Dinner and dance in different room, is it ok?

I’ve only been to one wedding where dancing was in a separate space but there were still chairs all around the dance floor and several high top tables for people to sit at.

We had dinner and dance in a separate room. We had dinner outside and then we moved everyone into the barrel room for our first dance, dessert, and open dancing. We had a ton of cocktail tables as well as lounge furniture around the dance floor so people weren’t stuck standing all night.

Our venue was like this, and I thought it worked well. Cocktail hour was in the front parlor of the house, then behind the parlors, the dining room and atrium were side by side, they opened to each other by 5 sets of French doors. Atrium is also where we had the ceremony. So everyone came through to the atrium for the ceremony, then went back out to the parlors for cocktails. When cocktail hour was over, the DJ called everyone straight into the atrium, we had the bridal party entrance and then went right into our first dance and parent dances. Then everyone went into the dining room to sit, we did speeches there during salad course. So we really only moved everyone once. After dinner, when everyone had started dancing again, they brought the cake out to the dance floor, we cut it there, then they just put it out on the tables. It seemed like we were half and half, dancers/non-dancers, so it was nice to be able to sit at the tables and actually have a conversation without the music and lights right in your face. And it was close enough that my friends had no problem running back and forth for good songs LOL

I’ve never seen this before but sounds interesting. On one hand it could be nice for the people who don’t want to dance to have a quieter room and more space rather than being bumped into by the dancers. On the other hand it may discourage some people from dancing. Personally I am NOT a dancer at all (shocking that I even danced at my own wedding hahahah) but usually I can be convinced to be dragged onto the floor for a few songs. Though if the dance floor was in a totally separate room I would probably just hang out in the non-dance room :p it also may make things more difficult for you guys as the bride and groom. We bounced back and forth between dancing and mingling with our non-dancing guests pretty regularly. It may be more difficult to make sure YOU get a balance of dancing and spending time with your guests.


Again I didn’t do this and have never seen it done so you can take my thoughts with a grain of salt lol. Not trying to talk you out of it at all. These are just some potential downsides that came to mind that you i thought you may want to consider before deciding!

We kind of had this. Our tables were set up outside and then we had the barn set up as the dance floor. For big dances (first dance, parent dances, etc) we had the dances on the porch of the barn so everyone could see from their tables but then the rest of the dancing was inside. If the room for dancing isn't visible from the tables then yeah, people would have to get up and go stand in the other room to watch the dances.

If you're having a reception at a restaurant, chances are you will end up having this set up.

Our restaurant venue has 2 floors (plus a basement that will be used as a "rest" and changing area). Cocktail hour will be on the main/ground floor (next to the bar), then guests will be spread out on the main floor and upstairs (both floors each have 2 dining areas) for dinner. Dancing afterwards will be on the main floor next to the bar. The upstairs does open out to the main floor below, so if people just want to watch from above, they can do that.

The only disadvantage is that the back upstairs dining room/area doesn't have any view of the downstairs area, so those guests will have to move for the entertainment.

I wouldn't do it. I went to a wedding like that last year and it ruined the whole wedding. The bride was so sad

The only wedding we've been to where the dinner was in one space (outside on a patio) and the dancing was in another (inside, with very limited seating) many guests left early. I'd guess it would have been better and not as many people would have left early if there had been adequate seating in the dancing space, but there wasn't. Basically, you needed to be on the dance floor or fight for space to stand around one of the few high-top tables on the perimeter of the dance floor. I ended up having to tuck my purse and wrap into a space between some decorative items on the floor, since I didn't have a seat to leave them at. It was a beautiful venue/wedding, but it definitely had some disadvantages as a guest. (It was in the early spring, so once the sun set, it was too dark and cold to remain at the tables on the patio, and the event staff began breaking them down as soon as everyone moved inside for the first dance.)

I'm sure it would be okay! most people don't dance during dinner anyway. So they could all finish up and head to the next room.

That sounds fine to me! I think it's more common than you think to have them in different rooms