One of the most crucial elements of your wedding day is your wedding floorplan. It’s the blueprint for your celebration and sets the stage for a night filled with love, laughter, and memories.
A well-designed floor plan not only helps you to visualize the layout of your reception space, but also ensures that your guests are comfortable and have a great time. You can create a seamless flow that guides your guests from one activity to the next while keeping them engaged and entertained.
So, whether you’re having an indoor or outdoor wedding, a floorplan is an essential tool that can help you streamline your wedding design and needs.
Five things to consider when building your wedding floorplan
01. Leave room for food and bar lines
The last thing people often think about when building their wedding floorplan are lines at the bars and food tables. You want to provide plenty of space for lines to form without people having to weave in and out around tables and other items of decor on your layout.
You also want to think about the space your caterers and servers will need to work comfortably as well. If there’s not enough space between tables for them to bus, as the night goes on your tables will become cluttered as caterers and servers will not want to get in the way of your guests.
Pro Tip: Something we at KGW recommend is having one bar for every 125 guests. So if your guest count is 250, you would need two bars. Plus, we recommend having your non-alcoholic drinks at a separate station so those guests that don’t drink can bypass the bar-lines.
02. Know where the outlets are
You don’t want to have to rearrange your whole floorplan on the night of rehearsal (or the day of your wedding!) because of an outlet issue. Make sure you place the DJ, band, photobooth, and any other vendors or decor items that need outlets (such as neon signs) near outlets.
If having an outdoor ceremony and reception make sure that you have extension cords that properly reach the outdoor outlets, as well.
Pro Tip: Some outdoor venues don’t have the proper wattage to host multiple electronic plugins so be sure to communicate if you need to bring in generators to operate certain electronics such as DJs, bands, tent lights, etc.
03. Don’t forget to reserve tables for your wedding party and immediate family
Even if you’re not doing a formal seating chart you’ll still reserve tables for your family and wedding party. This is especially true if you aren’t doing a first look and taking photos after the ceremony. The last thing you want is for your grandmother not to have a seat close to you!
You can decorate these tables with special linens, centerpieces, chargers, or personalized place cards to make them stand out. This will not only make your family and wedding arty feel extra special, but it will also make for great detail shots without breaking the budget.
Pro Tip: Make sure you let family know who is to sit at the reserved tables. Often family thinks this means extended family, too. BUT if you have 10 cousins, they take up an entire table leaving grandma out of a seat.
04. You don’t have to sit your entire guest list
Unless you’re doing a formal seating chart, you don’t have to sit your entire guest list. I know this probably sounds absurd, but you don’t want people to be glued to a seat the entire reception. You want them up and mingling and dancing on the dance floor.
Pro Tip: Providing furniture seating and cocktail tables is a great way to eliminate some larger tables while still providing overflow spots for guests to enjoy their drinks and food.
05. Don’t put your DJ away from the dance floor
When deciding on the placement of your DJ, make sure they are close to the dance floor so they can easily interact guests. This will help create a fun and upbeat atmosphere for your wedding reception. Placing the DJ far away makes for a disjointed atmosphere that we know you definitely do not want.
Pro Tip: If your torn about where to place your dance floor, you can always ask your DJ if they have a preferred space for your venue. AND, if you’re having a band instead of a DJ there are usually specific spots a band can be placed so make sure to confirm this with you venue too.
If you haven’t gathered, your wedding floorplan is an essential part of creating a successful and enjoyable event.
By using our five tips you can establish an atmosphere that’s both functional and fun. So take the time to carefully create your layout and you’ll be sure to have a wedding celebration that you and your guests will never forget.
An online tool we recommend is All Seated if building your own wedding floorplan.
The KGW full-service and design packages offers expert assistance in curating your floorplan. We believe that a well-planned floorplan can make a significant difference in the success of your event. You can click here to learn more about our planning packages.
