The Steps for setting up your perfect glow in the dark party

Glow in the dark parties are the best way to turn your next event into something you’re guests won’t soon forget. They’re fun, affordable, and easy to design your own personalized lighting experience.

Our company has rented thousands of affordable black lights and marquee letters over the last five years for a variety of different events across the US. Birthday parties, weddings, school dances, yoga nights, New Year’s Eve bashes - we’ve done it all.

Follow our Do It Yourself guide for throwing an amazing glow experience.


 Step 1: Pick the right Venue


First, consider the location of the event. Halls, gymnasiums, basements, and backyards can all be used but have different criteria when setting up an event space.

Needless to say: the bigger the area - the more UV lights you'll need. Likewise, for the best effect you'll want a space that won't have any daylight shining in as it will counteract the effects of the black lights. In the case of an outdoor or open air event - you can compensate with additional or stronger black lights. 

 Step 2: Choosing the Lights


The most essential factor is the lighting. The quantity and types of lights you choose will set the tone of the party. Whatever your event is; kid’s parties, musical events, and bashes all have different considerations - but the biggest factor relates to the size of the event space. 
Here's what we've found works best for different size spaces:

  • Small (Ex: House) - Plan on using about 5 of our standard black lights for the larger primary room (like a living/family room) and then 1-3 for each additional room you want to light. A large basement may take 6-8.

  • Medium (Ex: Classroom, small/medium banquet room, yoga studio, etc.) - Depending on the size, 8-15 standard black lights should do the trick. You'll generally place them about six feet apart to get good coverage.

  • Large (Ex: Small to medium gyms) - The most common configuration for a gym is to use 4 Premium Black Lights with stands. By setting them up in the corners you'll get great UV coverage. Perfect for things like school dances. Organizers will sometimes supplement the order with some standard black lights as well if they want to light a hallway or just make sure the room is absolutely flooded with black light.

  • X-Large (Ex: Large gyms, spaces with multiple large open spaces, etc.) - You'll want to rent 6-8 Premium Black Lights with stands and potentially some Standard Black Lights to fill in light in the smaller spaces.

All of our lights can be operated without any prior experience. Just plug them in and they'll turn on. With simple interfaces on the back of the lights, you can change: brightness, static and programmed fades, and flash sequences.

The standard black lights each come with a 15ft cord, but can also be power linked if you need to extend the reach of your lights. This means you only need one outlet and the remaining lights can be plugged into the prior light in the chain.

Standard black lights are typically placed on the floor angled into the room with the attached kickstands. They can also be placed somewhere elevated for a more full effect. Since our lights are LED, they stay cool and can be run for as long as you’d like.

The Premium black lights are also safe, but they tend to get warm. We highly recommend renting them with stands (this is our most popular lights + stands package). If you’ve got a lighting professional on staff - the Premium lights are also DMX compatible so they can be controlled from a light board. This is NOT necessary though (most of our customers just plug them, pick a setting, and leave them alone for the event).


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 Step 3: Pair the music

 
 
Consider the music you'll be playing and how you'll broadcast it. For smaller venues, you can run things using your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. For larger events you'll want to consider hiring a DJ to spin the night away.

All of our lights have simple pre-programmed settings that can fade and flash to the beat of the music. This allows the lights to sync to the music which can really change the dynamics of your event. 

 
 Step 4: Load up on the glow in the dark confetti

 
 
Our most popular rental add-on is our simple to use confetti launcher with glow in the dark confetti (which really pops under a black light). Make the night something your guests will never forget. Guests of all ages go crazy when confetti sprays during a song or is coordinated with a big announcement.

Our professional grade confetti launcher is simple to operate, safe for indoor use, and shoots confetti up to 30 ft for up to 25 seconds on a single blast. Each rental with glow in the dark confetti includes enough for two full shots. 

 
 Step 5: Decorations & Party Favors

 
The great thing about a glow party is , there are lots of inexpensive accessories and decorations available that can help really class the event up. Here's a list of some of our favorites:

  • Glow Sticks - A classic. For extra fun, get the thin bendable type with connectors. Your guests can make bracelets, necklaces, etc.
  • Highlighters - Create signs or decorations using a highlighter and watch them magically appear when the UV light is turned on.
  • Balloons - Neon / UV reactive balloons are a great way to decorate a space and add color that really pops when the black lights get turned on.
  • Neon Tape - Perfect for marking off areas on the floor (for games, etc.) that nobody will miss.

Once you have considered all the options for your next big event, start laying the groundwork for what supplies and rentals you’ll need. Remember to consider the event space when choosing the amount and quality of the lights, define the tone of your event, allow the music and lights to synchronize, and add decorations and accessories to make your night something your guests will never forget. 


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