As a Philadelphia wedding planner for nearly ten years and having catered weddings and events for 30 years before that….

I’ve seen wedding receptions that really rocked the house and others that made people YAWN and by the last dance the room was nearly empty…

I’ve heard people talk about what it takes to fill a dance floor and some of these comments make a lot of sense…

One local dj swears you’ll fill a dance floor if immediately after dinner you really, really dim the lights as guys will dance in they think no one can see them…… {Not sure about that- all I’m sure of is that your photographer and videographer will have to use more fill light to get great images}

Others tell couples not to tie their hands too much by trying to micromanage the song list {I TOTALLY agree with that – pick a few must haves and let the band or dj read the room and play what keep people dancing}

I’ve seen the wedding receptions that die the fastest are the ones where the couple had a rehearsal dinner the night before that turned into a second reception with TONS of guests, too much booze and ran too late…. you want to feed them not fatten them- leave them wanting more.

The second case is in multiday -multi cultural events…. by the end of the second night people are ready to crash… so plan accordingly. Either moderate the first nights events so people have enough steam for round two or keep the second day’s festivities short and sweet.

The secret to keeping the dance floor packed has very little to do with the hour of the night, the music they play, or how dark the room is…

It’s YOU!!!

People come to the wedding to toast the bride and groom! They want to see you entering into your new life together having the time of your lives…

If you sit on the side and talk, leave the room to hand with old friends, go outside to do more photos, sit around and not dance or leave the party early – guest will follow your lead!

So let the groom ditch the jacket after dinner {keep the vest} , get yourself some comfortable shoes, bustle the dress and dance like it’s your wedding!