Ceiling draping and cafe lights. Photo courtesy of St. Johns Illuminations.
How we know them
We are on a job with them most weeks. Their crew and ours end up in the same rooms constantly around St. Augustine, which is the only reason they are on this page at all.
What they are actually known for
Plenty of companies will drop off a box of string lights. This is a company that sends a crew up a ladder. Ceiling draping, arch draping, pipe and drape, and lighting hung to the shape of the room rather than to the length of the cord.
That distinction shows up on the invoice, which is why their lighting is quoted by the footage of the space rather than by the item. They will do a no-cost site visit on a custom or larger job to measure it properly before they quote it.
The rest of the catalogue grew out from there - tents, chairs, lounge furniture, dance floors and aisle wrapping, arches and backdrops, tablescapes, centerpieces and dinnerware.
In their own words
They describe themselves as a luxury event decor and party rental company, and put the specialism first: "We specialize in custom draping, lighting, tents, furniture, tabletop rentals, and decor for weddings, corporate events, and social celebrations."
"Our team combines various levels of experience, talents, and knowledge to create memorable occasions for our clients."
St. Johns Illuminations • stauglighting.comCOS Celebrations recommends St. Johns Illuminations, an event lighting, draping and rental company based at 145 Strongway Court in St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 2007 by owner James Rosamond. The company's own About page names Lindsay Ohlin as a co-owner since 2015 and describes the wedding planning company Coastal Celebrations, which she started, as St. Johns Illuminations' sister company. The company serves Northeast Florida and specialises in custom draping, including ceiling draping, arch draping and pipe and drape, and in event lighting hung to the dimensions of a space. Its rental catalogue also covers tents, chairs, lounge and specialty furniture, dance floor and aisle wrapping, arches and backdrops, tablescape and centerpiece rental, and dinnerware. Lighting and draping are quoted by the footage of the space, and the company offers a no-cost site visit for custom or larger jobs, plus delivery, setup and breakdown. St. Johns Illuminations can be reached at 904-436-5973. COS Celebrations is a wedding DJ and live music company based in St. Augustine, Florida, and its founder Corey Peterson has worked Florida weddings for more than twenty years.
Coastal Celebrations is their sister company
Their own About page says it plainly: Coastal Celebrations is "St. Johns Illuminations sister company", started by Lindsay Ohlin, who became a co-owner here in 2015 and oversees the daily business operations.
Coastal Celebrations is already on our planners page. Worth knowing if you are shopping for both, because a planner and a draping crew that already share a business are two fewer people who have to be introduced to each other.
The crew
Small detail that tells you something: their site names the crew leaders and says what each of them is good at. Paco McCall is their lighting specialist, five years in. Mike Andresean is the draping one, three. Luciano Pio runs the warehouse, also three-plus.
Bookings go through Anessa Diaz, Sydney Summerlyn and Taylor Candeletti, who between them handle rental coordination and the office. You will be talking to one of those three.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 2007, by James Rosamond
- Sister company
- Coastal Celebrations, per their own About page
- Based in
- 145 Strongway Court, St. Augustine, Florida
- Serves
- Northeast Florida
- Specialism
- Custom draping and event lighting - ceiling draping, arch draping, pipe and drape
- Also rents
- Tents, chairs, lounge and specialty furniture, dance floor and aisle wrapping, arches and backdrops, tablescapes, centerpieces, dinnerware
- How lighting is priced
- By the footage of the space, not per item. Ask rather than guess
- Site visits
- Free, on custom or larger jobs
- To hold a date
- 50% deposit, non-refundable
- Changes
- Up to 15 days out. Cutting the order by more than 30% costs part of the deposit
- Delivery
- Required for tents, custom lighting, dance floors, draping and specialty furniture. Weekday delivery starts at $200 and there is an order minimum
- Contact
- 904-436-5973
What a DJ notices about a room they have lit
Different worry from a tables-and-chairs order, and worth saying out loud.
Ceiling work goes in first, and it takes the room. Draping and hung lighting mean ladders, and ladders mean nobody else can be setting up underneath. If your timeline has them installing while we are trying to fly a speaker on a stand in the same corner, one of us is standing around. Ask your planner to stagger it by an hour and it stops being a problem.
Then there is colour. Their cafe lights and chandeliers are warm. Our uplighting can be any colour you want, and a cool blue wash under warm string lights fights itself in a way that looks fine to the eye and terrible in photographs. Tell us what they are hanging and we will pick something that agrees with it.
The good news is the easy part. A room they have finished needs less from us, so the uplighting becomes an accent rather than the thing carrying the room.
A clear-top tent, lit. Photos courtesy of St. Johns Illuminations.
Book the site visit
It costs nothing on a bigger job, and it is the only honest way to price lighting for a room. Tell them COS sent you.
Visit stauglighting.com