perhaps seizure-inducing. You want your lights to be fun and playful, not overly intense. This isn’t a haunted house.

Moving Head Lights

Some DJs use moving head lights (shown in the photo above), which move around/rotate, delivering light to specific parts of the dance floor. These tend to be stronger, solid blasts of light rather than the smaller/more scattered look of lights like what you get from the Chauvet DJ Mini Kinta or ADJ Vertigo.

Moving head lights can help create more variation in your lighting show. The light is blasting here, now there, now over there.

A popular example is the U`King B-242 Everyday Moving Head Light.

Here’s a video that shows moving head lights in action.

Sound Activated or Manual/Programmed?

I use both my lights in the sound activated mode. This means the lights run on their own and react to the music. When the music is fast and intense, the lights are more intense. If the music is slow and calm, the lights are similarly more relaxed.

This works remarkably well!

This means that once I turn on the lights, I don’t have to touch them again. I let them do their thing.

If the wedding DJ lighting seems too intense, I can lower the “sensitivity” dial to calm them down. But I rarely have to do this.

However, some DJs prefer to be more hands on and program their light show or make choices on the fly. If so, you’ll need to learn more how to work your lights by reading the instruction manual or watching tutorial videos. It may then be as simple as pressing some buttons on the back of the light or using a remote (if your light comes with one).

To be even more hands on with your wedding DJ lighting, you can connect the lights to what’s called a DMX Controller. It’s like a mixer but for your lights. You can trigger your lights to start/stop and program them at one console rather than having to press the buttons on the back of each light.

One example of a DMX Controller is the MAD OWL DMX-512.

For an more in-depth explanation of DMX and how to control lights, we recommend reading Understanding DMX from Sweetwater.

Ready for the complete guide to becoming a wedding DJ? Here you go.

Uplights

Uplights are lights that do just what their description implies – they project light up. They are not for the dance floor but rather for the greater room itself.

One maker of uplights is Rockville.

Uplights are generally placed next to walls and project a single, solid color rather than flashing lights or anything like your dance floor lights.

Uplights can help add a vibe to the room.

Think about it: If you just have the normal overhead room lights, even dimmed low, the lighting effect is fairly tame. But if you have teal lights on the walls, now the room takes on a watery/calm feel.

You’ll want to get enough uplights to cover the room or the most important parts. 8-12 uplights should be enough, unless the room is absolutely huge. If there are four walls in the room, you can put 2 lights on each wall or divide up the lights in a way that makes sense.

One downside of uplights is, because they are typically placed on the floor, people walking too close to them may accidentally kick them and knock them over or out of position. If so, you may have to adjust them throughout the night.

Wired vs. Wireless Uplights

When researching uplights, consider whether they are wired (as in, you have to plug them in) or wireless (battery-powered).

Wired uplights tend to be cheaper. And you don’t have to worry about the battery dying. But then you need a lot of outlets throughout the room to accommodate your lights, which can be tricky. You may also need a lot of extension cords, if outlets are not in convenient places.

I’ve used Missyee Uplights, which are bright and relatively cheap, but the cords and the need for a ton of outlets can make them a challenge to use when placing 8 lights around the room.

Wireless lights tend to cost more, but they greatly free you up as far as placement. This can be essential when positioning uplights around a place. Thus, a lot of DJs prefer wireless lights. Just remember to charge the batteries before each event to avoid them dying on you. Popular wireless uplight makers include Rockville and Chauvet.

Stands and Totems For Your Lights

DJs generally put their lights atop totem stands or hanging from stands known as crossbar or T-bar light stands.

For DJs using moving head lights, totem stands are a popular choice. This is shown in the photo below.

Light Totems — Photo courtesy of Evolving Events.

For other kinds of lights, a crossbar/T-bar light stand can be a good choice. You simply hang your lights from the horizontal bar.

Make sure the stand is sturdy and can hold up your lights. Some lights are heavier than others. You certainly don’t want the light to fall or for the stand to topple over from the weight. Similarly, don’t overload your light stand with a ton of lights.

In the case of uplights, those are typically positioned on the floor. Thus, no stand is needed.

Glow Sticks and Foam Sticks

Dance floor lights and uplights aren’t the only way to light up the dance floor and the reception room. Passing out glow sticks or foam sticks to the guests is another fun way to light up the dance floor.

With glow sticks, guests can wave them around, connect them around their wrist, or connect them to other glow sticks to make even bigger creations.

With foam sticks, which are generally much larger, guests can just wave them around. But their bigger size makes for a greater effect.

I have found that guests love glow sticks or foam sticks. It’s even a selling point for my services (that I offer them). So it may be a good addition to your wedding DJ business too.

Keep in mind that glow sticks and foam sticks will typically work that entire wedding reception, but then will die a few hours later. You probably won’t be able to buy one set of glow sticks or foam sticks and reuse them at multiple weddings. And once you give them out, they’re not yours anymore! Guests will keep them, unless you ask for them back, which may turn heads at the odd request.

Accessories For Your Lights and Stands

In addition to lights and stands, you will need some accessories for your DJ lights:

Power cords. Hopefully good cords come with the lights. But you may also need to buy your own. And it certainly doesn't hurt to have backups.
Extension cords. In general, wedding DJs need extension cords. And you might also run into a situation where your lights needed to be positioned far from an outlet, so be sure you have plenty of extension cords.
You'll likely need nuts and bolts to secure your light to the light stand. This will vary based on what light and stand type you get. But expect to need to buy nuts and bolts, if they don't already come with the light stand.
If you have lights hanging from light stands, I recommend securing the cords tightly to the stand using cable ties. You don't want the unsightly look of cords hanging all over the place.
Cases for your lights. You want to avoid them getting damaged. Some companies make cases specifically for their lights, such as the Rockville Wedge Charge Case. Or you can create your own case with a plastic tub and packing foam.
Case/bag for your light stands. Don't let your light stand get damaged/scuffed up. My light stand is particularly tall, so I got this 58" speaker stand bag from Gator, and it fits perfectly! Some companies sell totem stands with accompanying bags, such as this option from Rockville.

When to Use Wedding DJ Lighting

Generally, you won't use your DJ lights the entire wedding. Uplights are the one exception. As they are room lights/accent lights, you can generally leave those on the entire event, unless the couple has asked you not to.

As for dance floor lights, only have those on when the general dancing is occurring. Don't have those on during dinner or during the couple's first dance.

When I started, I used to turn on the dance floor lights the second any kind of dancing started. It took a wedding photographer snapping at me (no pun intended) to not have dance floor lights on during the couple's first dance for me to learn.

After all, the first dance is supposed to be a tender, loving moment, and it looks bad when the colorful dance floor lights are showing up on their suit and/or dress in the photos.

You may also DJ a wedding where a guest has light sensitivities. If so, hopefully the couple tells you ahead of time, so you know to tone down the lights or not use them at all. You can always ask. This is also a reason to just not use strobe lights, which can be more harmful to people.

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