Location, Location, Location!

I remember parts of an old tv commercial that shouted, "Location, location, location". I thought the guy was cheesy at the time, but I completey understand him now. Your location can HELP or HURT your success.

Even on your wedding day, location is key!

Bar ➡️, Dance Floor ↙️, Photobooth ↪

The Pinterest board of handmade wedding signs might look helpful to direct your guests, but you don't want to send them in too many directions.

When you tour your venue, often times important details of your day aren't discussed with reality. Maybe the ballroom is large enough to hold your 200 guests, but is it large enough to also hold your vendors? Check out the tips below for inspiration. :)

1) Let's keep the dance floor close. A DJ being separated from the dance floor can become a challenge in building high energy, compared to when a DJ is setup on the dance floor or on a stage in front of the dance floor.

If a corner of the ballroom is dedicated to the DJ, but the dance floor is located in the middle of the room with dinner tables between the two, the interaction decreases. Not just the DJ interacting with your guests, but it's difficult for your guests to interact with a DJ that isn't easily accessible. At a distance, the sound is still great, but not as good as it should be. The dance floor lighting can SOMETIMES be adjusted (depending on the venue), but doesn't always feel the same.

Being at a distance also decreases how well a DJ can read the crowd. We can see people dance at a distance, but we also want to see facial expressions and hear the, "OH MY GOD! I LOVE THIS SONG", screams from the groomsmen when The Backstreet Boys come on. We want to be in arms reach of the bride's high-five as she's dancing with her best friends.

Being across the room, being on a balcony, or even being partially blocked by a wall can all create a challenge. Let's not miss these exciting moments!! :)

2) Separating other vendors from the ballroom can be a setup for failure. Your DJ is in one room, the bar is located in a different room, and the photobooth is located in a hallway. By separating your vendors, you're separating your guests as well.

When touring a venue, if the venue doesn't have a printed layout for you, create one for yourself. Many times you can print these layouts from the venue's website. Even a quick sketch in a notebook works great. Remember to ask important questions about guest seating, dinner table locations, dance floor location (if not already in place), and where vendors can setup. It's always best to have both the bar and dance floor in the same room.

Similar to the bar, the photobooth should also be located in the same room as the dance floor.

It's a given that not all RSVPs will actually attend. Many guests will even leave soon after dinner, before your first dance. Once the first dance has occurred, more guests will slowly exit the doors. Your guest list of 200 can quickly dwindle down to 100 people before the DJ opens the dance floor. Separating your remaining guests in multiple rooms, unfortunately hurts the energy of the party.

Let's keep everyone together!!! 😁