What happens to the photos we take of a customer's property?

That's your call, not ours — it's your software. We build the storage and retention policy around what your business needs and make sure it meets GDPR, CCPA, or any other regulation that applies to how you handle customer property photos. No training on your data, ever.

How much does a fairy light canopy preview tool cost?

There's no off-the-shelf plan, so there's no published price list. Share your details and we'll discuss project scope and pricing on a free consultation call — see /pricing for details.

Can it show different bulb spacing options side by side, like 6-inch versus 18-inch?

Yes. Density is usually the exact thing a client can't judge from a quote, so the tool can render the same space at multiple spacing options so they can compare a tight canopy ceiling against a looser, more open pattern before picking a linear footage.

Does it account for sag, or does it just draw straight lines across the space?

It renders the catenary sag a real strand run takes on between anchor points, not a flat line — because sag is a big part of whether a canopy reads as elegant drape or a taut, harsh grid, and clients notice the difference immediately.

Can it handle anchor points on trees and pergola beams, not just rooflines?

Yes. Whatever you're photographing — house eaves, pergola beams, freestanding poles, or tree trunks — becomes the actual anchor points in the render, so the client sees exactly where hardware will attach to their specific structure.

Will it show warm white versus bright white versus color-changing bulbs?

Yes, generate the same canopy in different color temperatures or color-changing modes so clients can compare a warm resort look against a brighter, whiter look before committing to a bulb type.

Does this work for one-night event and wedding installs, or only permanent residential systems?

Both. Event and wedding lighting companies use it the same way holiday and permanent installers do — photograph the tent or venue footprint on the site visit and generate the lit preview for a date that's still months away, since there's no opportunity to adjust once the tent goes up for the actual event.

How is this different from the Photoshop mockups our designer already sends?

A designer manually compositing string lights onto a photo takes hours and produces one static option; this generates the render on-site during the walkthrough, in minutes, with multiple spacing and color options, so the close happens at the consult instead of days later over email.

Holiday & Outdoor Lighting

Sell the Fairy Light Canopy Before You String a Single Strand

Photograph the patio, pergola, or event space on the walkthrough and hand the client a lit, to-scale preview of the exact pattern, bulb spacing, and anchor points in minutes — so they sign off on the spot instead of asking to "picture it" on their own.

Custom-built for your industry · No commitment

What is a fairy light canopy preview?

A fairy light canopy preview tool is software that turns a photo of a patio, pergola, backyard, or event tent into a photorealistic, after-dark rendering of the proposed overhead string light installation — showing bulb spacing, catenary sag, and anchor points exactly as they'll be installed. Holiday and outdoor lighting companies use it during the site walkthrough so homeowners and event clients can approve the pattern and footprint before a single strand goes up. It replaces flat linear-foot quotes and hand-sketched mockups with a rendering of the client's own space, lit the way it'll actually look.

Why it matters

A residential fairy light canopy — the crisscrossed or parallel-row overhead string lights that turn a patio or pergola into an outdoor room — typically runs $1,500 to $6,000+ installed, scaling with square footage, pole anchors, and whether it's a seasonal rig or a permanent, dimmable system. Event and wedding canopies carry worse risk: a couple books a one-night tent installation five or six months out off a Pinterest screenshot, and the crew gets exactly one shot to deliver it on the actual date — there's no redo. On the residential side, the friction is translation: a quote that reads "18-inch spacing, crisscross pattern" means nothing to a homeowner until they can see whether that density reads as a lush lit ceiling or a handful of strands over their heads, and the deal stalls in that gap while they try to picture it.

Who uses this

The person running this at the consult is usually the owner-operator or field estimator — the same person measuring the patio or pergola for cable runs and counting anchor points, not a separate sales team. At holiday lighting companies expanding into year-round canopy work and at permanent-lighting installers running dimmable, app-controlled systems, it's the estimator walking the property with a tablet. At event and wedding lighting companies, it's the coordinator selling a tent installation off a single site visit for a date months away, with no second chance to get the look right.

Heard this from a homeowner or event client?

"I don't want it to look like a used car lot." Clients have seen canopies that read cheap and sparse, and no line item on a quote can tell them whether the spacing you're proposing will fill their patio with light or leave it looking thin overhead.

The bride is booking the canopy for a night that happens once, five months out, off a Pinterest screenshot of someone else's tent — and she's terrified her actual backyard won't match the photo she fell in love with, with no way to check before the wedding day.

"Are you drilling into my pergola?" Homeowners freeze the moment poles, eye bolts, or turnbuckles come up. They want to see exactly where hardware lands on their own beams, eaves, or trees before they agree to let anyone touch the structure.

How fairy light canopy previews work

Three steps. Under 10 seconds. No design skills needed.

Photograph the space

On the walkthrough, capture the patio, pergola beams, roofline, or tent footprint — the same anchor points (eaves, posts, tree trunks, poles) you'd use to actually run cable.

Generate the lit canopy

The tool renders the crisscross or parallel-row pattern at the bulb spacing and color temperature you're quoting, sagged and anchored exactly where the hardware will go, lit as it'll look after dark.

Present and close

The client sees their own space finished, not a stock photo or a sketch, approves the pattern, and signs before you've left the property.

Common questions about fairy light canopy

Straight answers. No jargon.

Let's build the version made for your business

Every preview on this site is a variation of the same engine, tuned to one industry. Tell us about yours, and we'll show you exactly what we'd build for it.

We reply within one business day