Blog « Intelligent Lighting Design – Weddings & Special Event Lighting Design for Austin, Houston, & Dallas

Camp Lucy Goes Uptown

On May 24th, 2013 / Weddings / Leave a comment

The elegant and unique backdrop provided by Camp Lucy for the wedding of Arrington Grawunder of Uptown Valet & Transportation and his new bride, Christy made for a picture-perfect, Texas Summer wedding. Collaborating with LIV by Design – Event Planning & Design Boutique for the wedding helped streamline the entire process. They were absolutely amazing to work with from start to finish!

Our designs for the wedding included uplighting around the perimeters and a monogrammed and patterned dance floor for guests of the wedding to let loose on after the ceremony. Once the sunset, all of the outdoor foliage was lit with customized tree lighting, and the indoor festivities included wireless pinspots and chandeliers to create a romantic atmosphere both indoors and outdoors.

Special thank you to some of our vendors, including Uptown Valet & Transportation, David Kurio Designs, The Pictures Band, Word of Mouth Catering, Simon Lee Bakery, Polkadots Cupcake Factory, Suzanne Court Catering & Events and Dragonfly Designs Invitations! Check out a few of the photos below taken by the fabulous Jerry Hayes Photography that really capture the event. We are waiting on even more amazing photos from Christina Carroll Photography.

No Strings Attached

On May 17th, 2013 / Portfolio / Leave a comment

We’ve recently introduced our new wireless pinspotting services, and so far they have been a popular choice for our clients. They are the latest in cutting-edge technology that saves you time and money. These magnetic, battery-operated pinspots offer the advantage of no wires, extension cords, and the freedom to place them virtually anywhere throughout the venue to allow maximum customization. They’re perfect for illuminating specific areas like featured centerpieces, florals, cakes, walkways, fashion runways, and much more. Our favorite part about these pinspots is how easily manageable they are – especially for outdoor events! It has now become almost effortless to create visible walkways for outdoor nighttime events or spotlighting outdoor food stations. It has also come to no surprise that artists have reached out to us to highlight their artwork. Brilliance!

At Intelligent Lighting Design, we are continuously asking ourselves how we can step it up and keep our sights on the future. Our little crystal ball is telling us that these pinspots are taking us in the right direction. They are intricate, yet absolutely hassle-free: no wires, no mess, and so easy to install, you can do it yourself!

Product photos provided by FUEL.

Love and Light

On May 3rd, 2013 / Portfolio / Leave a comment

Austin Bridal Secrets mentioned.

Amongst the ongoing busy schedule of events, Intelligent Lighting Design’s Regional Operations, Katherine McCommon, took a few moments away to step into the studio booth of Austin Bridal Secrets.

Her sit down with RJ Johnson, owner of Music4Life DJ’s, was nothing but successful as Katherine was able to describe and capture the meaning behind Intelligent Lighting Design all within a matter of minutes.

She talks about the true passion behind her and the entire Intelligent Lighting Design team. Katherine explains about the feeling she gets after implementing that wow factor to any event and the privilege it is when Intelligent Lighting Design gets hired by a client.

Alongside weddings, Katherine stresses on the impact within the philanthropy world that Intelligent Lighting Design strives to make. The collaboration with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Denton County, Austin Children’s Shelter, and the Young & Fabulous Fashion Show to benefit Dell Children’s Medical Center, are just a few of the causes that Intelligent Lighting Design has done and is looking forward to.

It is Katherine’s favorite quote that has us reflecting on the positive differences that we have made and will continue to make in the future, so we’ll pass it along to you for the same reasons.

“You are a conductor of light.”- Arthur Conan Doyle

Make sure to listen to the podcast here!

Engaged! in Austin Take 2

On April 26th, 2013 / Corporate, Portfolio, Weddings / Leave a comment

Austin WeddingDay Style Magazine

Premiere Party Central & Premiere Tents and Events

Universal Sounds Entertainment

Arnosky Family Farm

The Vista on Seward Hill (Wedding and Event Center)

Floral Renaissance of Austin

Life Styled Events

Blue Note Bakery

Sweet Love & Sugar Britches

Music4Life DJs

Matt Montalvo Photography

Cedar Park Florist

Simon Lee Bakery

Yellow Umbrella Events & Design

The Flower Studio - Austin, TX

Stratford Events

Sweet Treets Bakery & Cafe

The Nomad Photography

Signature Bridal Salon

Hill Country Strings - Austin, Texas String Quartet

Wild Flour Cakery & Boutique mentioned.

You did it; you’re finally on your way to getting hitched! Now it’s just a matter of sifting through the details – easy breezy, right? Not really. Planning a wedding can be an exciting process for some but incredibly daunting for others. Suddenly, the minutest details become all the more significant and cannot, should not, be overlooked. It’s overwhelming for most, if not all, of us.

But that’s where you should seek comfort: you’re not alone! There is a legion of people in the wedding industry professionally trained to provide your every possible need for the big day. And, to your benefit, an amazing group of Austin vendors – photographers, wedding planners, florists, caterers, designers – in the industry are collaborating this Sunday, April 28^th, to showcase their specialties at Austin WeddingDay Magazine’s Engaged! in Austin Take 2 event.

Here are the vendors that are to be in attendance:

Premiere Party Central, Universal Sounds Entertainment, HEB Blooms, Wild Flour Cakery, Arnosky Family Farms, The Vista on Seward Hill, Floral Renaissance, Crave Catering, The Classic Cats, Life Styled Events, Blue Note Bakery, Sweet Love & Sugar Britches, Music 4 Life DJs, Matt Montalvo Photography, Cedar Park Florist, Simon Lee Bakery, Yellow Umbrella Events, The Flower Studio, Stratford Events, Sweet Treets Bakery, Nomad Photography, Signature Bridal Salon, and Hill Country Strings.

We will be sponsoring this upcoming event and contributing our custom in-house lighting once again throughout the entire venue. To get a better idea of the event, browse through the video by Nil Buan Videography and pictures by Peter Tung Photography and Sterling Images from the last Engaged! in Austin below.

Umlauf Garden Party

On April 19th, 2013 / Non-Profit / Leave a comment

Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum mentioned.

Next Thursday, April 25^th, is the 15^th annual Umlauf Garden Party in South Austin. The Umlauf, a non-profit organization, is a sculpture garden and museum dedicated to Charles Umlauf, 20^th century American sculptor, and his works. It offers a modern outlook on the museum experience by allowing attendants to touch most of the artwork.

Watch this video for more background information and visuals of The Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum:

Their Garden Party raises funds for various educational programs (i.e. free admission for public schools, workshops, lectures, special needs tours, etc.) and long-term garden restoration, so we’re ecstatic to be a partner for the event. This year’s party will host an entire community from the food & beverage, events, and art industries! The variety of participants will show in the auctions alone: the Celebrity Seeds Auction will have decorated terra cotta pots by celebrities like Andy Roddick and many well-known Austinites; the Live Auction will have items like an autographed 2012 Texas Legends Guitar and a personalized voicemail message from Willie Nelson; and the Silent Auction will auction off varied items and services donated from local artists and businesses.

Make sure to purchase your tickets, and get excited to participate in a great cause simply by attending! We’ll be lighting up the entire garden with a collection of festoon string-lights – a spring favorite! And we eagerly look forward to creating a magical experience for future brides and events at this enchanting natural sanctuary. Can you imagine the potential? We certainly can!

A Long Center Wedding

On April 19th, 2013 / Portfolio, Weddings / Leave a comment

Daniel C. Photography

Long Center

*Clink* mentioned.

When our clients are having fun, it makes our job a thousand times more fulfilling, and Cheryl and Ernest were most certainly up on the top of the list for wedding merriment! The couple incorporated traditional Jewish elements like the quilted wedding canopy, breaking of glass, and hora (chair dance) but also mixed in some modern flair with their Nature/Garden theme designs by CLINK and lighting by yours truly.

We’ve done a number of events at the Long Center in Austin, but we always enjoy each opportunity just the same, since it’s such a large space with boundless possibilities. For this particular event, we installed indoor and outdoor color changing column uplighting, spot lighting for the band, and amethyst spot lighting and uplighting for the dessert tables (provided by Michelle’s Patisserie). But for that one personal touch, we created specialized gobo stencils in the shape of leaves and branches to stretch across the dance floor – perfect for our clients’ Spring theme!

Now, if only we could exit this blog post by coolly lighting up a cigar from our personal cigar roller and wheeling away on one of Austin’s staple pedicabs. But we’ll leave that to Cheryl and Ernest, because, honestly, it’s a tough act to follow.

Make sure to check out the amazing photos by Daniel C. Photography below!

Springtime in Austin

On April 17th, 2013 / Portfolio / Leave a comment

At Intelligent Lighting Design (ILD), we like to make sure that we keep up with trends and would say that our forte is in making sure that not only does every wedding depict the visionaire of the bride, but also that our work symbolizes our modern technology and equipment.

Coinciding with the current spring fashion alerts such as emerald green, metallics, and hints of champagne, we couldn’t help but notice a trend in weddings. With themes such as a Great Gatsby soiree, Mad Men, and the simple elegancy of the 1920s, we’ve made sure that our uplighting drastically reflects off of all the metallic colors and focuses on all decor.

According to Regional Director Katherine McCommon, chandeliers and festoon vintage bulbs are popular. Chandeliers- whether black, crystal, large, small, or tabletop, along with festoon bulbs that depict little globes, hang significantly overheard indoors or outdoors. It’s the low glow of the clear bulbs that produces an organic feeling. To the ILD crew, its the simplicity of transforming a plain backyard space into a magical place for all guests to experience that keeps the ongoing designing of technology and equipment stewing.

During the spring season, it is only inevitable to have an urge to utilize the outdoors and enjoy everything that comes with it. Brides are enjoying the organic feel and have requested to see whimsical patterns and stained glass projections. What use to be your noted monogram projections, has now transformed into LED dance floor models. The tiles can be automated to create an ever changing dance floor. Not only will it project the seasons colors, but it will also encourage all guests to dance.

While colors and designs are inspiration for fashion designers, colors and venues are inspirations for our design specialists and technical directors. Little do attendees know that all lighting projections are controlled by the brisk movement of the technical directors’ fingertips on an iPad.

“Our state of the art iPad lighting control software allows us to discreetly control lighting by utilizing a completely wireless system” said Event Design Specialist Garrett Crooks. “This allows our on site technicians to work from anywhere in the venue while still having full access to all of the features that our iDesign products offer.”

Besides enjoying the ability to easily manage our lighting devices with technology, it is the springtime in Austin that we enjoy. The city of Austin is able to cater to the bride and be versatile enough to allow her to choose whether she’d like a contemporary, modern wedding at the downtown AMOA arthouse or be able to have a hill country wedding at venues like the Barr Mansion, Camp Lucy, and Antebellum Oaks. With all of our lighting technology abilities and endless design possibilities in the beautiful city of Austin, we can help make any bride’s dream wedding become a reality.

[Check out the AMOA Arthouse, Camp Lucy, Antebellum Oaks, and Barr Mansion Facebook pages for updates and information.]

Camp Lucy Spring Wedding

On April 12th, 2013 / Portfolio, Weddings / Leave a comment

We always get this jittery excitement at the beginning of Spring because of the sudden influx of weddings; it’s like clock-work! But we were particularly delighted to work our magic at Meg and Ty’s Spring wedding, because it was our first time lighting up Camp Lucy’s charming grounds – you know, first date jitters and all. In all sincerity though, it’s always a refreshing experience to start from scratch and imagine the potential of a place.

We customized our lighting design to Camp Lucy’s cozy atmosphere by adding soft uplighting along the walls, wireless pinspotting attached to chandeliers, high and low outdoor festoon lighting, and hanging antique pendant bulbs. We definitely could not have made this event as impressive as it turned out without Pearl Events’ amazing team. Scroll through our pictures below; we couldn’t imagine a better outcome!

[Check out Camp Lucy and Pearl Events facebook pages for more information and updates.]

Open House at Vintage Villas: A Gatsby Affair

On April 12th, 2013 / Corporate / Leave a comment

Bouquetsofaustin

Floral Renaissance of Austin

The Flower Studio - Austin, TX

Texas Pro DJ

Musical Discovery Chamber Players

Simon Lee Bakery

Polkadots Cupcake Factory

The Pie Society

Heidi Rae Photography

Pearl Events Austin

Yellow Umbrella Events & Design

36th Street Events

Uptown Valet & Transportation

Bee Lavish Vintage Rental

Premiere Party Central & Premiere Tents and Events

The Pink Tulip

ALEXIA GAVELA BRIDAL

The Traveling Photo Booth mentioned.

This Sunday, April 14th, a wide array of local vendors will be making an appearance at Vintage Villas Hotel and Events Center’s Open House, and we’re one of them! Vintage Villas is a full service (facilities, catering, event packages, and room accommodations) venue for all of your events’ needs. With the beautiful scenery of Lake Travis as its natural backdrop, Vintage Villas makes a perfect location for any wedding or corporate getaway. Here are two videos showcasing the lighting we provided for two separate weddings at Vintage Villas.

Since they are such an established venue in the events industry, they have invited many of their associated businesses to their Gatsby-themed Open House. Including us, here are the rest of the vendors expected to participate:

Florists: Bouquets of Austin, Flora Fetish, Floral Renaissance, The Flower Studio
Music: Greenbelt DJ, TX Pro DJ, Musical Discovery Chamber Players
Desserts: Simon Lee Bakery, Polkadots Cupcake Factory, The Pie Society
Photographers: Heidi Rae Photography, Yanire Photography, Sterling Images, Whitney Lee Photography
Planners: Pearl Events Austin, Yellow Umbrella Events, 36th Street Events, Loxodonta Weddings & Events
Officiants: Austin Weddings Unlimited, Reverend John & Bonnie Connor, Scott Payne – The Knot Tyer
Transportation: Uptown Valet
Lighting: Intelligent Lighting Design
Rentals: Bee Lavish Vintage Rentals, Premiere Party Central
Invitations: The Pink Tulip
Miscellaneous: Belle’s Make-Up & Hair, Alexia Gavela Bridal, Traveling Photo Booth

We’re so excited to mingle with all of our amazing and talented colleagues and meet new ones as well! We’ll be lighting up a few rooms with uplighting, monogram stencils, and wireless pinspotting at the event. And you can always count on us to squeeze in a little surprise, so we’ll be debuting our new antique pendant bulbs. Make sure to stop by the event from 2-4 p.m. to catch these amazing vendors all in one room!

Light Skills at the Driskill

On April 5th, 2013 / Weddings / Leave a comment

The Driskill mentioned.

A wedding at the Driskill is bound to be a most romantic affair. With its high columns and large chandeliers, the venue seems almost regal in elegance, which makes it more exciting to vamp up with some modern technology.

At this particular celebration, we pulled out all the stops. In the reception area, we added amber column uplighting and wireless pin spotting for the center pieces. For the ceremony room, we installed an interactive lighting system (controlled by a touch of an iPad), which gave a dramatic flair by changing colors when the bride stepped onto the aisle. We also set up a pair of high-resolution, full-color, glass stencil projections – custom-made to imitate stained glass windows, on either side of the fireplace. The projections served as perfect backdrops as the couple walked down the aisle to the reception.

And just to prove that we offer endless possibilities, we transformed the ceremony room into a mini nightclub while guests were seated at the reception. Our crew set up the stage and interactive truss towers in a mere span of 45 minutes. Again, with the help of our handy iPad controller, we adjusted the shapes, colors, and direction of the lights while guests danced on.

Nowadays, you should pair your music DJ with a lighting DJ, right?