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Do you need to hire a dance floor for your wedding?
No wedding specifically needs a dance floor but if you are wanting to dance with your friends and family and have booked some live wedding entertainment a dance floor can be a great way to encourage dancing in a safe and fun way. You don’t always need to hire one yourself as many wedding venues can supply a dance floor too.
How to decide if you need a dance floor at your wedding
Hello! Today I’m going to walk you through the pros and cons of having a dance floor at your wedding. As a wedding musician with 15 years’ experience, I will explain everything you need to consider regarding dance floors including some things you may not have even thought of. Although I mainly talk about weddings in today’s guide, my advice is relevant if you are getting married, or organising any type of party or event too, I hope you find it useful!
Do you need more help or a fantastic live wedding band for your dance floor?
We have loads of other guides on our site showcasing fantastic live wedding bands or to help you get clued up on everything wedding entertainment and more. We are always here to help if you need it.
All of us at Seventh Second have years of performing in our wedding bandsat thousands of lovely weddings giving us time to ponder the world of dance floors. I’m sure this is one of the less interesting aspects of your wedding planning but nevertheless, I know it’s important and over the years, I’ve spoken to many couples about dance floors and so by the end of this little guide, you will know if you need or want a dance floor at your wedding. Problem solved.
What I will cover
This is what I will cover so you know if you want or need that dance floor.
The pros and cons of indoor dance floors
The pros and cons of marquee dance floors
The space needed for dance floors and whether your venue can accommodate
My experience with hundreds of dance floors at weddings over the years
The pros of a dance floor at an indoor wedding
Let’s get cracking with the pros of having a dance floor at your wedding shall we?
A dance floor at your wedding encourages well…dancing!
This is the biggest reason to have a dance floor, it encourages dancing! If you are planning on hiring a wedding DJ or live wedding band, you want your guests to dance along to their fantastic live show no? A dance floor helps with that by simply being there and saying “Hey! Come over here and dance!” to your guests and their happy dancing feet as demonstrated in From the Tops video above.
Do you want everyone dancing together all night?
Without a designated dance floor, your guests may just start dancing in small groups dotted around your wedding venue or not dance at all! If they see other guests or especially you on a dance floor they are going to flock and create that packed dance floor you’ve been dreaming of. Check out our amazing guide on how to pack your wedding dance floor for all the tips and tricks.
Dance floors can look stunning at a wedding
Provided you see one that you like and that suits your venue and wedding theme, dance floors can look pretty stunning and can enhance the look of most weddings. You can choose between wood, classic black and white chequer, starlit/LED, and even buzzing disco dance floors of all shapes and sizes so there should be one out there to suit your wedding whatever the theme.
A sense of occasion
A wedding dance floor can add some real style and panache to your wedding giving your wedding party that sense of occasion. Some of the finest and most famous venues in the world have permanent dance floors fitted which add to their overall style and ambiance. Some weddings I’ve performed at that lacked a dance floor could sometimes feel a bit bare and uninviting.
A safe space to get your groove on
Dance floors offer you and your guests a nice safe space to get those feet tapping and stomping away to live music. It’s usually much better to have that designated area to dance than to simply dance in random areas and potentially bash into things or fall over them! Since the pandemic, dance floors have also been super useful to designate a safe space to dance and enjoy yourself so not only are they practical, they are now safe! If you want to know more about our covid cover and how we keep you and your guests safe, clickhere.
Make the most of your live wedding band or DJ!
Read our awesome guide for more on thisbut having that big sparkly dance floor can really help your live wedding band or wedding DJ’s cause! They can look great performing next to a dance floor and most importantly, announce the dance floor is open, getting everyone strutting their stuff and creating that wedding fun factor for you all night! With no dance floor, it can be hard for a wedding band or DJ to encourage your guests to dance and you may not get the most out of your wedding entertainmentif that’s the case.
Your first dance
If you’re planning to have a first dance a dance floor is a good accessory. It can look fantastic in your photos and again helps your guests congregate or dance around you and enjoy that perfect moment that is a first dance. I’ve noticed that dance floors have helped guide couples to the spot of their first dance over the years too! Struggling for first dance ideas or can’t decide if you even want a first dance? Our popular guides below might help with that.
What are the possible cons of having a dance floor at your wedding?
Dance floors can be expensive to hire
Weddings are expensive and not all wedding venues can offer a dance floor for free when you book. I speak to many couples trying to save money where they can and skipping the cost of hiring a dance floor could be a good way of doing that and sticking to your budget. You may like to look at our useful guide on booking a live wedding band on a budgettoo.
Can a dance floor even fit in your wedding venue?
Some wedding venues can’t adequately fit dance floors and if they are just about squeezed in they can make your venue look worse. See below for a useful dance floor size guide that will help you when you visit prospective wedding venues. The room you host your wedding party in may be set up in such a way that no dance floor is needed. I’ve performed in plenty of cosy wedding venues where the lack of a dance floor didn’t stop anyone dancing the night away!
Planning not to hire a live wedding band or wedding DJ?
If you don’t plan on hiring a wedding band or wedding DJ you may not need the added expense of a dance floor. If your wedding party isn’t going to be all about dancing the night away, you don’t really need one. Dance floors are very prominent and take up a lot of space which you could use to seat more guests or for other forms of wedding entertainment.
Wedding guests having a bit too much fun!
If you know you are going to have a booze-fuelled, dancing riot of a wedding regardless, dance floors can sometimes become a bit of a hazard! Spilt drinks or smashed glasses on a shiny dance floor surface are lethal to the unsuspecting wedding guests. Trust me, I’ve seen many a wedding guest fall flat on their face while I’ve been performing!
A dance floor just doesn’t suit your wedding venue or wedding theme
Despite the large choice of dance floors you can hire, none may suit the look you are going for in your wedding venue. Some rustic venues or wedding themes including festival or rustic themes don’t always look great with a whopping great black and white chequered dance floor in the middle of them do they?
Dance floors can be an issue for your live entertainment
In smaller venues especially, dance floors can cause logistical issues for your live entertainment. Not only can there be issues with your act’s performance space, but there can also be the issue of guests falling over and crashing into your performers. Something to consider if you have a smaller wedding venue. Our guide on how much space wedding bands need to perform could be a useful read right now too.
The pros and cons of a dance floor at a marquee wedding
Sizing can be a bit of an issue with dance floors at marquee weddings so use my handy sizing table below. A few other things to think about are placing a dance floor on uneven ground or the possibility of the dance floor becoming very wet as people walk in and out – especially if you experience one of those “glorious” wet and windy English summer days! As we mention in our guide on live wedding bands performing in marquees, don’t be put off as marquee weddings are loads of fun and I’ve performed at plenty with rocking dance floors!
Dance floor sizing table
Now that you’ve read the pros and cons of dance floors, wouldn’t it be useful to look at a sizing guide for wedding dance floors? I thought so. At any given time, you usually have around 30% of your guests on the dance floor so when it comes to indoor and especially marquee weddings, this table is really useful to gauge what size dance floor you need, if it can fit in your venue and whether you can even have a dance floor that will be of any use!
Total number of guests Average number of dancers Size of dance floor needed
60 20 10×10 feet
100 30 12×12 feet
150 50 15×15 feet
200 70 18×18 feet
275 90 20×20 feet
400 140 25×25 feet
600 200 30×30 feet
1000 350 40×40 feet
1500 550 50×50 feet
What’s our experience with dance floors at weddings?
By now, I hope you are starting to decide if you need or want a dance floor at your wedding but why not let our experience help out too? As mentioned, everyone at Seventh Second has been performing in wedding bands (like the popularPaper Boats above) week in week out for years and we’ve seen everything you can imagine happen on a wedding dance floor!
Dance floors are great if they make sense for your wedding theme and venue
I love dance floors at weddings when they fit properly and look the part. I don’t like them so much when they don’t as they can be more trouble than they are worth. Yes, someone will spill their drink or smash a glass at some point but it doesn’t usually cause too many problems and a good dance floor is usually great fun for everyone. Guests love a good dance floor to boogie on while we play and sing our hearts out. I think they are a wedding venue accessory you should seriously consider!
So, do you need that dance floor at your wedding?
Is your mind made up on dance floors? I hope so! If you are also thinking of hiring a live band to entertain you all on that wedding dance floor why not checkthese award-winning bands while you’re here? If you have any questions or comments, please do get in touch – we’re here 7 days a week, 10 am to 10 pm via phone, text, live chat, email, and all the usual socials. Lastly, if you feel this guide may be useful to others and you liked what you read please consider sharing it.