How to ensure a full dance floor all night

by Tab | Aug 10, 2020 | Song Ideas, Tips for Couples, Weddings

How to ensure a full dance floor all night?

Our most asked question is always… How can you ensure that our guests have an unforgettable party? And how can you ensure that we will have a packed dance floor all night?

photo by The Roots

Fantastic question… and please allow us to drop some knowledge for a moment that is sure to help any prospective client achieve a night full of dancing.

First thing first, you need to ensure that you have selected a Band or DJ Entertainment team that you mesh well with. This means you need to feel comfortable that they can provide you with the music style that you are anticipating you and your guests to dance to for the evening (yes, you want to make sure of a few other things when shopping for vendors but that’s a different blog post…lol).

Once you feel like you have just the right guy or girl… Here are a few tips and tricks of the trade to ensure a great evening to achieve a high energy dance floor.

photo by Rudy and Marta – How to ensure a full dance floor all night

You want to ensure that the distance between your DJ/Band and the dance floor is as minimal as possible. If you could setup up their gear in the middle of the dance floor and it still be acceptable, I would do it. What this does… is it puts your performer’s energy as close to the crowd as possible. Your guests will automatically vibe off the energy of your DJ/Band just like you would at a concert venue. With this theory in mind, “the closer you are to the stage, the better your experience will be…”, its just one move you can make when trying to achieve a fun dance party.

Next thing, would be to limit the size of the dance floor to the most logical size possible. What in the world does that mean, you ask? If you’re expecting 300 guests at your wedding or event, please understand that you do not necessarily need to have a floor that accommodates that many people.

Think about it this way FIRST, when its time for all 300 people to put on their dancing shoes, not everyone is going to jump out there all at once. You will find people are socializing at their tables, hitting the bar for another cocktail, or lighting a cigar with old friends on the patio. So, lets plan for at least a 250 person dance floor, just to start with so that this way you are ensuring even more probability of having a great dance party.

Consider this SECONDLY, if you’re in a room that has a huge dance floor for 300 people, and at the end of the night you are expecting only 100 of your closest family and friends to hang around and jam with you to the bitter end… Then a smaller dance floor is perfect for you!

Honestly, if I’m choosing, a good rule of thumb is to plan for a dance floor for 150-200 guests for this size of event. I always tell clients at a minimum plan for 2/3^rd’s of your guest-list. This way you minimize the dead space on the floor and it encourages that raging dance party you have always dreamed about for your big day.

The LAST thing you want to ensure you do, which will increase your chances of having a night you never want to end… is to make sure you are selecting music that you know your guests want to dance to. Yes! This day is about you and celebrating your love for your fiancé, however you are buying dinner for your friends and family and wanting to show them a good time… So please keep them in mind as well. Numerous times we receive client’s that have exceptional music taste that is completely different from what you would expect to hear at a wedding.

Genre’s that are including Punk, Aggressive Rock, Polka, Etc… Even though there are many tunes in these genre’s that most people can appreciate, the people on your dance floor most likely won’t want to tap their toe’s to it that evening. Make sure to pick a good range of upbeat songs, or tunes that you think all of your friends will know. Not to say that imputing some of your favorite high school jam’s won’t keep the party going. I’m just saying make sure to keep your guests music taste at the forefront as well, to ensure a fun filled evening of dancing.

Giving your DJ the free range to pick what everyone is vibing with will also help with this.  Handcuffing them to a specific ONLY PLAY THESE songs will only make it more difficult to keep the party going.

Bella Collina Wedding

Once again… to ensure a jam packed dance floor all night, make sure you have an entertainment company that represents your style. Put them as close to the dance floor as humanly possible, using discretion for guests, when planning your layout of the reception space.

Make sure that you can limit the size of dance floor to comfortably hold 2/3^rd’s of your expected guest count. Finally, and I think maybe the most obvious, would be to make sure you’re catering to your GUEST’s music taste and not just own.

“May the transitions be smooth, and the song choice be flawless”-DJFyerFly

How to ensure a full dance floor all night by Fyerfly Productions.