Brittany and Jason chose to have their wedding ceremony and subsequent reception celebration at the beautiful Barnes Foundation, a gallery in the heart of Philadelphia’s downtown. The Barnes features some of the world’s most renowned impressionist and post-impressionist paintings from the likes of Renoir, Picasso, and Cézanne, and their Annenberg Court event space offers artistic attraction of its own, making it an ideal unique location to plan your special event.

After the conclusion of the ceremony on the terrace-side of the room, guests were invited to enjoy cocktails and hors d’ovueres directly adjacent to where Brittany and Jason exchanged vows, and our temporary drape reveal installation served to segregate the reception design from the remainder of the room. Without this physical separation, there is no elegant way to transition through the event space without revealing the look of the room to the guests.

The clients wanted their reception to mimic an intimate candlelit dinner with bubbly champagne as an inspirational element, but since the venue’s open flame policy prevents any form of fire, including candles, we had to improvise. To give the illusion of flickering flames, we projected moving wash lighting onto the knifed ceiling, and we selected gobos that alluded to champagne bubbles rising to the top of a flute. We achieved the moving ceiling wash effect by using gobo-rotators, which we installed onto our black leko fixtures. In addition to the ceiling wash, these fixtures also powered the couple’s ceremony wash, band wash, and dance floor wash. The event’s designer and planner, Marc Uravic, opted for black fixtures for their superior ability to blend into the background. Rounding out the design were the pin spotted florals, created by Jamie Rothstein Floral and Event Design.

The Barnes Foundation presents its own unique challenges with regards to elaborate lighting rigs, as the ceiling was specifically designed to channel ambient daylight straight down into the space. This architectural style of ceiling causes the ballroom to stay brighter for longer, making focusing lighting fixtures a challenge. Our project management team devised creative solutions to combat this issue, and the resulting photos beautifully demonstrate the magic that was Brittany and Jason’s wedding. Congratulations, newlyweds! Special thanks to Cliff Mautner  for documenting their exciting and emotional day in style:

Services Used:

• Ceremony wash
• Uplighting
• Ceiling wash
• Band wash
• Dance floor wash
• Pin spotting
• Drape reveal

Partnered Vendors:

• Planner: Marc Uravic Event Design
• Venue: The Barnes Foundation
• Photographer: Cliff Mautner Photography
• Florist: Jamie Rothstein Floral and Event Design
• Frozen centerpieces: Ice Concepts