Lighted Wedding Backdrop

We have all seen the pictures with those beautifully lit backdrop, using Christmas lights and fabric. We might have even been a little envious that we cannot all have one at our wedding or event. Well now with all the DIY projects out there, you can have the photos you've always dreamed of and you won;t have to break the bank for it. I know some people are out there thinking, what lights would I use? How would I attach them? Well that is exactly what we are here for. There are a few perfect lighting options for this project.

Curtain Lights

Curtain lights are great for a project of this sort. They have a uniform look, which is great for backgrounds of head tables and cake tables at weddings. Most people won't want too much going on behind them as far as a pattern of light goes. Simple is better.  These look stunning when draped with a little sheer fabric to soften the glow just a bit. Curtain lights come in white, green and black wire with white (clear) lights.

Globe Lights

Globe lights are a wonderful choice if you want something a little more outside of the box. These lights are something that you could use for a background of a photo booth or even for a wedding ceremony. Since globe lights come in different sixes, you could even consider mixing them up a bit. Try using G40 and G50 bulbs alternating on the string for a whimsical feel. You also might try using clear and pearl white to give your lights a little more depth. These look great hanging in front of sheer fabric or even just right against the wall.

Fairy Lights

Fairy lights, the faithful light string. These are a tried and true form of lighting for all occasions and events. These would make a great background if you wanted something that was much easier to customize. You can buy as many strings as you like and hang them in any pattern you choose. There are many lengths and colors to choose from. There would be something for every budget and decor. These look great in front of or behind fabric.



We have found a great DIY backdrop frame blog too. It's simple, very easy to understand and it is very inexpensive. This is great project for those that want to build their own instead of renting one, which could end up costing hundreds of dollars! Check out, Dandelions on the Wall.

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Hannah
All American Christmas Co.

White Wire Curtain Lights back in stock!

We just found out we're getting our shipment of White Wire 150 count Curtain lights back in stock! Order them up before they are gone again. These curtain lights are very popular and we have had many requests for them and we're glad to be getting them back in.

As of 5/3/13 we have these curtain lights, so order early! Click here to check these Curtain Lights

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Zach

Creating custom Curtain Lights for Weddings

Curtain Lights

One of our most popular blogs is on using curtain lights, the most popular trends in recent memory for weddings and receptions is to use incandescent curtain lights behind some sort of tulle or sheer fabric, this creates a subtle glow and effect that is a great backdrop for any event. Sadly our white wire 150 count curtain lights we have on www.aachristmas.com are sold out until later in the year, and while we do have our commercial curtain lights which are very heavy duty this blog will focus on creating your own custom curtain lights!

To build your own curtain lights you need some male & female plugs, 18 gauge wire, and some mini light strings.

In a nutshell you have to use the wire and plugs to create a long "power strip" you have to measure the plugs out in the spacing you want to go with for the curtain drops, we recommend staying with 6" or 12" to keep it easy to do the footage calculations in your head. You have to modify the female plugs that go in line by cutting out one side of the plug. Click here to view how to modify plugs.  Many companies sell a premade curtain light string that is just a long power strip that you can plug mini light strings into. Be aware of the distance you need to cover before you tackle any project.

When it comes to choosing the right mini light strings for the curtain lights you need to know how tall the lights need to hang down, most customers need around 10 feet of lighted length ( 2.5" spaced 50 count Mini lights work well for this) but depending on your application you'd really need to take a look at the 50 count Mini light strings we offer to find a good match, or maybe even 100 counts if you need TALL curtains.  After you make your power string you simply plug in the light strings and you'll have your very own custom curtain light strings.

Simple Diagram of how to layout Custom Curtain lights

It's good to always have some zip ties on hand to keep any long or extra wire wrapped up and keep things uniform.

Visit http://www.aachristmas.com/vpasp/mini-lights.asp For light strings
Visit http://www.aachristmas.com/vpasp/electrical_supplies.html for Wire and Plugs

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Zach Broyles

Using Christmas Lights for Weddings

     We have done many blogs over the years about using Christmas Lights in Weddings. Curtain lights, Net lights, Icicle lights, Globe bulbs and more all look great to add just the right amount of light on your special day. By and large our most popular strings for weddings are our Commercial Curtain lights, or Wall of Light sets, these 9.5' tall drops have a great look and the drops are removable/replaceable so they allow you to easily repair drops after years of use or remove drops to customize your string.


Globe lights are another very popular light string for weddings and are perfect for outdoor weddings. We sell Globe screw in bulbs in both a C7 base and C9 base variety, which means you can use our Christmas light strings with most Globe lights we carry. The most popular way to use Globe Christmas lights is to swag a light string (preferably White or Black wire) and use them as a type of ambient lighting. They are also very popular around the edge of tents or to light paths. If you are needing a lot of lights we recommend buying a Spool of Christmas Light wire, this allows you (or your decorators) to custom cut every string to fit perfectly. The remainder can be stored or used for other holiday lighting needs. 


Mini lights are a classic light string that will NEVER go out of style. They easy to decorate with and inexpensive so you can get a ton of lights without spending a ton of cash.We have White Wire Christmas Lights  with clear bulbs in many spacing and styles so you can find just the right set for decorating everywhere during your ceremony and/or reception. We also offer many of these sets with colors on white wire to match the brides chosen color palette, a simple way to ad some accent lighting without blowing your budget. 


We also carry a wide selection of LED Christmas lights, these are a great alternative to incandescent lights and look great. They come in a wide array of colors and styles and can fit exactly your needs. We love the 5mm Wide Angle LED Light strings, they are small bright and have vibrant colors. 


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Zach
All American Christmas Co.
www.aachristmas.com
www.allamericanchristmas.com

The Many Non Christmas Uses for...Christmas Lights!

In our industry we call pretty much everything Christmas lights, Mini light strings, LED light strings, C7 bulbs, C9 bulbs, etc but just because they found favor lighting houses during the Christmas holiday season doesn't mean that's their only time to be used. I talked to the boss man about many mini light strings that get tossed and he guessed hundreds of thousands, and I'd say he's right. That is a sad thing because Christmas trees, garlands, and on the hedges outside aren't the only places/things you can use Christmas lights to decorate. Below I've give a little rundown on other uses for these light strings.

Decorating with Curtain lights (Updated)

    As trends go, the use of curtain lights for Non-Christmas events has risen steadily over the past 5 years. The biggest use of these Curtain sets has for this non holiday use has been for Weddings and other Special Events. We carry 2 main types of curtain lights, Standard and Commercial. Standard are built like you're standard mini light string only in a curtain design, using quality 22 gauge wire and shunted mini light bulbs, these are great from smaller applications. Commercial sets use larger wire and bulbs, these sets are almost twice the width and height of a Standard set and have many more bulbs, commercial sets also have molded in holes to make mounting easier. One thing to keep in mind is that commercial weigh more than double that of a standard set, so be sure you can hang them if you decide to go that route.

     The most common way people use these for weddings is by hanging them on a wall or on a frame of some sort. Hanging curtain lights from your wall is simple. If you have a drop ceiling then you can easily use a light weight wire or string and hang them from the ceiling grid. If you have walls you can drill or hammer into then you can very easily put some nails or small hooks up. The biggest issue people run into is not being able to drill into a wall, or having concrete walls and no drop ceiling, but don't worry you have a couple options. If you can hide it  heavy duty adhesive tape is a good option. Tapes come in a variety of colors and even clear duct tape is now available, using clear or white would be ideal. Many customers have said they use items like 3M's Command Line of adhesive hooks and hangers to hang these sets, you just have to make sure with any type of product like that you can get it to adhere to a surface and distribute the weight evenly. Nothing is worse than hanging your sets only to have not hung them properly and they come tumbling down.

    Hanging them from some sort of frame is and easier option, so long as the frame itself can handle the weight. The frame or stand could be anything from just a couple pieces of PVC pipe made into a stand or frame of wood. After you construct your frame/stand you can easily mount your sets, depending on it's construction you can screw clips, mount nails, tape, zip tie, etc the sets to your frame. Using this method  allow makes things easier for you to hang some sort of fabric in front of your lights. This is a great way to set the mood and soften up the lights. Like in the picture below.

Wedding Curtain Lights

     I hope this give you a little insight into hanging curtain lights. Please visit our Curtain Light section and Wedding Light section for more wedding decorating ideas!

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Zach
All American Christmas Co.
www.aachristmas.com
www.allamericanchristmas.com

Wedding light ideas

     There are a ton of great products to use for a Wedding ceremony and/or reception! I've gone on and on in previous blogs about how popular Curtain lights are and how great they look for weddings. I'll get to them but first I'm going to give some details on some other great lights for weddings.

White Wire Mini Lights

Click here to see our Mini Lights

     White wire mini lights come in a variety of bulb spacings and bulb colors! Bulb spacing can vary from 2.5 inches apart all the way up to 8 in some cases, and Mini light bulbs come in all the standard colors; Clear, Frosted White (show), Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink, Purple, Amber, Teal, and Multi. Mini lights are a great way to accent the colors of wedding party and a great for table decorations. Mini lights are also great for hanging from the ceiling creating a swag effect!  Mini light strings vary in bulb counts from 20 all the way up to 150 lights per string so unless you're lighting a football stadium chances are mini lights will meet your lighting needs!

Globe Lights

Click Here for Globe Bulbs
They are on the bottom of the C7 & C9 Page

     Globe lights are pretty common for decorators, they are the quintessential outdoor decorative light! They come in a variety of colors and sizes but it's hard to beat a clear or pearl white color Globe lights especially for a wedding! These lights go in either C7 or C9 light line which you can custom cut from a spool to fit almost any need. Globe lights are perfect for hanging outside outdoor tents and are killer for lighting walkways if you're doing a dusk/nighttime wedding. The standard size is called G50 and can fit into either C7 or C9 base,  G50s are approx. 2" in diameter. Some people complain about price (around 16 bucks for 25 bulbs) but these bulbs will last a long time if maintained.

Rope Light

Click here to view our Rope Light

     Rope light is a great form of accent lighting. It's compact, attractive and easy to decorate with! Rope lighting is great for going down walk ways or aisles, for wrapping columns or hand rails. Rope light comes in spools of 150' with all the accessories you would need to make multiple runs of rope light for your special day. Just like mini lights rope lights are great to make swag lights.

Curtain Lights

Click here to view our Curtain Lights

     Curtain lights for weddings are super popular! Many decorators and the like rent out curtains lights but if you're a do it yourself-er like many of us are and want to save and buying your own to use and reuse on other holiday projects. We offer a smaller light curtain thats around 5 feet tall and a larger one that's around 9.5 feet tall! Like the picture on the right shows these curtains are great for going behind tables at a reception, they are great behind the bridge and groom during the service. A great effect is had by putting the light curtain behind some sheer fabric, this hides the wires slightly and looks great!


If you have any questions please visit the site or give us a call Mon-Fri 8-5 CST

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Zach
All American Christmas Co.
www.aachristmas.com
www.allamericanchristmas.com

Making Custom Quick Connect Plugs

Quick Connect plugs are the handiest tool for commercial decorators and anyone needing a quick and easy plug for 18 gauge wire! Steve (the guy who started this whole company) began modifying these to use in the middle of a line so you can easily get power to a light string or display without running a new wire! This blog is gonna show you how to do yourself! It's easy and takes about 30 seconds, so get out your tools and grab some plugs it's time to modify!

Decorating with Curtain lights

As trends go, the use of curtain lights for Non-Christmas events has risen steadily over the past 3 years. The biggest use of these Curtain sets has for this non holiday use has been for Weddings and other Special Events. The most common way people use these for weddings is by hanging them on a wall or on a frame of some sort. Keep in mind that the weight of normal curtain lights (which are constructed like icicle mini lights) and Commercial curtain lights GREATLY vary in terms of weight.

Hanging Curtain Lights from your wall is, fairly, simple. If you have a drop ceiling then you can easily use a light weight wire or string and hang them from the ceiling grid. If you have walls you can drill or hammer nails into then you can very easily put some nails or hooks up. The biggest issue people run into is not being able to drill into a wall, or having concrete walls that have no drop ceiling you have a couple options. If you can hide it there is always heavy duty tape, duct tape of some sort comes in a variety of colors and even clear duct tape is now available. Some people have said they have used items like 3M's Command Line of adhesive hooks and hangers to hang these sets, you just have to make sure with any type of product that you can distribute the weight evenly. Nothing is worse than hanging your sets only to have not hung them properly and they come tumbling down in one section or the whole set.

Hanging them from some sort of frame is and easier option, so long as the frame itself can handle the weight. The frame or stand could be anything from just a couple pieces of PVC pipe made into a stand or frame of wood or metal. After you construct your frame/stand you can easily mount your sets, depending on it's constructing you can screw clips, mount nails, tape, zip tie, the list goes on and on. This can also allow you to hang some sort of fabric in front of your lights. This is a great way to set the mood and soften up the lights. Like in the picture below.


I hope this give you a little insight into hanging curtain lights. Please visit our curtain light section and wedding section for more wedding decorating ideas!

--
Zach
All American Christmas Co.
www.aachristmas.com
www.allamericanchristmas.com