How to Get a Packed Wedding Dancefloor (From a Photographer Who Lives for It!)

My favourite part of the whole wedding day? The DANCEFLOOR! Hands down, no contest. Sweaty, chaotic, glow sticks everywhere, someone’s uncle doing the worm… I live for it!

So after shooting more dancefloors than I can count, here are my top tips for getting yours absolutely PACKED (plus a little plea about lasers, more on that later!)

Tip one: BE on the dancefloor!

The best advice I give every single one of my couples is to BE on the dancefloor. People will follow your lead! Everyone has come to see you and celebrate you, so if you’re up there letting loose, your guests will follow suit. Trust me, nobody wants to be first, but everybody wants to be second!

Props, props and more props!

Glow sticks, foam light up sticks, silly hats, bunny ears… honestly, props turn the most sensible person into a completely different human being. Give someone a random prop to dance with and they instantly become a little more silly and a LOT more fun.

Your first dance (no school disco swaying please!)

If you’re not planning an elaborate routine, that’s totally fine, but I highly recommend at least one or two twirls! Try not to spend the whole song swaying back and forth like a pair of teenagers at a school disco. You don’t have to go full Dirty Dancing, just put a little bit of effort in and give your guests a little ooooh!

Really hate the spotlight? Do a couple of twirls, a cheeky snog, smile, laugh, soak it up… then invite your guests to join you! Get the bridal party or the whole wedding party up to fill the awkward void and you can end up with a lovely big family huddle.

And choose a song you really love and one that represents YOU. It doesn’t have to be a slow one! My last few couples have gone the total opposite of boring. One couple surprised all their guests with the Okey Cokey, and another chose Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. Be YOU!

Band or DJ?

That’s all down to personal preference (and budget!). I LOVE a band that gets involved with the crowd. A bit of crowd participation can go a really long way to getting everyone up. Just make sure you actually like their style of music. No point booking a string quartet if you’re into heavy metal!

Whoever you go for, vet them properly and make sure they know what kind of music makes you tick, because chances are your friends will love the same stuff too.

A little plea about lasers

DJs are great… when they don’t have lasers to break my cameras! This is something EVERYONE needs to know about.

Lasers can physically BURN the sensor inside a camera. It’s not us photographers being difficult or fussy about a few coloured dots across your face, it can genuinely be a very expensive day for us if a laser gets into our kit. And if I’m spending all my time dodging lasers like Tom Cruise, your dancefloor photos are not going to be great. It’s not Mission Impossible, guys!

I LOVE colour, so if your DJ wants every spotlight in the rainbow going? Amazing, bring it on! Just no lasers please. Have a quick word with your DJ before the day, or be ready to back up your photographer if it comes up. We want to have fun documenting you dancing just as much as you want to see those photos!

Make sure your DJ can read a room

We’ve all been there. Everyone’s having the time of their lives, then the DJ randomly goes off piste with some weird track and everyone slopes off to the bar. Make sure your DJ can read a room, and doesn’t stick the Macarena on while you’re all vibing to club anthems!

Speaking of the bar, it can be a sly little distraction… but honestly, I’m more than happy to take the party to the bar. Who said you can only dance ON the dancefloor anyway?!

And sometimes dancefloors are just strange beasts. Some weddings everyone’s itching to tear it up, others people are happier mingling outside. Weather plays a massive part too. This year’s sauna of a wedding season had a lot of guests skipping the dancefloor because they were simply too hot and bothered!

How I light the chaos (and yes, I join in!)

For the first dance I usually light the dancefloor with four lights on stands. Then as the whole gang joins in, I switch to one light on a stick and get right in there, flashing everyone up close and personal. That’s how you get those wild, colourful, mid-dance-move shots! (Want to know more about my lights? Have a read of why I never leave home without my flash.)

Do I join in? Is that even a question?! Of course I do! Dance offs are welcomed and I will one hundred percent enjoy dancing with you all. My favourite moments are being right in the middle of a dance off, catching everyone’s reactions and their very best (and very worst) dance moves!

The aww moments

Just because it’s a dancefloor doesn’t mean there isn’t a story to tell. During the first dance I’m always scanning the room for the teary mum or dad on the sidelines, and I’ll always try to frame them into a shot.

I love seeing grandparents get up and bust a groove too. One of my favourite stories ever was a nanna trying to leave the party just as We Are Family came on. What a banger! Well, she couldn’t leave the dancefloor until the song finished, because naturally EVERYONE had to sing We Are Family with nanna. I bloody loved it!

So, are you ready to party?

Get on that dancefloor, grab a prop, give us a twirl, and ban the lasers! Want to see more of the madness? Have a nosey at the dancefloor section of my portfolio, or if you’re planning your wedding in Hampshire or beyond, get in touch. I’ll bring the lights, you bring the moves!

And for loads more dancefloor chaos, come and say hi on Instagram!