Worried ppl won't dance

Trust me people will dance. I was also worried about people dancing. My sister and now Aunt were dragging people on the dance floor. Also my husbands nanny and papa were tearing up the dance floor. It was a fun time for ALL.

BTW, our reception is at Frederik Meijer's Garden and Sculpture Park, so I'm also sort of worried that if ppl aren't staying to dance or socialize they will go wander around the Park (we are giving them an hour before the reception to look around) and I'd much rather have them stick around, I don't want an empty room.

Kristina, yes, I agree with having a variety of music. I almost had to have the IPOD as a DJ. Luckily I have a friend who will do it for a really reasonable price. No one is going 2 remember what DJ or if u had a DJ.. they will remember the smiles and joy they felt watching u and your fh become husband and wife, and at the end of the day that is the most important thing. So no, I don't think having a MP3 player/laptop and ur FSIL announce u is going 2 ruin ur day. Good luck hunny

PS Actually I think having ur FSIL announce u is a really cute way to involve her. I am sure she is thrilled!

Kristina, do you have a WW website? If you do, there is a song request tool that you can add to it. You can get your guests to request songs ahead of time that they'll be most likely to dance to, then you can be sure to have those on your play list.

Hi Kristina,

Calmm down and go with it...guest will dance and it will be up to your MC (future sister inlaw) to get them up and moving. If she is entergetic she will do fine. Talk to some of your friends before hand and encourage them to help get the dance floor going with some Line dances. Relax and have fun. A DJ would help but if it is not in the budget work with what you have and enjoy.

Best of luck,

Nora

We did the laptop thing and people kept commenting on how great the music was! I'm sure it will go great for you too. We didn't even have anyone MC at all.

One thing I had heard before my wedding was that if you want people to dance, you have to be out there dancing...people follow the cue of the bride and groom. That was definitely true for us. When we were dancing, everyone was...if we stopped, suddenly the dance floor was empty...as soon as we started again, everyone was back out there. It was kind of funny actually.

I'm biased about the DJ part (since I'm a DJ), but I'll skip over the part about telling you how important it is to have a DJ.

A few things to make sure people dance:

1. As noted above, people will do what you do. If you and your bridesmaids and groomsmen dance, they will too.

2. Keep the bar near the dance floor. Traffic will flow toward the bar after dinner. You want the two things together.

3. Smaller dance floor is better, to a point. Better to have people feel like they're part of a dancing crowd than that people are looking at them as individuals.

4. Start with familiar tunes that are easy to dance to. Michael Jackson is popular now; by next spring he may have faded away a bit. But generally speaking, start the evening out with songs everyone has heard and knows how to dance to, then move to other songs that are more "you". Often, people stack their list with music they love, but it's not right for a broad range of guests for dancing.

Hope this helps,

Jon

Sometimes i think doing it that way can be much better. ive been to a wedding recently that played some songs before the old people were alive, then to rap, then to songs in russian when only 2 people attending spoke russian! literally, only the brides parents spoke russian and half the music was russian music. so some dj's are not great anyway.

I think people will dance as long as there is music. Make sure that your wedding party is out there dancing and have them encourage others to get out there. If your guests see your wedding party having a great time they will want to join in.

I know it sounds funny, but my FH and I attended a couple of weddings recently.. and we decided the key is "Funky Town" lol the dance floors were dead, until Funky Town would play, and then all the older people would get out there which would motivate the younger crowd.. it's on our must play list just for that reason, even if it is just a funny little joke between he and I. Also, I know it sounds weird, but the bride and groom often end up mingling and not dancing. I think you need to make sure you guys are on the dance floor often, people are there to celebrate YOU guys, so they'll want to join in!

My advice is line dancing is always a good way to open up the dance floor. the cha cha slide is always a winner and for the old couiple the electric slide.

O the last wedding I went to the groom came out in a chicken suit and did the chicken dance. It was so funny, it got everyone out there doing the chicken dance with him, so remember to keep it fun and entergetic and ppl will follow, good luck

Throw in some classic rock (think ACDC, Pat Benetar and the like) to get the older crowd out there too. ACDC's Shook Me All Night Long always draws a big crowd to the dance floor!

We have a budget of 2000.00 NOT much at all!! we are just going to use my FHs computer to play songs. The way we are going to get music we KNOW people will love is by writing on the invites when you rsvp write down 2 songs (for each person) and we will play them at the reception!! hope this helps and GOOD LUCK!!!

Thanks for all of the advice and ideas, they are all really good ^^. I'm feeling a lot better about just having the laptop, I'm gonna have to write all this advice down, lol. Thanks again!

A few key things to think about here. If your looking for music...anyone can play music. Most people could be a DJ. It really all depends on what you need on your special day. Your needs could vary from the four weddings we did this last weekend. It also depends on how much you want to be worried about your brothers, cousin throwing in some of his personal favorites and killing the party. We act as emcee's for the evening, coordinating the events as there is really more that goes on before the music event begins. Really take a look at who will help make sure that all the things that need to snowball to that "first dance" can actually make that happen and won't want to hang out with their friends. There are DJ's and there are entertainers some weddings are just fine with "just music" but some really do require true entertainment which is so much more than just "music from a laptop"....I would suggest reading this:

http://www.thebestweddingreceptionever.com/

Let us know how it turns out. People do not know what they are missing or how great their event can be until they see a DJ as mentioned in the book and link above. We perform at the highest level for our clients and a client that just need music is not our client. Organize and prepare well. I wish you the best.

I agree that if you and your bridal party are dancing, people are more comfortable getting out on the floor! I do disagree with the "anybody can be a DJ" comment, because we have been trying to hire extra DJ's for over 2 years now, with no success. All of the people we interview just aren't good enough for what we're looking for.

Maybe you could ask around ahead of time what music people would love to dance to, and come prepared with that. Also, if you go to www.mp3.walmart.com, you could download songs that you don't have as people request them, providing you have internet access at the wedding.

Good luck! If you have any questions, let me know.