Blog Post

The smaller of the two barns at the Monks' Barn in Hurley is normally used for dancing in the evening and sometimes also for the wedding ceremony itself.

Whether it sits behind the ceremony table or the DJ this huge backdrop of festoon lights on the back wall looks spectacular and it's a fab way to add some extra light to this otherwise quite dimly lit room.

Festoon backdrop with zig zag festoon canopy

Monks Barn festoon backdrop

Lots of lovely warm white festoon lights cascade down the rear wall where they look amazing against the rustic textured stonework of the wall and cast a soft, even glow at the end of the barn. They're dimmable so that they can be nice and bright in the daytime but turned down in the evening if required.

The light from the backdrop is concentrated at one end of the room, so depending on the intended use for this area it can be a good idea to combine the backdrop with additional lighting overhead. For instance during the wedding ceremony it's useful to have some more centrally positioned lighting (e.g. chandeliers or a fairy/festoon light canopy) to make sure that there's a good, even spread of light throughout the room. This helps to avoid the possibility of the ceremony appearing silhouetted against a bright background.

On the other hand it can be a great effect to turn off or dim the overhead lights in the evening, letting the backdrop really shine behind the DJ without casting too much unwanted light onto the dance floor.

On this occasion the small barn was to be used for both the wedding ceremony and for dancing, so the backdrop was paired with an overhead canopy of matching festoon lights zig-zagged between the beams, which was separately dimmable so that it could be turned down to a subtle glow in the evening.

More lighting ideas for the Monks Barn
More about our festoon lights

Related posts:

• Monks Barn
• Festoon Lights