431- The Essential Role of Wedding Lighting with Kevin Dennis

Leah Haslage:

Welcome to the Bridechilla Podcast. I'm your host, Leah Haslage. Whether you're just starting to plan or you're counting down the days, I'm here to help you stay cool, calm, and collected throughout the wedding journey. So let's get this wedding party started and embrace your inner Bridechilla.

Hey, chillas, welcome back. We are here with Kevin Dennis again.

Kevin Dennis:

Hello.

Leah Haslage:

For those not familiar, Kevin Dennis, who was previously on the show to discuss dealing with your family and friends at your wedding, especially the reception. It was a great conversation. You’ll want to go back and check that out.

And today, Kevin, who is the owner of Fantasy Sound Event Services and WeddingIQ.com, we'll be talking about lighting, a little bit of entertainment as well, but definitely on lighting, which maybe you don't realize how important is for your big day and what all is involved. But let me tell you, it is a lot. So Kevin, to kind of kick it off, what is really considered a part of lighting?

Kevin Dennis:

So I think the biggest thing that couples got to think about is that it's the decor element and it highlights all the decor elements. So if you're trying, you know, like couples will spend, you know, $150, $200, $500 on a flower arrangement, but when the lights go off for dancing, you no longer see them anymore. So adding the spotlight to them, you know, which I always say in wedding money, spotlights don't cost that much, so therefore you get a lot of bang for your buck out of something, doing something like that. So we help enhance the decor.

Sometimes we are part of the decor with like, even though we're talking lighting, but drapery usually gets involved, you know, like a lot of companies that do lighting also do drapery as well. And even like chandeliers are chandeliers. You know, you usually want that show topping some kind of something over the dance floor that is show stopping. Amazing. You know, looks beautiful. And that's what we want.

Leah Haslage:

For sure. Like, I'm a big fan of twinkle lights, is what I call them. Like, the string lights. Like, to me, it's just beautiful lighting. And we'll get into more detail with that in a second, but what role does lighting play when it comes to setting the atmosphere for the wedding and the reception? And especially since you'll be transitioning to different parts of the day, or if you're having a day-night wedding.

Kevin Dennis:

Well, yeah, and a lot of it will determine time. You know, so good point, Leah, that if we're having a daytime wedding, you know, lighting's not really that important, especially if we're going to be outside. You can't. There's no way to compete with the sun. You know, sun's going to win every time.

Leah Haslage:

Every time.

Kevin Dennis:

No matter what we do, sun wins every time. But if you're having more of an evening wedding or an indoor, like even if you're having a daytime wedding, but you're in like a ballroom or a room that does get dark, then that's when, hey, that's it's game time now. Let's start going crazy with lighting. It really creates the mood, so if you're trying to like have a lounge space and we can, you know, wash that and create a little atmosphere over there, like I was mentioning with the spotlights before, something that a lot of couples forget is uplights.

So uplights are the color lights that go on the walls that wash. You know, they're on the walls. They'll even be on sometimes some, you know, anything that you're wanting to highlight, whether it's like a, you know, like a donut wall at night. Sometimes you'll put some uplights on that or, you know, anything you're trying to highlight. That's another way to add color.

And then what it does for the photos, in my opinion, when you look at photos that have uplights, it adds dimension to the room. So it adds a little something there that is not there if you just had nothing. So if someone's taking a photo, you're going to see the person, but then there's nothing in the back. But with a little bit of uplights or a little bit of lighting, it adds some atmosphere and adds a little bit of mood.

Leah Haslage:

You know, I love that you brought up the lounge look because lights really do change the vibe, right? Like, do you want it more like clubby, loungy, sexy? Do you want more whimsical, more elegant? Especially if you're in a ballroom and it has that old school wallpaper. Lighting can help enhance it or hide it.

Kevin Dennis:

Well, yeah, and you can do like a gobo wash on something like that. And boom, it's gone. You know, like you're not seeing it. We're working with a client for their holiday party, and the ballroom has god-awful painted, like ivory colored walls. And so we're doing a whole gobo wash around the entire room. So for their holiday party, boom, it's going to look amazing. You know, like it won't look like the same room once we shut off the lights.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah. With everything with wedding planning, as we know, the very first thing that you should consider is your budget. So what factors typically influence the cost of lighting and how do you help couples stay within their budget when it comes to this?

Kevin Dennis:

So a lot of it, there's so many, like we could probably do a whole episode on this one topic right here, I'm gonna be honest with you. Because it's like, when you start diving into it, how many guests do we have invited? How big is the room? And then there's things like, are we in an old historical building that doesn't have a lot of electricity? So are we having to bring in a generator or bring in power to power up these things, because sometimes you get in these old historic buildings and there's like, there's two circuits and the caterer needs two and the band needs one or the DJ, you know what I'm saying? So then there's nothing left for us. So, um, you know, so there's a lot of factors that are going to go into it.

And I know your listeners are all over the world. So really look at your venue. what are your capabilities of your venue? And I think, you know, and then what time of day are we, and then, you know, does your venue have a lot of windows, you know, so that's another thing to think about too. So glares and sunsets and all that kind of stuff. So sometimes maybe you're bringing in drapery or like you were saying, like that ballroom that we mentioned, you don't like the look of the wallpaper, so we're going to drape it. And whether the lights are on for dinner or not, it, the whole thing, it looks like you're in a totally different room.

There's a facility close to us that we work at all the time and it's really pretty on its own. And there's some times the couples will have us drape the entire space. And I'm like, why are we like, we don't understand. I mean, we're glad to take their money, but we don't get it. We don't get it because it's like, it's pretty, let's enhance it. Let's do other things to spend your money a little bit more wisely where you get a little bit more bang for your buck. Because when you look at it, like we can be in a tent in a parking lot and it would look exactly how it looked as it did there. And a lot of people, you know, a lot of people go to that venue for the architect of it on its own.

Leah Haslage:

So like, at what point do you kind of try to step in with the couple and say, hey, my suggestion is because, well, we'll do this for you if you want it, happily, and like you said, we'll take the moolah, we know what we're doing, but the vibe and the look and like…

Kevin Dennis:

I always try to find out what they're trying to achieve. And so sometimes, like that one I was telling you about, they don't like the architect of the room. And there's a different venue we work at that has exposed ceilings, which a lot of couples, when they see it, they're like, oh, I hate it. But then they don't realize because of that, we can hang lights, hang chandeliers, hang floral, hang all kinds of stuff because the ceiling's exposed. And so there's all kinds of different ramifications and things that we could do with it that you would not normally do with a solid surface of a ceiling. Because when you have that, you're saving money in the end, because they don't realize it. Because we have to bring in rigging to rig things. And so if we don't have to bring in rigging and it already is existing, you'll save tons of money.

Leah Haslage:

To me, it's kind of the correlation of if you get married at something like a botanical garden, you're saving on your floral because you already have that back. You know, it's that kind of use what you can work with in your space and you can add on elsewhere, which we'll get into add ons in a second. But with budget and staying within budget, I know I personally have champagne taste on a beer budget. I'm sure a lot of our listeners do, too. So what are some ways that we can enhance while staying in our budget?

Kevin Dennis:

I think chandeliers, drapery, that all costs, that's going to be where a lot, you know, hanging floral, like that's a huge right now. I've had couples come back that they're spending just in the floral alone for something that a structure that we're putting up like $7,500, you know, and it's just like, Yeah, and so then add all the other things onto it as well. And then the costs add up really quickly. So sticking to like some of the basics, you know, whether it's spotlights, the uplights, you know, you get a lot of bang for your buck, maybe a little bit of drapery behind a sweetheart head table, something like that, you know, you don't have to do the entire wall. You can do instead of like a hundred foot section, you do a 20 foot section,, so there's ways to kind of work it. You know, and you kind of get to know the couple. And the biggest thing is every couple, and you know, this from interviewing so many people, it's like, everybody has something that's more important to them than something else.

One time I was DJ in a wedding and literally they spent more with me on DJ than they did anything else. So the music to them was the most important thing. They got some, for fly by night photographer. They had a paper plate wedding, you know, and they served pizza. It was the most craziest thing I've ever been a part of. But to me, I worked harder that night than I ever did because I wanted it to make it even more special for them. And the same goes with lighting. Everyone has something, you know, whether they want what everything looks like in the photos. Right now, video is booming more than ever. And so like, what is our like sizzle reel look like that they're getting, you know, that little 30 second, 90 second reel, you know, so hang the florals and the lighting and all that plays into that.

And everyone wants to be different. That's the other thing that's hard too, is we work at the same venue and over, over again, and they're like, we want to look different than my aunt or my, my aunt had my cousin's wedding there and da, da, da, you know, everyone wants to be different. But meanwhile, they all pick the same thing, which makes me laugh.

Leah Haslage:

How do you incorporate a couple's personality when doing all of it?

Kevin Dennis:

We actually ask them to send us a little bit of Pinterest board. We have a questionnaire they fill out that kind of tells us the colors and just things they like. Movies, television shows inspire people. Believe it or not, Disney, whether it's just a certain princess movie, whether, you know, like I just did a wedding and she was actually a warrior girl, loved The Little Mermaid. You know, and so she was, yeah, you know, this big, beautiful dancer and, but yet everything was a little mermaid, you know? And so it's, everyone has something different that, you know, they want to incorporate. And being from California, Disney, we hear Disney a lot. You know, that's something we do hear a lot. So it's bringing in what inspires you, you know, and what you like, you know, it could be a TV show. It could be a comic book. It could be a movie.

Leah Haslage:

Or even something with their love story, right? Like where they met.

Kevin Dennis:

100% Oh, yeah.Travel is huge.

Leah Haslage:

Travel, yes, absolutely.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, really big for that. Remember the Crazy Rich Asians movie?

Leah Haslage:

Oh my gosh, yes.

Kevin Dennis:

Remember when we said we were going to do an episode on movies?

Leah Haslage:

Yes, and we still need to do that.

Kevin Dennis:

Yes, yes. Remember the scene when the water came out from the wedding scene?

Leah Haslage:

For the floor and then she stepped on it? Her entrance.

Kevin Dennis:

Yes, people wanted, and I'm like, they don't have the money or the, I'm like, you don't have millions of dollars.

Leah Haslage:

This is the champagne taste beer budget.

Kevin Dennis:

Yes. And so it's like, so how do we incorporate some of that?

Leah Haslage:

Do you have people like on the side, just like pouring buckets of water?

Kevin Dennis:

You got to give up the water thing, but let's, let's do like the little fairy lights and the other things that they were doing. You know, there's other things that you can bring out of it. And sometimes too, it's funny. I was meeting with a couple, And the bride, you know, showed me her Pinterest board and everything. She kept saying blush, blush. I love blush. I love blush. But everything in her Pinterest board was lavender.

Leah Haslage:

What?

Kevin Dennis:

So yeah, it was crazy, right? And so I'm like sitting there and I'm talking with her and I'm like, okay, so, hey, like, can we just look at your Pinterest board? And we're going through, I'm like, okay, well see, this is lavender. That's lavender. This is lavender. And then I'm like, so I'm kind of thinking you're not a blush girl. You're a lavender girl. And her mom goes, I told you!

Leah Haslage:

So be true to yourself, know yourself, be true to yourself.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah. And you know, and right now I think you're starting to see people want bold colors right now. So that's the other thing too, is because they're trying to make a statement and be different because we've gone through the vanilla phase the last few years. I mean, it's, everything's been very neutral, very…

Leah Haslage:

The champagne.

Kevin Dennis:

And the blush and the light colors. It's like, yeah, now let's be bold with color and let's have fun with it.

Leah Haslage:

What other unique trends are you seeing right now?

Kevin Dennis:

So we're trying something different. And actually in two days, we're doing a tasting and it's going to be all umbrellas. So I'm, I'm hearing, from what I hear. Yeah. Umbrellas are like the thing for 2025. So that's, you heard it here, but all over the place, whether it's like a beach type umbrella, you know, so you have them all outside to like hanging umbrellas to you name it. Umbrellas are going to be something for 2025.

Leah Haslage:

Interesting.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, I just took a little trends thing and that's what they said. And we leaned into it. We went to the good old Amazon, found all these beautiful lacy umbrellas that were like bold colors because they also said bold colors are big for 2025. And so we're leaning into the bold colored umbrellas. We're really curious to see the reaction of the staff and the couples that are attending.

Leah Haslage:

I cannot wait to see these photos. It's going to be so cool. Are those like the main things trending right now for 25, 26, you think?

Kevin Dennis:

Hanging floral, hanging florals, not going away. And it is the biggest pain for everyone, you know, cause brides are seeing these big, beautiful photos, you know, again, champagne tastes on a beer budget on, you know, Pinterest and that kind of stuff, you know? And so therefore they're seeing it and they want it. And then they get the price tag is $7,500 plus what it costs a rig. And then it's like, Oh, I can't afford that.

So another thing, to kind of circle back a little bit, is look at when you're looking at photos, look at photos for your venue, whether it's Google images or Pinterest, start going through that for your venue because you're going to start seeing things that you can do in your venue. We get a lot of times where people are showing us stuff that's not their venue. What is happening is like, Hey, that's physically not possible in your venue because you don't have the hanging points or you're going to have to bring in, you know, 10, 15, $20,000 in rigging to make this thing even happen.

Leah Haslage:

Like you said, like historical buildings, for example, don't have all the electrical outlets and everything else. You have to bring in generators. Outdoor ceremonies you need to build from scratch in most places.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah. Yeah. One of the most beautiful weddings we ever did was at a cattle ranch in a couple of towns away from us. The person getting married, he was the fourth generation of this cattle ranching family. They wanted to get married on this big, beautiful hill out in the middle of nowhere. And so we had this space and had to create a space for them out in the middle of nowhere. And we did nothing but Edison bulbs and line the whole, cause they wanted to get married at sunset.

Leah Haslage:

I love Edison Bulbs

Kevin Dennis:

I know. Yeah. They're the best. And so we lined the whole outer space with Edison bulbs, put a couple of lights on them to highlight them, and they got married at dusk. And it was special. So with that said, you can create a space anywhere. People are getting married at the Taco Bell, the McDonald's. They're getting married. What works for them? And that's what I feel like the new generation. You know, it's about more about their personality instead of everything is blush and everything is, you know, the same old, same old.

Leah Haslage:

What is not happening anymore? Like what's so out? So I remember like early 2000s when I was a bridesmaids consultant, that was when the initials, the couple's initials, like spotlit on the floor and that was like new and hot and like became everywhere.

Kevin Dennis:

And that went out and now it's coming back.

Leah Haslage:

Really? It's cyclical. Well, I guess it's been about 25 years since I've been a Bridesmaids consultant, so that's fitting.

Kevin Dennis:

You know what I'm saying? But I keep joking because I've been doing this long enough that I was doing this in the 80s. And I'm like, I'm waiting for the poofy dresses to come back.

Leah Haslage:

But they kind of are.

Kevin Dennis:

Are they?

Leah Haslage:

Well, I've been seeing like the puffy sleeves. Some of them are detachable, and the basque waist.

Kevin Dennis:

Yep. Very popular for next year. I heard that in the trend stock as well. So the initials went away, came back and then it's something that the people either love or hate is the gobo. So that's the pattern lights. So, and so people either like love them or like vile, they don't like them at all. So it just cracks me up. Yeah. But I mean, I think tastefully, if you do them right, you can make them look really good.

Leah Haslage:

How do you work with other vendors? Because lighting has to work with photography, with floral, with now content creators is like the hot vendor for weddings. And that's a whole other aspect, right? So how does that relationship work?

Kevin Dennis:

So usually it works closely with the venue, closely with the florist, if the floral is involved, you know, and then a lot of it comes to, you know, sometimes even the rental company, because like we all have to load into this venue together, working with them to create a loading schedule so we're all not on top of each other and have five trucks trying to all get in. So that's something that I'm seeing a lot of our planners in our area that are doing a really good job is really setting a really good loading schedule with people. So that's something that we do a lot.

And then creativity, I think sometimes too, they'll come to us, but they'll like, I want all this hanging floral. And I'm like, okay, you're putting the cart before the horse because you really need to go talk to the florist, then come talk to us, you know, kind of thing. So sometimes, you know, finding out what they want and what they like will then determine kind of how we all plug and play and play together.

Leah Haslage:

Which is why having a planner is really helpful too.

Kevin Dennis:

Oh, yeah, for sure, because they're going to be able to steer you in the right direction. So a lot of people come to us, have not hired a planner, and some of them haven't even hired the photographer yet. And it's because they see the photos and the lighting and they want it, but they don't know what they want from it yet. You know, so sometimes we're working with them sometimes two, four to four months, like trying to get out their design from them until they get, you know, get them through the whole planning process. And then they'll book, you know, but sometimes they do it right. Like you said, hire the planner, get it right.

Leah Haslage:

And not everyone can afford a planner and we understand that. So, yeah, your best bet. What do you think is the best bet in the order of hiring your lighting?

Kevin Dennis:

Have a venue for sure. And then at least have an idea what you want to do with floral. Then bring in the lighting. Yeah. Because if you want anything to do with hanging floral or floral attached to like, you know, like we have wood walls or different things like that. If you want floral attached to anything that we're bringing in, then let's all collaborate together.

Leah Haslage:

We'll be right back after a quick break.

Leah Haslage:

So how do you find a reputable company to do lighting?

Kevin Dennis:

Well, I would say I would start with your venue, you know, cause they're going to have recommendations. Um, if you don't, I would start the next would be your other vendors that you work with, like your planner, your photographer, uh, your videographer, even the florist, they're going to be like, Oh my God, we worked with this amazing lighting company. You know, they're going to know who they work with, who, who makes it easy for them. You know, like The Knots of the world will get you, you know, some stuff as well, you know, but that's kind of, you're getting, kicking it down the rocks a little bit. You know, I would start with your planner, your venue for sure. especially with the venue. There's two venues that we work at that we're one of two companies that you can use, and that's all you got is either us or the other company.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah, and that's true with a lot of vendors with catering, for example. There's a lot of venues that only work with specific caterers, so that is a great tip. With that, what are common mistakes couples make and how can they avoid making them?

Kevin Dennis:

They don't know their budget. And when I mean they don't know, they have no idea. So they'll come in, and they'll ask for a lot of stuff, and then they're like, that doesn't fit in your budget. And then I'm like, well, how far away are we from the budget? They're like, we budgeted nothing for lighting. I'm like, OK, so we're starting from, so maybe starting…

Leah Haslage:

Yeah, and I think a lot of people don't because you always think about floral. You think about the venue. You think about the food. Lighting isn't usually in the top five when you're planning. No, I mean, it's important, but it never is in the top five. So what is a healthy budget? What does that look like? And I know different areas like L.A. and New York's going to be different than Cleveland.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah. Miami, like take all the big cities, you know, you're probably going to spend like on the low end, depending on the venue where you work, I would say 35 to 10, you know, would get you something like other parts of the country. You might be able to do like two to five. It might get you something really nice. And some of these venues even have pre-done stuff. To where they, you know, you know, you're buying like a dance light package that they already have installed in the ceiling and it only costs you three or four hundred dollars to rent it compared to having thousands of dollars to have someone like myself come and bring it in.

Leah Haslage:

So a couple of thousand dollars is a healthy start.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, I would say, yeah, if you go in there, it would get you something. We're scratching the surface.

Leah Haslage:

That's scratching the surface. And there's always add ons. So what are some prime examples of add ons that get involved with lighting?

Kevin Dennis:

So a lot of the things, like I mentioned, they see the pretty chandelier, they see the pretty hanging floral, but they forget the spotlights. They forget the uplights, you know, so those things tend nowadays to become the add-ons. But then, but then you have like chandeliers. So you, then you get the big, beautiful chandelier, but then you get smaller chandeliers to go around it. Things like that you can enhance and add on. And then like drapery, do you do a flat surface? Do you swag it? Do you crisscross it? Do you multicolor it? There's all kinds of things you can do to add it on and make it more personal.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah, with the uplights, that's a good one because I didn't think about things like the donut wall or champagne tower walls or whatever. When I think of add-ons, my brain already goes to like photo booth and the initial thing going across the dance floor and stuff like that.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah. But when it comes to lighting, it's definitely, the couples really miss out. I call it, you start with your foundation. And if you're going to build a lighting design, you at least need uplights and some spotlights. And then from there, let's add on, add on, add on. The big, beautiful chandelier, let's add on things from there.

Leah Haslage:

Floral.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, because then what is happening is they just get the big, beautiful chandelier. But when they get their photos back, it looks nothing like some of the photos they look at because they're missing all the other pieces.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah, that's true. What add-ons do couples not really need? What's not really worth it? Unless you really, really want it.

Kevin Dennis:

I would say a lot of times you don't need a custom… I mean, I'm not a big custom monogram. Like everyone knows who you're there and what your wedding date is, you know, like, I don't, I don't know. That's not, that's something you can kind of forego, I think. Right now, I think something that is like a trend or a fad that you can get or not is, is the cold sparklers. So that's, you know, cold sparks I think are something that is that…

Leah Haslage:

What is that?

Kevin Dennis:

Oh, it's like the fire, the indoor fireworks where the couple's dancing.

Leah Haslage:

Oh, yes. I’ve seen those. What are they called again?

Kevin Dennis:

It's cold sparklers.

LDT:

Cold sparklers. I never knew the name. I just thought they were just like…

Kevin Dennis:

So a lot of venues in my area don't allow them. Yeah, cause I'm in California where you have to have a million licenses to do everything, but some venues do. And you're supposed to, you know, you could touch them. I've done it. You touch them and then you don't get, you know, fire on you or anything because they're cold. To me. It's a fad. You're going to look back and you're going to go, why did I do that?

Leah Haslage:

Unless, like, you are having a total rock star wedding that goes with, like, the concert vibe.

Kevin Dennis:

But sometimes they do these big, elegant weddings, and they have cold sparklers, and it just doesn't match.

Leah Haslage:

Looks off.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, it does. I agree.

Leah Haslage:

You brought up a really good point that we're gonna move into the most unsexy thing in wedding planning, but the most important, and that is contracts. Because both the couple and the companies need to protect their assets. So what are, because you mentioned the permits and permissions. So right before we get into that, when it comes to the contracts, what is typically involved?

Kevin Dennis:

So for, you know, obviously there's some kind of a retainer to hold, um, you know, and then all the equipment. So we're inventory based. So we tell our clients, you can always add to your contract, tou can't subtract. So once we take it out of our inventory for that Saturday in June, we can't sell it to anybody else, you know, so therefore it belongs to you on that day. So that's something that's in our contract. And so I always tell our client, the clients to start with the bare bone minimum items that they know they want, and then we can add on as we go.

So that's the big thing too, and we don't charge our clients. There's no additional fee to add things on. It's just, is it available? We'll add, do an addendum to their contract and add it. You know, so that's a feature that we do. Some companies do charge to add on. I don't, it doesn't make any sense to me because all they are spending more money with you. Why penalize them for spending more money with you?

Leah Haslage:

Right.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, I don't, I don't understand that. Yeah, it makes no sense to me. It's like, oh, you got to get it all now, you know, or you don't get it. But just make sure like all the normal stuff is in there to protect yourself, you know, like for especially for a couple, you're going to want to make sure that they have insurance. And you're going to want to make sure that they, uh, you know, some, some venues will require you to have the liability and list the venue and all that stuff out there. So make sure you have all that as well.

And then like we were mentioning, like in San Francisco, you have to have a permit to do drapery. Yeah. Well, it depends on where, if you're in a government building in San Francisco, you have to have a permit. So other buildings don't, but you know, the other thing too, with drapery, making sure it's all fire retardant, you know, cause it is fabric. That's another thing to make sure.

Leah Haslage:

Especially when you have things like cold sparklers near drapery.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah. And they're not supposed to light things on fire, but you see, see things that have been lit on fire from them.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah. When they say there's lily fires at your wedding, sometimes there's lily fires at your wedding. It's not just like the cake toppers missing.

Kevin Dennis:

Oh, there's always drama like we talked about earlier.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah, I'm sure. So how do you handle when there is like, because things happen, how do you handle, you know, tech issues, last minute changes, stuff like that?

Kevin Dennis:

I always feel in the wedding industry, we're the greatest improv ever. You know, we have to, you know, we have to roll with the punches. And sometimes that little flower girl doesn't want to walk down the aisle or, you know, someone doesn't show up. That's part of it. You know, so whatever it is, even on the day of, it's like, oh, well, there's supposed to be 20 tables. Now we only have 19. Where's that extra table, the spotlight, you know, kind of thing. You know, we have to just, you know, I'm pretty transparent with my couples when something goes wrong. Hopefully they have a planner and we can, you know, we make it up and we come to them with a solution is like, Hey, X, Y, Z happened. We came up with this A, B, C plan and it's going to be perfect.

And the other thing too, is what a lot of couples don't realize is when things go wrong, like you've been a guest at a wedding. I'm going to guarantee right now, you've been a guest at a wedding that something went wrong. But you had no idea, because they had professionals working on it. The wedding planner starts with this big, beautiful timeline, and stuff happens. And therefore, now, instead of at 7:15, we're now at 7:25. So we're having to improv throughout the entire day. So therefore, we're having to make things up as we go. So I mean, that's the thing, I think, is we're the greatest at improv than any other profession out there.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah, if there's any profession they have to think on their feet fast enough besides the medical field and safety forces, it's weddings.

Kevin Dennis:

We used to do this independent film festival here in our wine country. I live in Livermore. So Livermore, we have a bunch of wineries, and you would get these C-list actors come, and they would show all their films and do this film festival. And it was a lot of fun. We got some interesting people come through. But we would provide all the AV, some lighting. for all the different wineries. And then we had someone, his dad was actually famous, very famous. John Madden's son, Joe Madden was very, very involved in film and that's what he went to school for. And so he was a big part of this film festival and he would, him and I always had this joke because we were always like five steps ahead of him on setting up. And he's like, you guys are so fast and I don't, I can't keep up. And so I'm like, Joe, you guys in film get, 25, 30 times to get it right, we get one, one time to do it right. And so every time I see him, he goes, Mr. One take is what, you know, he would give me a bad time. Yeah. And it's true. I'm like, if something happens, we have to make it up and roll with it.

Leah Haslage:

There's no do overs.

Kevin Dennis:

No, no. The bride, you know, the couple has to walk down that aisle and everything has to happen. And, you know, it happens whether everything's ready or not.

Leah Haslage:

Right. With all that, with the contracts, COVID really, I think, put the spotlight, so to speak, on the part of the contract where it's like a change of heart, act of God, rescheduling, all this kind of stuff. So what is the most important thing that should be in the contract that the couple should be aware of?

Kevin Dennis:

Consult an attorney, which a lot of wedding professionals had to do after COVID. And whether you had the proper act of God or a pandemic. A government shutdown was something that was in our contract that I didn't realize was in our contract, and that's what saved us during the pandemic. Yeah. And some people did not have, so it's what their force majeure clause is. And that's something that everyone's got to check what they're responsible for, what they're liable for.

You know, and the other thing too, in the contracts for couples is check cancellation dates. Cause that's going to be different on everybody's contract. Like you'll lose, with us, if you're six, six months out, it's like you lose just your retaining fee. And then after that, you start having to pay a portion of it because as we get closer to the wedding, we're ready for you, whether you're ready or not, you know, kind of thing and stuff happens. You know, it's, we've had, unfortunately with COVID we've had, it's just been crazy. And like, again, we've have an improv and have to make up everything and, you know, things have changed and it's been, you know, everyone has a hard hardship story and we've had to navigate through all that. And it's been rough. It's been a rough time in the wedding industry the last five years.

Leah Haslage:

Oh, I'm sure. And with that, on the couple's end, things do happen, like a major illness, a death in the immediate family, Unfortunately, change of heart at the very last minute.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah That's the one I have the least passion for. But some traditions, if there's a death, or cultures, I mean, if there's a death in the family, the couple can't get married for a year. There's all kinds of different... So there's a lot of things that go into that.

Leah Haslage:

So make sure you really look into that in the contracts. But on your end of things, for vendors, is there anything in the contract to protect the couple as well that if you have major technical issues that day and cannot provide the services? Or if, say, God forbid, you were in an accident or ill or there was an immediate death and you can't perform?

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, we have all that in our contract. So you just make sure you read your vendors’ contracts, make sure you have, you know, like the what ifs and the oopses and the not show up-ses and all those things are all you're protected in every way.

So we had our contract redone. I want to say it was in 2018, which is kind of random that we had them redone because our contract was… I went to a conference and they said, if your contract is only one pages, two pages, you're not protected and your couples are not protected. Yeah. So it's like…

Leah Haslage:

interesting.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, no, I was like, oh, and I went back and our, and our contracts were literally two pages. And so I was like, oh, so we sent our contract off to an attorney and had it redone. And now it's like, there's protections in there for the couples, protections in there for us. It's, you know, it's, it's, everything's more protected in there as well.

The other thing too is, um, some people are private and don't want photos reposted and all that kind of stuff. So that's another thing that we'll get in our contract is an image release. And some people will, uh, opt out of the image release. So we give our couples an option to opt out of it. So that's something to remember as well. So if you're very private, like some people want their wedding all over. Instagram, magazines, you, you name it.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah. We had Megan, we had Megan Ely on to discuss having your wedding submitted into magazines and blogs and stuff. So no, this is a great point. I forgot about that. Yeah. There is a thing in the contract for that.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah. So make sure you have the image release in there. Cause we do a lot of like just time lapses and watch the whole setup and different things. So we know going into it that if there's not an image release that we, you know, we're not going to share anything and we're going to be respectful of our couples.

Leah Haslage:

Thanks for that pro tip, that's great. You had mentioned that with the contract, not every vendors like this, but most I think probably are to where you can keep adding on to the contract, but you cannot remove. And you mentioned that you don't charge an extra fee, but some people do. If a company who does charge the extra fees, does that make them-

Kevin Dennis:

I'd be leery.

Leah Haslage:

Do you think that, yeah, I was gonna say, do you think that makes them not as professional, not as-

Kevin Dennis:

You know, because like most of your rental, because we consider the lighting side of us as more like a rental company, and most rental companies, your guest count's gonna fluctuate, you know? So therefore, even like with us, if you're doing pin spots on every table, and now all of a sudden you have 20 more people coming to your wedding, well, that's two more tables, you know? So you have to add that in there, you know? So I'm not gonna penalize you for having more people at your wedding. You know, I'm going to just take care of what your needs are and not penalize you. So if they do, I'd be leery. I'd be really leery.

Leah Haslage:

Good to know. So a lot of venues, they'll offer discounts if you're doing a weekday wedding and off season. Do vendors typically also? Or is that more just a venue thing?

Kevin Dennis:

I'm going to say it's more of a venue thing because for them, they're selling property. And, uh, you know, so they only have so many Saturdays to sell, um, you know, or so many Friday nights, so many Sunday, you know, so many days to sell. Therefore, if they can get you in during the week, they're going to give you a little bit of break, but they're still going to charge the same amount for catering and all that kind of stuff. It's where they save is on the rental. It's the same amount of work for us to do a wedding, whether it's on a Monday or a Friday, Saturday. So unfortunately we, you know, most, most of your people are not going to give you a discount. Sometimes we'll waive the delivery fee or something like that to just kind of help the couple out. But yeah, I would say that it's definitely a venue thing because again, they only have so many Saturdays to sell.

Leah Haslage:

That makes sense. Do you see weekdays or like, I know weekend brunches were trending. Like, do you see that quite a bit or not as much anymore? It's almost like a Friday, Saturday night thing.

Kevin Dennis:

No, it's, they're all over. So we, this year we have done a wedding, at least one wedding on every single day of the week. And so it depends on the time of year. We slow down. We do weddings year-round where I am. But with that said, all our outdoor venues are offline for the next five months. And then they'll come back about the end of March, beginning of April for us. And then they'll start doing weddings again. And they usually go through the end of October. So we get busier when there's more venues to service. But all the people that do indoor, have indoor ceremony sites and that kind of stuff, we do Wedding Year around here. So I just, you know, I don't know. I just think it's, your area is going to really determine all those things.

Leah Haslage:

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And September, October, I know here in the States, especially here in the Midwest, is like the most popular. And then maybe June.

Kevin Dennis:

The greatest education I got through being the president of WIPA was learning that everybody's wedding markets are different. Everybody's across the country. So we had a really big chapter in Phoenix, Arizona. And so, about the end of October, November, they start going crazy with weddings. And then come about the end of February, March-ish, they start slowing down because it gets so damn hot there.

Leah Haslage:

Oh, yeah.

Kevin Dennis:

You know, and some people they'll do a handful of weddings during the summer, you know, like very rare are people doing weddings there. You know, they happen, but not like they do during the winter months in that neck of the woods.

Leah Haslage:

What do you see trending internationally with lighting in weddings? Just kind of throw out for different areas because we do have listeners all over the world.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, it just depends on where you're at and what's available. But like using video, video is becoming a huge thing. So washing a wall and then, you know, a fish is swimming through it and you're underwater. So video mapping, I think is really, it was a thing and all talked about in my industry about maybe seven, eight years ago, but it was so expensive. And the couples that were, were, you know, they were spending $50,000 to $60,000 just on the video mapping. You know, you know, so as the prices are coming down, as it becomes, the technology gets better, more accessible, you know, I think that's something that I would say in the, at least in the next five years, you're going to see, but some, some of these European countries are doing it a little bit more regular than we are in the States.

Leah Haslage:

What about live streaming? Because like COVID really made that a thing because you could only have like 20 people, but I don't really hear about it anymore.

Kevin Dennis:

It's gone now. I mean, very rare. So we are in the melting pot of the Bay Area. So we have so many different ethnicities, cultures, religions, you name it. So sometimes they'll have like family over in China that can't make the trip because they're elderly. They'll live stream. And I totally and they'll get it. And it's usually just for, you know, a small group of people. It's not like what we were doing for COVID.

Leah Haslage:

Right. You're having it on YouTube live.

Kevin Dennis:

Yeah, exactly. And it was like hundreds and hundreds of people are logging into these weddings, you know, kind of thing. So I think it's more situational now when you see it, you know, more like, oh, I have a grandma that lives somewhere far away and she's not going to be able to get on an airplane to get here, but I want her to see, see me get married.

Leah Haslage:

So as we're wrapping up here, what is your final piece of lighting advice for couples when planning?

Kevin Dennis:

Don't forget the spotlights and the uplights. I'm going to start with your foundation, go in there and then build off of that. You need these items, they're going to make your photos a hundred times better with them than they were without them. So that's going to be my biggest thing.

And then just really take the time to put together a really good Pinterest, use Pinterest or gather your photos and store them in a Google doc or something, but just take the time to really do the research and find out what you like, you know, find photos you like, but like you were saying, you love the twinkle lights, but what about the twinkle lights? Do you like, you know, that would be the next question I have for you. Cause everyone loves them and they love them in a different way.

Leah Haslage:

The soft lighting to me, it's just so romantic.

Kevin Dennis:

It very is.

Leah Haslage:

All right, Kevin, last question, the pop culture question. Is there a celebrity wedding or one that you're hoping for?

Kevin Dennis:

OK, so it's kind of random. And what was talked about in the trends thing is we have a very predominant pop culture couple that's very famous right now and that they're, you know, everyone's following their every move, what you do. So, you know…

Leah Haslage:

Taylor and Travis?

Kevin Dennis:

Uh-huh. Started this whole discussion because it was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding was like pretty much broke the internet and broke the world when that happened. And people are in the wedding industry and whatnot are thinking if these two get married and depending on what they do for their wedding, you know, they could have this very you know, private ceremony that, you know, and like there was someone that joked at our table that was at the event that said, they're probably married and we don't even know it, you know, kind of thing. And, you know, but I just feel like if they have a wedding that has photos out, it's going to, it's going to break the wedding world. And they're going to start trends that have never been seen before in this world, because there is not one, whether you love them or hate them, you know, you have to follow that.

Leah Haslage:

I agree. Jessica Bishop from Budget Savvy Bride, who's a big Swifty and like goes to all the Arrow shows. She and I have had this exact discussion, and I'm really hoping for it. Not only because I do like love them together, but Travis is from here where I'm from. He's from Cleveland.

Kevin Dennis:

Oh, no way. No way.

Leah Haslage:

So yeah. Shaker kids. So if they could have it here, it'd be even better.

Kevin Dennis:

Okay. And so it's funny because I listened to their podcast, the brothers, and these are just two, two dudes that, like I went to school, like I could have gone to school with them just happened to become two of the most famous brothers out there right now. I mean, you can't think of anybody. more famous than these two. And they were just regular kids, you know, and that's what I think that's some of the attraction to them as well. Even with Taylor, she was just a normal girl that could sing that was told she wasn't really good. And then all of a sudden, hey, she's really good.

Leah Haslage:

Kevin, I love it. And I am having you back on so we can talk about pop culture and weddings, because I know you are my fellow nerd. And we're going to come back and talk entertainment with you as well, because you're a DJ and you give such great advice and knowledge. And so we want to sponge from your wisdom.

Kevin Dennis:

I can do it.

Leah Haslage:

So where can we find you, Kevin?

Kevin Dennis:

So you can find me on good old Instagram @fsesevents. And then, um, you can also find us on the web at www.fantasysound.com.

Leah Haslage:

Thanks Kevin. Talk to you soon.

Kevin Dennis:

We'll talk to you soon. Bye guys.

Leah Haslage:

Thanks for joining us today! Be sure to subscribe wherever you get podcasts so you never miss an episode. Give us a follow on social media and visit thebridechilla.com. To leave a question you'd like to hear answered on the show, head to speakpipe.com/bridechillapodcast, also linked in the description.

Bridechilla is a production of Evergreen Podcasts. Thanks to our producer and engineer, Gray Sienna Longfellow, and our executive producers, Brigid Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. And of course, a special thanks to Aleisha, our OG bridechilla, and Meghan Ely of OFD Consulting. I'm your host, Leah Haslage. Until next time, Chillas!