Dinner and Dancing in separate areas...will this unsettle guest?

We went to a wedding once where we had dinner downstairs in a big hall with the bar, and then after dinner had to walk down a hall way and upstairs to the dance room. It was great. Didn't think anything of it. Then went to another wedding where we had cocktail hour downstairs, dinner upstairs, and then came back downstairs for dancing and cake. I don't think it's a big deal and probably more common than you think. I would t worry too much about it and just do what the venue suggests!

I think the lounge seating is a great idea - especially for avid dancers like me who get sore feet and like to take a break every once in awhile. Sounds like a beautiful venue!! I haven't been to a wedding like that before (with separate spaces) but it sounds lovely. I think dinner inside the ballroom would be just fine too (and what people would expect). But the separate areas sound really luxurious and if I were to attend such a wedding my first reaction would be like, "Really?! Sweet!!!" so up to you. Either way I think it will be an awesome experience for your guests.

Just make sure there are enough seats in the ballroom area. Not everyone wants to dance the whole time, and guests will want somewhere they can go back to. I don't think it will be an issue moving from one location to another.

Ok, so personally I think it sounds great in theory but doesn't work in reality. We just went to a venue in Arizona for my brother wedding that did that exact same thing. Dinner was lovely and outside. We moved inside after to watch the first dances and people literally dance one or two songs after and then scattered. No one danced at that point. The dance floor had one to two people dancing at a time for the remainder of the time, and it was a dancing crowd. The bride at one point just said, let's end the reception now. Most people were either at the photo booth, bar in a separate building, or outside talking. I strongly discourage it if you want to have a party atmosphere. We tried to talk to the bride on several occasions and have her move the dancing outside by the seating, but she decided against it. So ultimately it depends on your guests and what kind of feel do you want for your wedding. If you want it more laid back and people scattered about and just hanging and tAlking then move it. If your crowd is high energ and dancers, keep it in the same room. Good luck!

My experience at a wedding like this was that not everyone moved to the dancing area and stayed where dinner was served. This left the dance floor empty for most of the night and the party vibe was lost.

Could you kind of, close off the dinner area? So everyone has to be in the dining room?

I looked at a venue that had dinner outside and dancing in a ballroom inside. I purposely did NOT pick the venue for that reason! Many people, especially older guests, prefer not to dance but would feel excluded from the fun if they were an entirely separate room. If you can have the entire wedding in the ballroom, that is a much better idea.

We went to a wedding in an old historic academy of medicine. Ceremony was in the amphitheater, cocktail hour was in the lobby, dinner seating was downstairs, then we went upstairs for dancing and the room wasn't big enough for seating for the older folks to sit down and watch the younger ones. Dessert tables were also set up in the library on the other side of the building as dancing - we had no idea there were things going on in other rooms at once. I think if you have seating in all these various rooms you'll be ok but it did feel disjointed.

I was considering doing this at my venue as well, but our set up would have the rooms be right next to each other. The planner thinks that it could make it more luxurious and would actually be considerate for the older guests as they would be able to sit somewhere and talk without blaring music. My dance floor fits in the room we'd be doing dinner in though so I have flexibility as far as that is concerned. I've never been to a wedding like that but I think that the congo line would be a fun way to get everyone to the dancing space. The budget would be my determining factor in your case, as would be how long of a walk there is to be made. Best of luck

We actually purposefully had two areas for dinner and dancing. Not to exclude anyone, but at the last several weddings in my family, everything has been in the same room and my poor grandmother (and other elderly guests) could not talk or visit with anyone because the dance music was so loud. She specifically told me that she wished there was a space to walk away from the loud music so she could hear me. There was no escape away from the party and loud music for the guests that did not want to dance.

I think one of the big issues that comes about with different spaces for different parts of the reception is moving hoards of people multiple times. Like at my brother's wedding, the ceremony was outside, dinner was in the ballroom basically, cake cutting and toasts in the lobby, and then back outside for dancing. There was no flow to it and people were being moved to many times. Another wedding I went to recently did the same, but there wasn't enough room in the lobby where the cake cutting was to hold everyone and they tried to move guests too quickly through 2 small doors- it just didn't work.

I think the key is to move people in a way that flows and makes sense, don't backtrack around the venue, and move as few times as you can. We will have the ceremony outside, dinner inside, and then outside for dancing and partying. There are multiple deck levels so people can still mingle and be a part of everything that is happening without having to always be around the loud music and dancing.

How did the wedding turn out with the two separate spaces? My venue has a similar set up and I’m freaking out that it will totally ruin the vibe. Our dinner will be in a ballroom and then guests will be moving over down the hall to the open rooftop lounge. It has 70 soft seating with couches and we will probably have 120-140 guests. Just hoping it won’t throw off the guests or it will be hard to get dancing started