Worried about no one dancing at our wedding?

Part of me wants to say dont worry over things like this, having said that I must be honest... my friend had her 30th Birthday party at a hotel (that is also a wedding venue) and the dancefloor was in one room, with a wall and a small door leading into the bar and then another wall and door leading into the garden, the vast majority of guests stayed in the bar and others sat outside, I didnt see much dancing at all

Have you sent your invites?

If not you could send out "song requests" cards with your invites, then create a playlist for the DJ so you know that guests will be hearing songs they like?

I had to laugh when i read this. I had same worry, our bar was adjoined to the main reception room, as well as a massive outdoor garden for our use. But honestly, dont worry. Even with people mingling at the bar or outside there were still plenty of people dancing. People love to dance at weddings! Well, most people do. And we only had 100 ish people there. Dont worry xx

My sister had a band in the function room, the bar was in a separate room (although they were adjoining) and there was another separate corridor type area with sofas, so there were people in all rooms. They had less than 80 people and the dance floor was always full. I think if you have a good band, people will dance.

If you're worried, have a word with your bridesmaids and make sure that they're always up dancing. People will soon join them.

My bar is in a different room, and the evening buffet will be in a separate room too, so it had crossed my mind that people wouldn't dance. I've been to weddings where no one has danced but because there were separate rooms, people were able to chat and it was a great evening. The weddings where its been boring are the ones where no one dances and no one can talk because the music is so loud! I think if you have separate rooms then people who want to chat can go there and people who want to dance can stay and dance. Also, I think people tend to dance more when there is a band because there's a different atmosphere to a dj (I've been to very few weddings where the dj's been good at getting everyone up and dancing).

I have made a few friends and family members promise they will dance at my wedding to encourage other people to and I will definitely be dancing lots. Overall though, I don't think its worth worrying about too much. Its such a small detail at the end of an otherwise great day.

Hmm, to be honest, your setup isn't ideal. But there are things to do. Good suggestion to get song requests so everyone will hear something they like. I have been to weddings where the location of the bar is secondary - if people don't like the music, they won't dance anyway. I think this is the part you can get right and it would supercede any other logistical problems. The band should be able to judge both the atmosphere they are creating and the volume. But, if they ARE too loud, there's nothing stopping you (or one of your minions) from asking them to turn it down a notch. Can you remove some of the tables/chairs from the bar/outside area, to make it less attractive for people to settle in? Can the venue do anything with screening/dividers to make the room appear smaller?

ETA: And remember, NOBODY will want to see a bride dancing on her own (nor refuse her if she grabs them for a dance) so you can set the tone here! Co-opting BMs is a good idea as well.

Oh yeah and cos i was scared about no one dancing i did talk to my close friends and cousins and made them promise to fill the floor if it was empty ha!

We're having a barn dance rather than a disco, and I have a similar concern that it's going to be really difficult to motivate people to get up, because it's rather more complex than just shuffling about on the dance floor.

Also, as many people are travelling several hours to our wedding we fully expect people to start leaving by 9.30pm to travel home, and the band goes on till 11.

Neither of us are really 'party hosts' so it's actually the evening reception that's filling me with dread far more than any other part of the day, with the most opportunity to "go wrong" - I can meticulously plan the logistics of getting people in the right place doing the right thing at the right time, but you can't make people enjoy themselves.

I've just come back from a friends wedding and there were periods in the night when no one was dancing, but you know what? it wasn't a big deal and people were so content doing what they were doing (chatting, mingling, grazing on the buffet) that no one paid much attention. The dancefloor would be quiet for 15-20 minutes then a song that 'omg-must-dance-to-this' came on and everyone would be back!! It was a nice relaxing evening that way.

If you are worried though, like others have said, ask a few friends to keep the dancefloor busy. As a bridesmaid, that was apparently my role at my friend's wedding and I think me and the other bridesmaid did a nice job of keeping things moving without pressuring people to get up and dance.

The song requests idea is really good, because we definitely found people would come back for 'their song'.

Oh ace!! I'd be up for that! Also fulfils your 'Hitcher Wedding Invite' ;P

Do your family & friends usually dance? if so then they will, our guests did and there was only 15 of them , I wasnt expecting anyone to dance at all, wasnt even entirely sure we would do our first dance but it seems to just be what people want to do at weddings!!

If you are concerned do you have BMs or close friends you can convince to lead the dancing? as once there is some people, more seem to join in, a friend had cleary got her BMs to do this at her wedding, she had a singer and he was fine but we didnt know any of the songs but when we tried to leave the dancefloor we were restrained and forcably mde to stay and dance by the BMs for his entire set! eventually once the music was a bit more recognisable loads of people joined us!

Are you having any kids at your evening do? They always get up on the dance floor and are great at dragging adults up to join them! A good dj should be able to get people up, ours literally forced people to get up for some traditional dances (gay gordons, dashing white sargeant) and once they'd embarrassed themselves doing those dances they were up all night long - well.. some took a while to recover first lol

I agree with Bates2Be about the getting your bridesmaids to help idea!

If you ask bridesmaids and ushers etc to keep going up when the dancing dies down, people will see it and think it looks like fun so they will join in!

Our suite at the hotel has it's own entrance with a red carpet and bar then an outside area and the main hall with the dance floor, so I worried about that too, so I'm gonna make sure mine get up and dance and get people going!

Also, everyone likes to chat to the bride, so if you dance sometimes, people will no doubt follow!

Thank you all for your replys this was my first post and every one has been helpful, I feel a bit better about it now! I guess if the music is good people will get up regardless. I am sure there will be the inbetween bit when no one gets up when the evening guests are arriving but I am sure towards the end every one will be up. A barn dance sounds great and an option for us as we are getting married in a barn ? and getting people's song requests is a great idea but I have already sent my invites out but we have a DJ for the inbwteeen bits of the band so hopefully we will take requests. Thanks again every one!

One of the easiest ways to get a busy dance floor is for the Bride+Bridesmaids to be on it!

Often followed by the Groom+friends, but often when they are a bit more lubricated ?

It is harder when the bar is in a separate room, and you can end up with guests that really just want to sit down and chat, so the entertainment has more work to get guests attention.

The band levels are normally easy to fix, but its hard for a drummer to play quieter for an entire set.

? I wasn't aware it was a legal requirement to have another Hitcher at your wedding... oh dear...

I had a smile when \i reasd this - your wedding sounds just like ours, only with slightly more guests (we've got 120 in a venue that can hold a max of 250) I am paranoid about this, but just hope that people will dance - I h ave asked both BM's to be on the dancefloor as much as possible!

WSS - I've been worried about my dress making it hard for me to dance! Plus, I'm more concerned about getting people off the dancefloor at the end of the night! Don't let the little things like that worry you. Everyone will be on the floor dancing so long as there's good music! xx

I can recall 2 weddings I went to where brides where in big dresses, one spent the whole night moshing although I have no idea how she made her dress move, anotherone partook in a dance off to run DMC and concluded with a knee slide in her dress!!!

I Love it! i know i'm worried about something silly, so i've not really given it too much thought, although i have bought myself some Dance Trainers for the evening!

I think if ur band is good then it wont matter where the dance floor is, people will want to listen and dance along. You'll prob find people will be outside dancing too!

We have paid quite a large chunk of our budget on a good band to help ensure a good overall atmosphere.

Remember people go to weddings to have a good nite!

x