Based on years of hands-on, professional observation, here are 5 signs that dancing at your wedding might be lukewarm…

image courtesy blog.bored.com

1.) A sweetheart table for the couple at dinner

80% of my weddings that have a sweetheart table usually equal an just an okay dance-floor. Sometimes the couple is introverted and looking to only each other for comfort and support (which there is nothing wrong with in my opinion, we all have different personalities) and sometimes this is the planners idea but don’t do it, this is an easy change too just sit with your family and friends, trust me you will thank me later. When couples sit with all their friends and family it usually means they have a much bigger support and love circle which can lead to better dancing for whatever reason.

2.) The dinner is really quiet

I would say 100% of the time if the dinner is really quiet and chill no way is the dance-floor gonna rock later. People need to have conversation and feel free and enjoy one another, only when your ego isn’t sheltering itself can a person fully feel free to dance in front of strangers and conversation does this.

3.) Your venue has a really nice outdoor area and lots of activities

This can be the death of a good dance-floor. Having a ballroom or just a captive audience always helps for a full dance floor. Having a space where everyone feels welcome and the light level is dark, so no one feels like they are the spotlight really makes for the best dancing experience. Nothing wrong with a pretty outdoor space; just realize that you could lose people to the space itself.

4.) The parents have taken over and invited half or more of the guests

Nothing wrong with Mom & Dad having some special friends and family at your wedding, but the reality is these people usually dance to just a few songs and then leave after the cake, thus turning your 120 person wedding into a 60 person wedding by dance time.

You only get married once, make sure you don’t let someone else—and maybe even your own mother—ruin your wedding with a guest list of people you don’t really know that well, but your parents must have. It would be better just to have a few of those people and more of your friends in the end. Really push to have those people you feel comfortable with around you and don’t feel the need to invite every person that has invited you to their wedding, if you feel like you could hang out in your house coat with these people then those are the people you should invite to your wedding. It’s a personal experience, make it special and leave out the we had to invite the neighbor since they invited us type invites.

5.) Noise restrictions or power issues

I have done a couple of gigs where they have me turn down the music early or the power cuts out because they are not properly set up for weddings, yet they book weddings there and ruin peoples nights on a weekly basis. Check with the venue, make sure you can be loud up until you want to leave and make sure that they have proper power for where the dancing is going to be. There is one vineyard which has me play inside and stack my speakers outside for dancing, meaning I have no idea what is happening on the dance-floor, it’s really pretty sad. Also, nothing breaks my groove more than someone yelling at me to turn it down, once the music gets below a certain level people just stop moving. We don’t rock weddings out at club levels, but there is a certain level where you just need to “feel” the music otherwise the party just peters out.

Bonus tip: Timing is everything

Stay away from the old school ideas of dance-games and silly breaks for no reason during dancing. Once the dance-floor gets going, keep it that way, having a dance session and break then dance again just doesn’t work well, consolidate and have the dancing happen in one chunk.

My final note

We need to stop with this Anniversary Dance, asking people to leave the dance-floor so that the oldest couple is left is a really archaic idea and the people that leave the dance floor just take off and get drinks anyway, just dedicate a special song to them and keep the dance-floor going.

These are just things I have personally noticed over my 20 years of DJing. I take real pride in weddings that I do because you really only get once chance to make this right, it’s a lot of pressure but I was born to do this and I want your wedding to be the best it can be, I want you to look back at that day with a smile and think about how much fun you, your family and friends had. I love that I get to facilitate that for people, it’s a true honor and a blessing to do what I do and all of us here at DJ D-Mac & Associates take those extra steps to make your wedding magic. Please think of these things when planning your wedding; just a few simple changes can mean everything for your wedding night.