DANCING CONTINUOUSLY, OR WITH BREAKS?

Some wedding couples prefer scheduling ALL the special moments before general dancing starts. In this format, once the dance floor opens, there is nothing but uninterrupted dancing until the end of the evening.

Personally, I don't recommend that. I recommend scheduling ONE break roughly halfway through the dancing period -- typically after about one hour of dancing. During that break, we typically do the cake-cutting and bouquet toss. This break is also a suitable time for any additional toasts or thank-you remarks from the bride and groom. The idea is to have one, but not more than one, break in the dancing -- and group together a few special moments during that break.

On the other hand, I've DJ'd at some weddings where the schedule calls for multiple segments of general dancing -- such as a short dance set before dinner, or a dance set between the first and second courses or dinner -- followed by the standard, longer dancing period after dinner.

Personally, I don't recommend that either. It seems a bit herky-jerky to me. The guests are invited to take their seats and eat their salad, then they're told to get up and dance for a time, then asked to be seated again, and so on. I think the energy flow works best when guests are allowed enjoy their dinner in a leisurely fashion, perhaps with an occasional diversion such as toasts toward the end of the meal.

Also, a dance segment during the meal requires the DJ to raise the volume of the music for that time, which might not be appreciated by those guests who remain at their tables during that between-courses dance segment.