If you’ve attended any weddings as a guest, have you happened to see an evening party that doesn’t take off, a desolately empty runway an evening party with very high expectations left unexpected?
Yet the DJ that the bride and groom had hired offered good music, the guests were young, but no one entered the dance floor and this generated the classic “domino” effect where at the drop of a hat all the guests left the venue decreeing the end of the wedding.
Has this ever happened to you?
If it happened at your wedding how would you feel?
How could this happen?
Whose fault was it for such a disastrous result? About the DJ? Of the bride and groom? Of the guests?
It is difficult to identify the culprits in these situations since there are so many factors that can come into play in a wedding however I thought I would list in this article what details to pay attention to and definitely not to overlook when organizing your evening party and more generally planning your wedding to avoid turning a joyous event into a real failure!
1. Adequate dancing area
When a bridal couple visits different locations to find the one that best meets their needs and tastes among the parameters of choice, the dance area is often not given due consideration.
In explaining the different areas of the location and the modus operandi by which they are used, the different owners summarily illustrate the area used for dancing by merely explaining the 2 options based on the weather aspect.
In reality, however, there are several aspects to consider if you want to achieve an explosive evening party primarily the size of the room or porch relative to the number of guests.
Too large a space tends to be dispersive going to the detriment of even the most dedicated dancers entering the dance floor in addition to still giving the impression of an empty floor even with 100 people dancing.
With a smaller space, the dance floor will always seem full and a more engaging atmosphere will also be created between those who are dancing and those who, for one reason or another do not feel like getting out on the dance floor but simply watch, having fun.
You also have to think that not all of your guests will be dancing at the same time, there will be a constant coming and going dictated by different musical tastes, fatigue, the desire to smoke a cigarette or to have a drink and a bite to eat, so it becomes important to provide enough chairs in the dance area for at least half of the expected evening party attendees.
If you think the dance area of your chosen venue is excessively large compared to the number of guests who will attend the evening party, try to reduce or demarcate the space by using chairs, tables or furniture components.
I do not even consider the case of a dance area with a smaller capacity than the number of people attending the evening party because such a choice debilitates the party at the start by breaking up guests and leading the floor to empty out in a short time anyway. In addition, an area that is too small, especially on summer evenings, discourages guests from dancing or conversely causes them to leave the dance floor after only a few dances because of the unbearable heat that is generated.
2. Open bar near the dance area
The layout of the villa, or the modus operandi of the restaurant/caterer in many cases causes the open bar to be set up in an area away from the dancing area.
Making this choice is a very gross mistake and one that can definitely jeopardize the success of the evening party because doing so will alienate guests who are unlikely to return to dancing because they will get lost in chatter, beers and cigarettes.
Consider then, that during a wedding, guests and friends tend to go drinking together, leaving the dance floor and generating a vacuum that is difficult to replace.
The open bar must be as close to the dance floor as possible, so that those who are going to get drinks do not stray so doing they will remain in close contact with the party.
3. Indoor and outdoor music
There are a number of venues that for neighborhood reasons, municipal constraints, or simply quiet living give the bride and groom the option of using the outdoor spaces for the evening party until a certain time, often coinciding with 11 p.m., after which the party must move inside or must shut down.
In either case, the party, in similar locations, will be debilitated since, thinking of moving guests from outside to inside the facility after the evening party was at its peak will cause a portion of the guests to take the opportunity to leave, while another portion will not follow the DJ inside because they prefer to stay outside to enjoy the mild evening temperatures especially after a particularly hot summer day.
Moreover, the party will not be able to restart at the same pace and volume as where it was interrupted. As fast and quick as the shift is the latter has created a disruption that has cooled the climate so we need to restart, rebuild and slowly return to the top level but I can tell you from experience that this will NOT happen.
What good you experienced, the fun you experienced ended at 11 p.m.
Inside you will definitely go there after half an hour or an hour to tell the DJ he can leave or to do, with the last remaining friends, some karaoke.
So either you decide to experience the evening hours outside to the fullest knowing that closing the wedding at 11 p.m. still means doing it reluctantly and amid protests from friends and relatives who were enjoying themselves or you start the evening party outside and at 11 p.m. you move inside crossing your fingers and hoping to continue the evening party; Odds 10%
However for the sake of the record as a 3rd solution you have the option of opting directly for an indoor evening party but this solution should only be considered if the weather plays against you.
If you have been to a wedding between May and September, you know how unattractive it is to be segregated in the hall for hours on end eating; Guests between courses leave the hall even when outside temperatures are extreme. So imagine if you can keep friends and family inside the facility for the evening party when temperatures outside are finally pleasant!
What would you guys do?
4. Games and jokes
I do not understand why, in some weddings, friends of the bride and groom during the various lunch breaks do not take the opportunity to play the games and jokes they had planned, waiting for the very beginning of the evening party (the least appropriate time) to offer them by interrupting the DJ’s work several times, making the dance floor empty and giving the opportunity or excuse for some of your guests to say goodbye and leave.
Delegate someone or hire a professional to liaise with your friends and take care of coordinating the pranks by scheduling them at the most suitable times to avoid interruptions during the evening party.
The DJ is usually available to friends and supports them in anything they may need, microphone, music bases etc. however, these interruptions that help avoid the day’s many downtimes must be placed at strategic times that allow relatives and bride and groom to be entertained and amused but without getting in the way of the various professionals involved.
5. Lighting
There are cases where already during the aperitif there is a party atmosphere that leads part of the guests to dance–wonderful, but in most cases the evening party starts at dusk, when the sun goes down and the temperatures become more pleasant. The dance area must not be too brightly lit could put off even the most enterprising from getting out on the dance floor. Make sure that the DJ who is to accompany you during the evening party is equipped with a professional lighting system that can recreate a soft atmosphere through LED lights, moving heads, lasers etc. That invites celebration. Don’t let sketchy descriptions of the equipment the DJ is going to use suffice because the lighting aspect helps so much to achieve an explosive party, but the instrumentation must be of quality. Stall chinoiserie or “birthday party” lighting effects will play against you, so ask the professional to see videos, or photos so you can actually see whether or not the feared effect is real.
If the DJ you have hired, on the other hand, is not equipped for this there are some companies that can help you by designing lighting both for the dance area but also for the hall and the location itself to make the atmosphere you will make your guests experience even more magical. Obviously if you have to resort to this solution, however, you probably have not hired a professional DJ.
6. Vocalist
Entrusting the evening party to a DJ sometimes, may not be enough, especially if the chosen figure is great at mixing but cannot say two words on the microphone. In a wedding there are people who do not know each other, people who are unlikely on their own initiative to jump in so in these cases leaning on a professional microphone entertainer more become the trump card between an explosive evening party and one that does not take off.
The figure of the microphone entertainer or more simply vocalist helps break the ice already during the pre-evening by bridging the distance between the DJ (behind the console) and the audience.
Once the party starts to get going, it helps to engage and energize even more those who are having fun.
That said.
I hope with this article I have given you an awareness of how different factors determine the actual success of an explosive evening party and how many details you need to pay attention to.
Underestimating one or more of these tricks can result in the FLOP of your evening party, but if you want to conquer this fear or more simply want to be certain that you are not making mistakes that will penalize you, you can visit our website www.weddingsymphony.it and go to the contact page to book a specialized consultation with our Paul and understand how he can help you achieve an evening party that you and your guests will remember for many years to come.
Remember that
“Marriage is a live movie. You can’t go wrong because you can’t buy a memory.”
We always say this to all our wedding couples.
A few simple tips combined with a dash of common sense will make your evening party a memorable event.
I am Paolo Furlan the first Wedding Music Planner in Veneto and founder of the Wedding Symphony music agency specializing in music for civil or religious ceremonies and music and entertainment for wedding receptions.
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