Imagine your wedding venue as a blank canvas. What vibe do you want to give your guests when they arrive and help you celebrate the night away? Of course, décor leaps to mind, and one of the most dramatic transformations you can make is lighting!

We’ve seen John Farr and his company, John Farr Lighting Design, turn an ordinary space into an extraordinary one with well placed uplighting and amazing gobo lights that do more than just illuminate initials on the dance floor – they can project texture like lace and palm trees on the walls and ceiling! Watching John and his team work their magic is truly something to behold.

Hotel Monaco, lighting by John Farr Lighting Design, image by Robert Isacson

John used to tour with and handle lighting for names like Rick James and Hall and Oates, and in 1988, he was traveling with Gladys Knight. In fact, it was July 1, 1988 when he was here in DC when he started talking to some guys from the DC Fire Department and found out they were hiring. By December that year, he had stopped touring and was working as an EMT for DCFD, and doing lighting on his days off!

In 2003, he was assigned to the day shift, but his lighting business on the side was taking off. Since he was riding the truck during the day, he couldn’t help his lighting clients, so he threw himself into the lighting business full time and hasn’t looked back.

We’re glad he did because he’s a pleasure to work with. His years delivering babies and saving lives has given him a perspective that keeps him stress-free and happy on wedding day set-ups. He’s a firm believer that weddings are times of joy and that we should all have fun, even if we’re there to work. It’s a day for all to celebrate, and there’s very little on a day like that to get bent out of shape about.

John also recently told us he’s a firm believer in not gouging his customers, which all of us at Chris Laich Music Services couldn’t agree with more. When his brides and grooms make lighting requests, if John feels it’s not necessary, he’ll tell them and ask them to reconsider since they’d just be wasting their money.

Hotel Monaco, lighting by John Farr Lighting, image by Robert Isacson

Back in the ‘70s, when he was a kid doing lighting for local bands in his hometown of Erie, PA, bands used to do what’s called a show set and a dancing set. He and the band would come up with choreographed scenes for the show set that combined the music, moves lighting, and special effects for a real showstopper. He’d love to do that for a wedding! Can you imagine a lighting scheme that evolves and changes during the first dance, along with special effects to make it seem as though the couple is floating on a cloud?

Sounds pretty amazing, right? So, if you’re looking for some extra magic and wow factor on your wedding day, lighting might just be the thing!