How Much Space Do You Need For Your Wedding Reception?

Now that you have gotten engaged and are making plans for your wedding, most of your attention will be focused on the ceremony itself. However, it's important that you also take plenty of time to plan your wedding reception. Depending upon how many guests will be in attendance, you'll need to make sure everyone has enough room to spread out and be comfortable. If you're in the process of checking out prospective venues for your reception, use the following tips to guarantee success.

How Will Your Guests be Served?

For starters, you'll need to decide how your guests will be served at the reception. For example, if you want your guests to be seated for the reception, it is best to allow for 14 square feet per guest. However, if you decide to have a cocktail-style reception, you will likely need only about nine square feet per guest. This can be helpful, especially if the venue you have your heart set on is a bit smaller.

What About the Dance Floor?

While there will be plenty of great food and laughter at your wedding reception, the party really won't get started until everyone gets out on the dance floor. As a general rule, most wedding receptions have about one-third of the guests on the dance floor at any given time. Therefore, if you have 150 guests at your reception, expect to see about 50 people dancing at any given moment. If you aren’t sure how large the dance floor should be for the number of people dancing, consider consulting with a planner or rental company as they typically have those types of details. Russo's On The Bay, for example, recommends that for 50 people dancing at a time, your dance floor will need to be at least 15x15 for everyone to have plenty of room.

How Many Guests Will Attend?

Of course, you'll need to know how many guests will be attending your wedding and the reception. Though you may want to have everyone you ever knew in attendance, expect to be narrowing down your list as you get closer to the big day. Also, it's best not to make any last-minute additions once you've booked a place since this can result in everyone feeling a bit too crowded while eating or dancing.

When in Doubt, Go Big

Finally, if you are torn between two different venues for your wedding reception that varies in size, it's usually best if you select the larger venue if there is any doubt in your mind about everyone having enough room. While it may cost more, you'll be assured people don't leave your reception talking about how they kept bumping into person after person.

By making planning a top priority and taking care of the details, your wedding reception will be one that's remembered for all the right reasons.