This might be the best part of your barn wedding day, but they come with a few quirks too (uneven ground, big open spaces and temperature changes). Do your basics right and you will bypass the common problems like sore feet, a half-filled floor, guests wandering off.
As a rule of thumb, if the type of guests you have are dancers (or like to party), around 30–50% will dance at one time. You can have a party of 25 – 40 people at one time for those 80 guests.
Space for 40-60 people (for a total of 120 guests)
Not sure, ask your DJ/band what they recommend for guest count and layout of the barn. How small is too small? Cramped, hot and clustered is not much fun.
2) Flooring (and below it)
Barn floors can be made of concrete, stone or timber as well as compacted earth. The goal of the final surface is to be level, safe and comfortable.
If the floor of the barn is not even, think about using a portable dance floor with an appropriate sub-base.
If your dancing area is semi-outdoors, or just outdoors, then check you won’t be mud wrestling mid-swing if the normal UK rain decides to become an unwelcome guest!
Also think about footwear. If that grass is making your guests sink or they keep catching their heels on a gap, then nobody will be dancing! Including it on your invites or wedding website, perhaps a simple line that reads “the venue is an old barn with outdoor areas – wear block heels or flats”.
3) Put the dance floor where people are going to be inevitably celebrating
Put the dance floor:
By the bar, so it prevents people from going off and being lost for 20 minutes.
Near the Dj/band (sound and energy seem better)
It can be seen from tables (so it seems like the ‘real show’)
If you have multiple rooms in your barn, do not recess the dance floor into an alcove side space. It should be the preferred place to congregate. For a Barn Wedding Venue Kent, visit theploughatleigh.com/barn-wedding-venue-kent/
4) Use lighting to draw in people
A barn that feels cosy on dark nights is because of good lighting. You want 3 parts of this:
Soft overhead lighting (string lights, festoons)
Dance space lights (uplighters)
Some ‘wow’ factor (disco ball, neon sign or a light up background)
5) Some more tips
Have a short first dance and invite people to party straight after.
Tell the DJ to get their floor fillers out of the way in 10–15 minutes
Add some heaters or baskets of blankets to keep guests from dozing off if the barn gets chilly!
A little more planning and forethought means your barn wedding dance floor will be alive with people dancing the night away!
