Not only you want everything to go smoothly on your wedding day, you also want great energy, happy guests, and a packed dance floor! Don’t underestimate the role your floor plan plays in creating the right setting for an amazing party.
Here, we try to help you out with 7 tips on how to plan a great wedding from a wedding DJ point of view. Take these into consideration and we promise that you and your guests will have unforgettable fun on your wedding day!
The Bad Plan
1. Make the dance floor your center stage
The bride (and groom) might be the center of attention, but the dance floor’s the center of the party. If you hide it around a corner, in a separate room, or at the very end of a long hall, it’s going to be difficult to pack it. Also, guests might miss or feel left out of traditions that usually happen on the dance floor, like the cake cutting and bouquet toss. Easy access to a central dance floor makes for a much more involved crowd.
2. Keep the dance floor small
Consult dance floor sizing charts, and don’t let your venue convince you that bigger is better. Adjust size according to guest number. If the floor is too large for the party, it will look sparse no matter how many people are dancing, which discourages joiners and makes party pics look lame.
3. Place the DJ right by the dance floor
This sounds obvious, but some people (or venues) try to put the wedding DJ in a corner. Your DJ’s job isn’t just to play music-it’s to motivate your guests to get (and stay) on the dance floor. DJs need visibility to gauge the crowd, and they need to be able to interact with guests. You wouldn’t dream of putting the band in a corner!
4. Don’t position tables right by the speakers
If your wedding DJ’s in a corner, there’s usually a table (or more) between his speakers and the dance floor. So there are two options: either the music is way too loud for the guests seated at that table or way too soft for a happening party. The dance floor itself can act as an excellent buffer between seated guests (especially elderly ones) and the speakers
5. Arrange tables thoughtfully
Before you stress about who sits with whom, consider the arrangement of the tables themselves. Ideally none is too far away from center stage (aka the dance floor), as visibility and access are important. If you can, arrange tables in a “U” around the dance floor, with the head table opposite the dance floor from the wedding DJ. And if you have space, a few cocktail tables by the bar will encourage guests to mingle.
6. Consider how people will move through the space
Guests need to be able to move around comfortably if they’re expected to circulate and get up to dance. Don’t make them squeeze and pardon their way onto the dance floor! Do make a clear path directly from the entrance to the dance floor. Also think about the flow of foot traffic to the buffet, restrooms, and bar. If you put the bar right by the door, people will congregate at the entrance.
7. Cluster all the fun stuff
You may be tempted to spread out the bar, the cake, the photo booth, the lounge area, and whatever other fun stuff you’ve planned for your guests. It might get guests to circulate, but you don’t really want them circulating too far away from the dance floor. The last thing you want is a packed floor to disperse to the other end of the room to watch you cut the cake! Plus, you want your guests to interact: the drinkers with the dancers with the photo geeks, so locate the “fun stuff” together.
The Good Plan
DJ Ethan Stone
Icon DJ owner DJ Ethan Stone is one of the most popular club and event DJs in the US with over 1,000 performances since his start in 2002. He is known for drawing big crowds and for his innate ability to rock a party. Originally from Santa Cruz, CA, Ethan studied Literature and Music at Princeton University. He has since toured worldwide and worked with artists including Craig Robinson, Drake, Britney Spears, Flo Rida, RuPaul, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Camila and more.
From nightclubs to weddings, celebrity and corporate events, Ethan Stone is your perfect musical curator. He skillfully blends and beat matches every song. Drawing from his vast knowledge of music, he intertwines genres that span the demographics of any audience, keeping everybody on their feet and having a great time! And as an MC, his friendly and charismatic presence on the microphone brings that extra energy needed to transform a great night into an unforgettable one.
Call now to book DJ Ethan for your wedding DJ and guarantee the success of your event!