Green Wedding Ideas from DJ Bri

“Green Weddings” or “Eco-Friendly Weddings” are more than just a trend–they’re a new way of thinking about wedding traditions, many of which have their roots in a celebration of nature and life. In fact, the bride’s bouquet as a symbolic connection to nature is a wedding tradition that dates back in various forms for thousands of years (http://ourmarriage.com/html/why_does_the_bride_carry_flowe.html).

The Heather H Bouquet, Courtesy of A Night in Bloom Event Floristry

Today, more than ever, brides and grooms are looking to decrease their wedding’s impact on the environment. The Sierra Club’s website 10 Steps to a Green Wedding (http://www.sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/03/10_steps_to_a_g.html) has a variety of ideas for brides and grooms with an eye on their wedding’s environmental footprint. Similar advice on going green on your wedding day can be found at How to Go Green: Weddings (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/weddings/) and Great Green Wedding (http://greatgreenwedding.com/default.php) and its blog (http://greatgreenwedding.com/blog/).

The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/fashion/11green.html?_r=1) and USA Today (http://www.usaweekend.com/09_issues/090607/090607thinksmart-green-weddings.html) have also recently published articles on green weddings as well.

When considering an eco-friendly wedding, the words “green” and “DJ” might not seem to go together at all! Truthfully, a disc jockey’s mobile setup in the 80′s or even 90′s did consume a lot of power. Turntables for vinyl records and the motors on CD players used a lot of energy.

Lighting was always the worst draw in a DJ’s environmental footprint though–traditional or halogen bulbs required at least 250 watts, and usually more in the neighborhood of 500 watts to have an impact on a banquet room or tent. Most of these lights had powerful fans as well, to keep the units from running too hot. DJs using 4 or more of these lights usually drew so much power that the lighting needed to be plugged into a separate circuit.

Technology has come a long way in the past few years toward allowing a DJ to run a much more green setup than ever before. Laptops or hard drives have replaced CDs as a much more reliable, environmentally friendly source of music.

The real revolution has come in mobile DJ lighting though. LED, or “light-emitting diode” lighting uses far less power than traditional or halogen lighting. As Scott Davies, General Manager of the DJ equipment company American DJ explains, mobile DJs no longer have to “worry [about] finding enough power to run their lights. They can also run their lights longer without worrying about overheating. DJ’s will also be free of what is now a pretty much constant concern about replacing lamps, because of the very long useful life of LED units” (http://www.djzone.net/pg/news/lighting/lets-talk-led-dj-lighting.shtml). In years past, a DJ could run a traditional or halogen light for maybe 250-500 hours at most (one wedding season) before having to “throw away” a non-biodegradable bulb and replace it. Today’s LED lights can run from 50,000 to 100,000 hours before any bulbs need to be replaced (http://www.mobilebeat.com/index.php?s=revo+III). As Davies notes all of this technology allows a DJ to put on a better light show for your guests while using less power: “typically the LED effect products from 30-50w ratings offer similar output to 400w halogen fixtures and units 50W and up offer output more than 500w halogen units – you really can’t measure them with a meter and have it make sense – it is the effect you see with your eyes that tells the true story” (http://www.djzone.net/pg/news/lighting/lets-talk-led-dj-lighting.shtml).

The Bride and Groom share a moment together set to DJ Bri's music and lighting. (Photo of Courtesy of Lori O'Toole Images)

 

As the owner of Spinning with Style, I, DJ Bri Swatek, have converted my entire lighting show over to eco-friendly, low-environmental-impact LED lighting. The two types of lighting effects I use in my DJ setup are the American DJ Par 64 LED Pro and the American DJ Revo III. These 2 LED lighting effects are used during open dancing to create a party atmosphere. The Par 64 LED Pro creates a soft wash of color during ballads. The Revo III then changes pattern in time to the beat of the music during party songs. At Spinning with Style, the lighting is always pointed at the ceiling and upper walls of the venue to ensure that the effect is “felt” but not distracting in terms of being at eye level. The lighting system is kept turned off during important dances and special events to allow photographers to work with the venue’s normal lighting, ensuring the best photos possible.

LED lighting is just one of many choices that a bride and groom can make to decrease the environmental impact of their event and “go green” on their wedding day.

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DJ Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style
Your Professional Disc Jockey and MC Service
in the Hudson Valley of New York

Email:   briswatek@aol.com
Phone:  845.235.0080
Online:   www.djbriswatek.com