What if reception space is too big??

mlee116 · January 2010

The room we want to rent for our reception is HUGE! The owner said that it will hold 500 people sitting at round tables...I am having about 175-200 people at the reception. I am from a small town, so venues are extremely limited and this is the only venue that fits into my budget and that is still available for my wedding day. Do any of you have any ideas to make a large room appear smaller without costing a fortune? My mom thinks that instead of spreading everything out across the entire room, we could group the tables together in one half of the room so it appears to be more intimate...Any ideas will be appreciated!

Catwoman708 · January 2010

Exactly what your mom said.

Pull all the tables in closer, either more in one half of the space, or in the center. This leaves plenty of open space for food, cake, beverage, and gift tables. Or if you are having dancing, it leaves plenty of open space for a dance floor area.

Also, there is no need to decorate the whole space. Just keep the focus on the tables, and maybe go a little more dramatic with the centerpieces.

You could also add a few additional seating areas, for cozy conversation nooks, or a corner with a nice decorated backdrop for a photo area.

danieliza1127 · January 2010

I think grouping the tables in only half of the room will make it look huge, not intimate.

Our venue could hold about 350 and we only had 120. They just spread the tables out nicely and the whole room was filled up with tables and people. Somehow they made it work. Pics in bio but I'm not sure how many of the reception. Just talk to your venue about your concerns. Surely you aren't the only smaller wedding or event they've had in that room.

Annie_Warbucks · January 2010

I agree -- spacing out the tables, putting 6 people at a table instead of 8 or 10, would fill up the space better. Also, putting the cake table it it's own space, the favor table in it's own space, etc. will fill it up as well.

Could you bring in or rent some couches for a cool lounge area?

I <3 Seabass · January 2010

I was thinking the opposite of your mom. If it were me i would spread out the tables across the room to try and fill it up and leave the extra space in the middle for the dance floor.

Or, you could see if the venue has some sort of partition they could use to block of half the room. I know most venues we looked at were able to do that so it may just be as simple as asking the reception manager.

aerinpegadrak · January 2010

I think more smaller tables would be better. The lounge area would also be nice, and doesn't have to be expensive (our original venue was just going to bring in the couches from the hallway outside our ballroom). If the venue doesn't have a partition available, perhaps you can rent or make one.

mlee116 · January 2010

Thanks for the advice! I am thinking of doing more tables than I had originally planned to take up some of the space. But since I am doing that, centerpieces will also be more expensive. What do you think if floral centerpieces were placed on the tables along the perimeter of the room, and simpler centerpieces were done on the tables in the middle? This would save money and give the room some visual interest...tell what you think! Thanks ladies!!

alclover · January 2010

Extra space can give you a lot of potions to be creative!

Will there be a lot of kids? If so, you could use a corner to make a kid space.

Or maybe an area for pictures.

And what about rounding the tables, or placing them in a U-shape to create a center to the center?

aerinpegadrak · January 2010

You could always alternate floral and non-floral centerpieces. Candles make great centerpieces, as do tall clear vases filled with interesting objects (leaves, ornaments, fruit, colored sand, etc.). You could do centerpieces of stacked books, or a centerpiece based around a vinyl record. There are a TON of great non-floral centerpiece options that can save you money.

What if reception space is too big??

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