Picture this: it’s your wedding night, and all your loved ones are getting ready to celebrate and dance the night away. To guarantee that everyone has enough room to move around, you made sure to book a venue with a large dance floor. The music starts playing, but much to your surprise, most people are in their seats. A few people made their way out onto on the floor, but the majority are left out. You thought you nailed everything – the music is fantastic, the venue is beautiful, everyone’s happy, the dance floor is spacious… what went wrong?
If you guessed the dance floor, you are correct.
Often times, couples are eager to secure a large dance floor to accommodate all their guests at the reception. Although they have good intentions, they don’t realize they could be making a dire mistake. In my years of experience, I have noticed time and time again that the best dance floors are actually smaller rather than larger. There are two main reasons for this unsuspected phenomenon:
1.) Anxiety/Fear: Not everyone is brave enough to dance freely in front of others at a wedding. Many people are scared and even embarrassed to dance in an open space. When there’s a large dance floor, there is more room to spread out. If someone is wanting to dance but has nowhere to hide, chances are they’re staying in their seats. However, with a smaller dance floor, people will be bunched closer together, therefore giving your shy guest the opportunity to get out and dance.
2.) Less space = more fun: What looks more impressive, 3000 people at the House of Blues, or 3000 people spread out all throughout The Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse? Having a larger space with less people gives the illusion that it’s uninteresting and boring – it simply doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing to have such a large space for a small of number of people. However, if you pack all of those people into a much smaller venue like the HOB, the proportion of the people to the venue gives the illusion that it’s exciting and fun. Weddings are no different: if a smaller floor is packed with people all having a good time, you’re more likely to join the crowd. If a bigger floor is somewhat empty with sporadic placements of people, it doesn’t look as fun to be in. With all of this said, there are many more factors that influence your guests’ experience on the dance floor. Successful weddings are well-oiled machines that take careful planning and execution. Thankfully, my job makes it extremely easy for you: I take care of the music, you take care of the fun. Consider a smaller dance floor for your wedding and watch it elevate your celebration to the next level.