Lusting After Lighting

There is something so elegant and classic about a monogram. And us southern ladies just L.O.V.E. a monogram. Bags, jewelry, hell we even monogram our cars! (No really, our cars.)

See y'all? I can't make this stuff up. Image via Girly Twirly

So what does this have to do with the wedding? Well, naturally I wanted to incorporate Mr. Hawk and I's newly minted monogram into our wedding reception. And what better way to do that than use a globo light? (And while we're at it? Add a little uplighting!)

Image via Blue Steel Pro Lighting, Photo by Don Mears Photography

To be honest, when I started doing research about professional lighting in the area, I had no idea how much it cost. I just went about my merry way, visiting websites and blogs trying to find the best vendors. Well finding the best vendor in the Richmond/Hampton Roads area wasn't really a problem. I fell in love with one  right away. Their work was amazing and the reviews I read had nothing but good things to say. I set up an appointment and visited Rachel at the Richmond design studio. In an adjacent room they actually have a mini mock-up wedding reception set up where Rachel showed me the color options, pinspotting, and my beloved monogram. It was awesome to see the different color and lighting options in person. (I'm such an easy sell!)

This is when the hard part came: we sat down to talk numbers. And the number that I had in my head? Well suffice it to say that it was about half of the going rate. Now, I know that they would be worth every penny. Besides the set-up and take-down of all the lighting (uplighting, globo, pinspotting), they also keep technicians on hand all night for trouble-shooting! The budget part just absolutely KILLS me. Adding the lighting could pretty much eliminate our floral budget. (Cue internal cringe.) I still brought it up to Mr. Hawk for his opinion at which point I'm pretty sure he just rolled his eyes, thinking "there she goes again, imagining we have an unlimited budget." And this time when I brought it up a week later (and maybe the next week AND the next week after that)? The answer was still N-O.

Because I tend to be super-persistent when I really want something, I'm not ready to let this dream die quite yet. I know there has got to be a way that I can finagle our budget to make this work. So file this one in the undecided category. (And in my head I'm praying this is the one post Mr. H decides not to read. Love you, honey!)

How do y'all feel about professional lighting? Is it a must-do or something that can be skipped?