Having now observed an awful lot of weddings one of the things that always interests me is the dynamic at the end of the night. You plan pretty much every last detail of your wedding day but for the final part of the evening only one real decision tends to be made: shall we get a DJ, band or can we just play some music ourselves? After that decision’s been made that’s pretty much it? The guests have entertainment, they’ll dance and drink and that’s that surely?
Well in theory yes, but in reality giving little thought to the evening does quite often result in a very bare dance floor and a fair few guests leaving earlier than you’d expect. Sometimes, for reasons that you wouldn’t necessarily think about beforehand, the party just kind of fizzles out. So what can you do to ensure that doesn’t happen? Well after observing making a lot of wedding observations and having been a project manager and designer on countless large scale events over the years I have a few suggestions that I hope can help:
Really think about the type of music you want. Generally I always say your wedding day is about expressing your own personality, but the music is one area where you have to be careful in that regard! Weddings tend to have a guest list covering all ages from toddlers to grannies and you need to make sure you have something for everyone. If you’re into hard house acid maybe just include one or two songs… everyone else probably just wants a cheesy disco!- If you can then GET A LIVE BAND!! There really is nothing like the atmosphere of live musicians playing in front of you and it gives those that don’t want to dance something to look at as well.
- GET THE LIGHTING RIGHT!!! If it’s too bright people don’t dance. FACT! Think about concerts you’ve been to… if they performed under one big floodlight would you be as excited? If you can afford it then get a professional lighting company in. Music is 60% of the atmosphere in the room, lighting is the other 40%. If you can’t stretch to getting professionally designed lighting then ask your band or DJ to bring some lights with them, it really does make all the difference! Lots of colour also helps get people excited!
- Get a decent sound system and preferably someone who knows something about them. If the venue says they have an in-house PA be wary… I’ve worked literally hundreds of events and I’ve only twice seen a hotel, restaurant or hall provide a sound system that they owned themselves and that was genuinely suitable for a dance floor. Oh and DJ’s and bands don’t necessarily have their own PA systems either so check before you book them!
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- Think about your first dance. If you want a sweet slow dance together that’s absolutely fine, it’s about you two after all and it can be lovely. But just bear in mind it doesn’t HAVE to be a slow-dance, and it can be used to set the tone of the evening! I’ve seen some brilliant slightly comical routines or little film references that got a big laugh and got people in the mood to let go of their own inhibitions. Also if you’re not going to have a first dance MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS! Custom dictates your guests won’t dance until you do unless they’re told otherwise.
- Build a crescendo. Speeches, cutting the cake, first dance, crazy-ass party! Make people feel it’s building to something, get them excited, get them wanting desperately to be up on that dance floor!
- Make sure you’ve got a MASSIVE song after the first dance to get everyone moving straight away! Some DJ’s like to start slow and try to build which is fine, but in my experience if you don’t get people up straight after the first dance you won’t get them up for a long time after.
Get the timing of the buffet right – people do abandon the dance floor to get food and they get more tired after eating so do it too early and you’ll lose everyone for the night. Time it for when the band or DJ take a break and make it a reward for having worked up a sweat!- Make sure you choose a space that works for the number of guests – weirdly the more crowded the dance floor the more people want to join it! This isn’t Pride and Prejudice – in this day and age barely anyone actually knows how to dance (particularly your dad) and they don’t want to feel people are looking at them. There’s anonymity in a crowd so don’t make your dance floor too big.
- Get an actual dance floor! I don’t really have an explanation for this one but if you have a cool looking dance floor that clearly defines the space people seem more attracted to it.
Most importantly though just relax and enjoy yourselves. The Bride and Groom set the tone for everyone at a wedding, after all they’re your friends and family – they really do want you to have a fantastic day! If you’re having a great time then so will they and with just a little bit of forward planning you can create an atmosphere that makes it impossible not to enjoy yourselves.
And if further evidence be needed here’s a little video from a wedding that got the evening atmosphere exactly right! (check out from 11:08 to see the evening entertainment in full!)
For more tips on how to use music in your wedding day check out this post from wedding entertainment expert Holly Jazz Kotzé!
Wedding Photography by York Place Studios, Wedding Video by York Place Films
