You might be. And here's why:
As a wedding DJ I get a front row seat to this entire event. I've seen what works to create a great party, and by that I mean, people had an amazing time and were still buzzing from the wedding the next day (and I don't mean a hangover lol).
I also have been to weddings where most people are sitting at their tables on their phones counting down the hours to get outta there.
Recently, a DJ friend threw their own wedding and it was an absolute RAGER.
Why?
Because having been to hundreds of weddings he took the best parts and cut out the rest.
It's the ALL KILLER NO FILLER approach. And if that is the kind of wedding you want, keep reading.
Having seen and heard about his wedding success, it got me thinking...what is it that really contributes to some of these wedding parties fizzling out?
And I think I have the answer. BUT, don't just take my word for it, ask your photographer and wedding planner and I think we will all agree. The number one BUZZ kill at a wedding is:
Your TIMELINE.
When it comes to long timelines (7+ hours), I get it. We got all our friends and families together, let's hang for 9 hours! Plus the venue gave us the whole day!
But, the biggest casualty to having a very very long wedding, is your dance.
Let me show you.
Here's a breakdown of a typical wedding in Minnesota:
4pm is the ceremony. Nowadays with friends and hired officiants, these last 15-20 minutes.
4:30-6:00 is Cocktails. Sometimes, this is longer. And sometimes...there are no apps
*(hint: don't do this, have some food for people)
6:00 is dinner. And this typically only takes about 40-45 minutes. Caterers are very efficient getting people their food either by plates or the through the buffet.
It's around 7 and everyone has been fed and ate dessert. Now what?
Speeches. These normally go for 10-20 minutes depending on the speaker. But I would say, on average, that's how long they take.
I'm looking at my watch and it's only 7:30 and I'm hired to play till 11:30. Which means the dance will be 4 hours....
I already know where this party is headed...
It will start out great. People are ready to dance. They've been waiting, and it's finally here.
First hour, great energy, people are dancing and drinking. We're having fun!
2nd hour still good, we got this!
3rd hour...yeah..got about 1/3 of the guests remaining...about 10% are on the dance floor
4th hour...oh boy...people have been cleaning up the tables, packing cars...there's about 10 or less still dancing. We hit the last song and it's finally over.
If this is how you want your party to end...then go with that timeline.
But I don't think you do right??
Good. Cause I'm here to help. I have done the timeline below several times (or something close) and I PROMISE you, the last song will have everyone chanting ONE MORE SONG!
Try this:
5:00 Ceremony
5:30 Coctails
6:30 Dinner
8:00 First Dance/Open Dance Floor
11:00 Last Song
If you look at a typical wedding in the East or West coast, this is how most of them go.
I think it would benefit EVERYONE to just tweak our weddings in the midwest a bit to (what I think) will make them soooooo much better!
My motivation for writing this isn't to take away from your event, it really is based on experience, chatting with other vendors, reflecting on past events and trying to help YOU create that party that everyone will be talking about for years!
What do you think?
Aaron