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Dance and dinner in adjacent rooms. Thoughts?

Kaitlyn HabermehlKaitlyn Habermehl
First Comment
in Wedding Reception Forum
Hi everyone, I'm new here and this is my first post.  My fiance and I looked at a venue that I am totally in love with and he loves it too.  It's fresh, it's new and it's me.  A beautiful clubhouse on the top of a cliff overlooking a stunning green golf course.  All dark wood, glass and stone.  Very little decorating needed (yay!) and I'm a very clean lined person so this excites me. 

ONLY problem with the venue is that it isn't big.  The dining room can easily accomodate our planned guest size (120) but the dance would be in the adjacent "party room".   What are your thoughts on having the dance in a different room?  There are glass double doors that open into it and they share the patio so the flow can keep going around and we don't have to remove tables.  The dj, bar, and lounge tables will be set up in there with the dancing. 

My initial reaction is thinking that it's kinda so so.  It would be nice to have the dance centred, but another part of me thinks it's a neat idea.  That way the people who don't want to dance and want to have conversations can continue to sit in their chairs without battling out the music and it opens up for some good flow.

What are your opinions?  Has anyone done this and how did it work out?
Thanks so much.
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Re: Dance and dinner in adjacent rooms. Thoughts?

  • frogurt814frogurt814
    1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    I don't really know how I feel about that.  On one hand, it does seem like it would be nice to be able to be away from the loud music, but on the other hand, there are plenty of times at a wedding when I want to sit down and chat with friends but still be able to watch what's going on on the dance floor.

    I also agree that it would make it difficult for people to watch the special events...cake cutting, first dance, etc.  I'm guessing there would not be enough seating in there for everyone, so lots of people would just be standing there. If your special events are at different times throughout the reception, then people will have to continually be coming in and out to watch them, and you run the risk of someone missing a special event because they weren't able to hear the announcement, etc.

    I'd say either find another venue or move some tables in the dinner area to make a dance floor.  I guess that's not the best idea either, since those people will then lose their seat.
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  • Kaitlyn HabermehlKaitlyn Habermehl
    First Comment
    Thanks for the opinions so far.  I have created a different username, but it would be pointless to start it on this thread, so I will continue with this one.

    The venue is glass.  Everything is glass.  You can see 70% of the party room from anywhere in the dining area and all speeches and cake cutting will be done in the dining room.  Only the dance and the bar will be set up in the "party room".

    There won't be seating for everyone, but looking at my list, I'd say 30% of them will be leaving by dance based on demographics, maybe more.  The patio outside has loung areas too and the doors open from the party room onto the huge patio, so it can extend out there for mingling aswell. 

    I gotta be honest, I'm thinking of my grandma who complains that the music at the church is too loud and she only has hearing in one ear!!!  ;)
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  • tenofcups4metenofcups4me member
    2500 Comments 5 Love Its Combo Breaker
    Another one who isn't a fan of the idea. Seems like it would end up being essentially two parties -- the people in the one room dancing and people in the other room sitting and talking. In my experience, there's a kind of natural flow between those two groups of people -- dance for a while, sit and watch and talk for a while, lather, rinse, repeat, but I think the set up you're describing will break up that natural flow.
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  • frogurt814frogurt814
    1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    OP, you seem pretty set on the venue.  I don't think anything we say is going to change your mind now.
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  • ootmother2ootmother2 member
    Tenth Anniversary 5000 Comments 25 Love Its First Answer
    Many of the private clubs in  NYC are set up this way.  I've never seen a problem as long as the dance floor was large enough
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  • Kaitlyn HabermehlKaitlyn Habermehl
    First Comment
    Like I said, I have seating for EVERYONE in the dining room.  We will have some seating in the dance room and the doors will be open to the outdoor lounge areas with more seating.  The room for the dance is more than large enough for the size of wedding we are anticipating and the dining room will not be closed off, so if people want to continue on they can. 

    We are looking at more venues, but I do love this place and wondered if anyone had done it and it worked out.  

    Thanks so much for all of your opinions so far.  I know it's just a personal preference so I really want thoughts.  I don't need to book yet.  
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  • gottahavashortigottahavashorti member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    The dancing area at our venue was in a separate room.  There were several rooms and a couple porches, although it was very open with large archways between rooms.  People moved to see the cake cutting and impromptu first/last dance, which surprised me.  Normally I see a handful of people crowd around for those things and the majority stay in their seats and can't see due to those who've croweded around.  I figured people wouldn't move to see those things, but they did.

    We didn't have a ton of dancing.  I think that was based more on other factors than the dance floor being in a different room - it was daytime, the weather had turned from threatening rain to really nice so people were hanging out by the tables and bar on the porches, many guests knew each other and were busy chatting, and DH had banned pretty much every group dance (much to the chagrin of those trying to get the dance floor going).
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  • Jon&JanetJon&Janet
    10 Comments
    My venue is set up like this but it is slightly worse. There is a small archway between the dance floor and dinning area. It is a two story house and has a really nice patio that has double doors to it from the dining and dance floor area.

    I am a little concerned about it but I also do have a larger percentage of the crowd that is 70's and older. There will be a huge gap with most of the others being mid 30's and younger. I figured it might help to have the music separate from the dining area.

    If I had my perfect venue, it would be this house but with a completely open first floor. In the end, I picked it despite the downfall because I'm working on a really small budget and my other option, while it one large area, it was not the best location for my guests or myself. This venue has the perfect ceremony spot also :)

    What I'm trying to say is.... go with what you really like. No venue will have all the perfect details. Obviously, avoid major disasters, but beyond that, if you have to sacrifice the perfect floor plan for the place that makes you excited, go for it. You can work out the rest, but you can not work out regretting passing up a venue you loved.

    Hope this helps!
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  • ktstanktstan member
    First Comment
    I say, if you love the venue, go for it!

    My FI and I feel in LOVE with a venue that happens to be an old house. Obviously, there's not enough room on the inside for both dinner and a dance floor. There's a screened in porch with double doors that open to the dining area that we could use but we're also toying with the idea of tearing down a couple of tables after dinner to set the dance floor up.

    There are always options :)
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