How thoughtful, elegant design, and seamless lighting transformed this private estate wedding.
TL;DR
At the end of the night, no one remembered seeing light fixtures, generators, or cables, but they felt warmth, rhythm, and joy. That’s the real secret of great production: it’s not just about how it looks, it's about how it makes you feel.
Bright florals & flawless production
The Plan
From the moment we began working on Taylor & Joe’s spring wedding, it was clear that this would be a magical evening that felt effortless from every angle. Their planner was the brilliant Kelsey Aller, Senior Event Planner at A Charming Fête.
The wedding was to be held at a private home in Oberlin, OH, with a tented celebration under the stars. The couple wanted a clean, crisp aesthetic filled with personal touches and bright florals.
The Design
The design was inspired by Taylor's sister's wedding, which took place on the family property in 2018. She had had a sailcloth-tented wedding, which played on a green, blue, and white design. Taylor really loved the details and colors of her sister's wedding, but didn't want to fully recreate the exact vision. Together with Kelsey, they decided to add more colors and floral details.
Our Job
As the production and lighting partner, our job was to make the night glow without ever stealing the spotlight. This meant chic and secretive lighting, hidden generators, and sturdy staging.
“[Working with SSE] is just a no-brainer for us at this point,” said Kelsey Aller. “Our team has worked with Jay R. specifically for decades on weddings, and when it comes to tented weddings, they know how to do it best. They automatically know the design aesthetic and details that go into a tented wedding, so it makes our jobs easier as the planners and designers to work with a vendor that already knows our expectations.”
Our approach: Make it seamless and, in some cases, invisible!
The challenge: create a luminous atmosphere without interrupting the aesthetic.
The solution: white fixtures, white cables, and custom clamps.
For the tent space, we brought in our all-white VariLite Acclaim LED ZoomSpot fixtures, which washed the sailcloth tent ceiling in soft white hues to start, followed by colorful splashes of light after sunset.
Outside, the client needed a lighted pathway leading to the tent. We carefully placed Astera AX5 wireless LED PAR lights with diffuser domes to create gentle, ground-level illumination. Guests could move safely back and forth without compromising the elegant design.
“SSE always does a phenomenal job for our clients, but for this wedding specifically, tent lighting and tent uplighting were crucial,” said Aller. “We knew lighting was going to be the most important and crucial element as time went on in the evening, and it got dark. The tent lighting design was absolutely perfect and super fitting for the evening formalities.”
Functional lighting matters too
All good design includes subtle bits of lighting that highlight but don’t overpower. (Think the little lights on the side when your cardoor opens or pathway lights up to your house.)
In our industry, we call these little, battery-powered fixtures pinspots.
We used these at Taylor and Joe’s wedding to highlight tables (and some of the spaces between them), the band, and the bar. These provided just enough warm, white light to keep things safe and comfortable.
Power where there isn’t any
The tent was 200 feet from the main house with zero access to power. With a band and lighting equipment that most certainly needed electricity, a generator was a necessity.
Oftentimes, generators aren’t the most elegant or quiet of things. We solved that by bringing in whisper-quiet generators hidden behind a custom white facade and gorgeous arrangements of flowers.
Poof, no ugly tech in the Instagram shots. Phew.
Rain and mud be gone
Ohio weather. Need we say more?
Rain had come a day or two before the wedding, leaving soft, muddy ground conditions during load-in. With nearly a dozen vendors needing to bring in their equipment and traverse the 200 feet from the driveway to the tent, this posed a real hazard to the client’s beautiful grass.
We collaborated with the team at A Charming Fête to develop a solution, ultimately sourcing 100 feet of plywood to create a walkway that prevented damage to the grass.
Let the music play
Having worked with The Avenue band on several occasions before, we were familiar with their specific staging and power circuit requirements. We brought in our Stage Right decks and stairs to create the perfect stage setup for them. We also got them connected to the generator so they’d have full power for their performance.
The secret sauce? Collaboration rooted in trust
At weddings like Taylor & Joe’s, the work looks easy when it’s done by an incredible team of pros. And strong partnerships matter.
“SSE was a trouper when it came to vendor support,” said Kelsey. “Their lead team member that day stayed back until past midnight to make sure the lighting was still on for all vendors as they loaded out.”
"This was a client that trusted their planners, and the planners trusted us,” said Jay R Rich, VP of Selective Sound Events. “There was a lot of trust that went into bringing this beautiful celebration together."
Your wedding deserves elegance that feels easy. But behind that feeling is smart planning, creative problem-solving, and vendors who don’t just do their jobs, they elevate your vision.
“The couple was extremely satisfied and overwhelmed with joy from their wedding day,” said Aller. “Taylor and Joe both expressed deep gratitude to all vendors and the planning team on the day of. They were very happy with the fireworks display, flow of their day, timeline execution, and overall curated vibe. It was a great day for all involved.”
Vendor Team:
- Planner: Kelsey Aller, A Charming Fête
- Florist: Molly Taylor and Co.
- Photographer: Kristin Leanne Photography
- Tent: AAble Rents
- Rentals: Borrow Curated, Lasting Impressions Event Rental, Event Source, Stradley Davidson, and Nuage Designs
- Lighting & Power: Selective Sound Events
- Entertainment: The Avenue Band
- Stationary: Plume & Paper