Having up to 200 guests at the Silver Swan?

vlloyd1984 · February 2011

I'm still looking at wedding venues but so far my favorite is the Silver Swan on Kent Island. My only problem might be our guest list and the layout of the venue. Since we would be having over 150 guests, the dinner is going to be in a different room than the dancing and DJ. Has anyone here had or been to a wedding there with that many guests? How did it work? Could toasts still be done in the dining room (like could a mic. be brought out)? My mom says that most weddings guests dance after their first entree before the second or main course and obviously that wouldn't be possible here. I don't really want my guests to continuously have to go back and forth between the rooms as some may like to stay seated and would miss out on watching the dancing between courses. I figured that we would have the whole dinner and then do dancing and desert afterward but people may leave early once dinner is over. Also, did anyone bring in their own dance floor as I'm not sure the one there may be big enough?

kmartini1021 · February 2011

Have you looked at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club on Kent Island? I know they would be able to accomodate 200 guests in one room with the dance floor. It's a beautiful venue. I highly recommend it. I personally am not a fan of the dancing being in a separate room. Sometimes the best part is sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else dance while you catch your breath!

But if you're sold on the Silver Swan, I would ask your venue contact those questions (whether a mic can be brought in the dining room, etc). They should be able to help you out.

vlloyd1984 · February 2011

Yes, I have looked at the Bay Beach club and honestly, I wasn't impressed. I would say that it's in my top three choices but if I can make the Silver Swan work, that'll be great, if not, I'll go somewhere else. I agree that guests will want to watch from the sidelines and don't want to exclude them.

We have already talked to the venue and they said it works, but I kind of wanted a non biased opinion from someone who has been to that venue for a wedding for around 200 people and wanted to hear about their experience and if they thought it really worked or not.

Thanks though. Your venue looked gorgeous by the way. It has like one or two elements though that doesn't work with me though due to me being super picky, which is a shame, because I would have loved to have checked it out.

dnice818 · February 2011

I am getting married at Silver Swan. I am only having 100 people, but they are still setting it up the way they will for your's. That was my only reservation, but I think Amelia came up with a nice plan to handle it.

First, yes, you can have a mic in the dining area, that is what we are doing. Our sweetheart table will be in front of the fireplace, and we will bring the mic there for toasts.

Second, they will set up a few tables in chairs on the stone area of the porch for people who want to sit right there by the dance floor. I noticed that for our table setup, there would only really be one table that cannot see the dance floor, so I may just put people there that I know will get up and dance all night. And about when the guests dance, usually the DJ will announce when the floor is open for dancing, I have never seen people get up in the middle of the meal to dance (EDIT-except in the wedding I was in in Nov-only because they played one of my group's favorite songs during dinner and we just had to dance to it!).

As far as bringing your own dance floor, I don't know if you would have the room for it. Of course, if you have a lot of dancers, the dance floor might naturally spill down the steps a little to where the small tables are.

Again, our wedding is half the size of your's, so our experiences will be a little different, but I wouldn't trade my one reservation for another venue. We fell in love as soon as we walked in (and that was during renovations-all we could see was drywall!), so I have all the faith that it will turn out how we want it.

mybooboos · February 2011

I agree with the PP. Our wedding will be a SSB in July, and I also had the reservation of not having dinner and dancing in the same room, but after the cocktail hour, they will put enough tables in the "tented room", so all of our guests will be able to sit in there while the dancing is occurring after dinner.

If you have a wedding planner, s/he will help you with the dance floor calculations (30 sq ft/couple - but don't quote me on those numbers!). Our guests size is half of yours, and I was also worried about the size of the dance floor. Yes, you can bring in dance floor tiles, and lay them at the bottom of the stairs, so you would have an upper and lower dance floor.

If they bring in tables and chairs for you in the tented room, you will have enough seating for most of your guest during the dancing. Hopefully everyone else will be on the dance floor!

blondeintgeragrl · February 2011

I am at a completely different venue - Gramercy Mansion - and our dancing is not in the same room as the dining tables. I am not really concerned about it. We will have some seating in the room with the dancing, so that elderly guests can sit and watch if they wish, or others can either join the dancing, or just hang out the along sidelines.

meesenplace · February 2011

If you are looking for a waterfront location and you'd like to keep everything in the same room, you might want to check out Herrington on the Bay. They have a tent located right on the water that can accomodate over 200 people and the landscaping is absolutely gorgeous.

Having up to 200 guests at the Silver Swan?

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