Need some advice from the STW fountain of knowledge. . .
I’m getting married next month and we’ve a large marquee for the reception.

we have a band so we dont have DJ/disco set-up so we need some kind of disco lights for around the band/dance floor area.

Probably a long shot but can anybody offer advice on what kind of lighing would be sufficient/enough to create a disco atmosphere without having to go too mad in terms of money and lighting units??!
Would I just b best going to a specialist hire place?

£150 hire a local cheap disco. Let them bother with it

We have a band. Not looking for a disco !

Ask the band do do some for the dance floor, they probably already have some stage lighting anyway

Second the disco thing. We had a band, but having been at dj-less weddings, we wanted the gaps to be filled in. The DJ played mellow stuff leading up to the band – who did two 50 minute sets. That got people in the mood for dancing, so the DJ went on for another couple of hours. Nothing worse than a deafening silence after a great band has finished playing.

By the time you have hired lights etc, plus all the hassle of sorting them out, rigging them up, returning them etc, DJ looks cheap!

The band don’t have any lighting equipment which is why I’m asking

Marquee firm do lighting?
The one I used to work for did, had some basic stuff or would hire in kit with DMX mixers.
Look at essential supplies if you’re in the south west.

^^^what they said – DJ will help to fill in the gaps and bring all the lights etc..

The band don’t have any lighting equipment which is why I’m asking

Bands never do, they rely on the promotor/venue for lighting. Unless they’re a large scale band. As above, get a disco with lights, every gig I’ve ever been to has music playing before and after the gig and during the interval.
Or else find someone who hires lights, get some LED light bars and spots, and make up a good playlist on a Pod or iPhone, and put that throught the PA, presuming you have a PA in the hall, or the band have their own. Tbh, that’s possibly your best option, that way you can taylor the music to suit your own tastes and those of your guests.

What the other guys have said.

Decent lights (worth having) cost a lot of money. Even to hire them. And then you’ve got the faff of working them out yourself.

Weddings with a band but no DJ to fill the silence are IMO very hit and miss. A good wedding DJ will play appropriate music low down in the background to fill in the silences. You’d be amazed just how much more upbeat this keeps the atmosphere than silence.

For the £50 you’d save by hiring the lights yourself over hiring a DJ with them, I really don’t think it’s worth it. £50 in the scheme of the wedding costs is almost nothing!

hire a tech/designer like me? What’s the budget? How large is the marquee? Power?

I lit this tipi for a wedding. The lamps supplied by the marquee company are pretty basic so I used colour changers and fairys.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150276726548917&set=a.10150276726333917.355211.608608916&type=3

Get a DJ/Disco to play inbetween the band.

The cheap crap on Fleabay is really crap, stay away! One of my light controllers cost me over £200 and thats just to control some sound to light lighting!