Wedding Floor Plans - Design Your Dream Wedding
Wedding Floor Plans are the best way to plan and visualize your wedding venue. They can help you layout your table and seating arrangements and where the dance floor, bar, and other key elements should go.
Whether you are planning a wedding for yourself or working as a wedding planner, your wedding floor plans will play a significant role in creating the setting for an amazing event. There’s no better way to get organized for your big day. Read on for some great tips on how to use wedding floor plans to create an unforgettable event!
Wedding Venue Layout Checklist
3. Allow for Movement and Flow
5. Consider Table Arrangements
6. Cater to Specific Guest Seating Needs
7. Communicate Your Plan Clearly
8. Zones Your Need to Consider
9. Visualize Your Wedding Venue in 3D
1. Choose the Best Venue
Once you have narrowed your venue options down to your top favorites, draw up a wedding floor plan for each to visualize.
- How well will each venue accommodate your number of guests?
- How could the table and seating arrangements work?
- Is there still room to dance and circulate comfortably?
- Where are the restrooms and other key facilities?
This process can quickly make the top venue choice clear.
2. Create a Beautiful (and Functional!) Entry
Welcome your guests properly by creating a beautiful and functional entry to your venue. When guests arrive, they should be able to find your event easily, check-in, place their gifts, hang their coats, and then move into the venue. A wedding floor plan will help you see any potential traffic jams – for example, if you place the bar too near the entry, you can end up with a crowd near the front door.
3. Allow for Movement and Flow
The ability to move around an event comfortably is key to its success. Make sure your guests flow easily between the tables and to the dance floor and bar. Use your wedding floor plan to check the distance between tables and the wall or other tables.
Think through all the ways people will move through the room. Keep in mind that wait staff needs to be able to circulate to and from the kitchen as well. Consider where guests are likely to gather and place distinct areas accordingly.
4. Locate the Dance Floor
Use your wedding floor plan to find the perfect place for your dance floor. Many brides and grooms place the dance floor in the center of the room, particularly if the dance floor will play several roles in the celebration. Will you be throwing the bouquet from the dance floor? Will you cut the cake there? Answers to these questions can help you determine the best location for your dance floor.
Try to position the tables around the dance floor so that everyone has a good view and easy access to the floor. Also, consider the size of the dance floor – not too big so that it looks empty – but not too small so that guests can’t fit. Consult a dance floor sizing chart to determine the best size and then specify that on your wedding floor plan.
When choosing where to locate the DJ, in the corner is not always best. Will your DJ also be an MC for your event? If so, it may make more sense to position them close to the dance floor so that they can see the action. Also, think about loudspeaker placement to make sure not to place any of your guests where it may be too loud.
Place the dance floor and stage first
The bride and groom are the center of attention — and rightfully so — but the dance floor, along with the stage for the DJ or band, is the center of the party, so prioritize its location. Once you’ve determined its location, you can place tables so every guest feels part of the festivities.
5. Consider Table Arrangements
How you arrange your reception tables is just as important as determining how to seat your guests. Thoughtfully locate your tables to give all your guests good visibility and access.
You should also consider whether you will have a large wedding party table, complete with bridesmaids, groomsmen, and family members, or do you prefer a small table for two, and if so, where should that be located so that the guests can see you? Use your wedding floor plan to visualize each table's view and create your seating chart.
6. Cater to Specific Guest Seating Needs
Do you have grandparents or other older guests? Are there small babies who may need a quiet area or a separate kids' room? Perhaps you have a guest in a wheel chair? By creating a floor plan for your wedding, you can note where you want to seat any special guests.
7. Communicate Your Plan Clearly
A 2D wedding floor plan is a great way to make sure you have clear communication with your partner, wedding planner, the venue, and any vendors.
Use your floor plan to talk through ideas with your fiancé, provide clear direction for a wedding planner, get a better quote from venue staff, and avoid misunderstandings on setup. Your wedding floor plans can include dimensions, a legend, and custom descriptions.
8. Zones You Need to Consider When Laying Out Your Wedding Floor Plan
Whether you’re hosting your reception at a country club, hotel ballroom, banquet hall, vineyard, rustic barn, or under a tent on a family property, be sure to include the following zones in your wedding floor plan and be strategic in their placement. Doing so serves double duty: you’ll be able to showcase your venue while ensuring the comfort and enjoyment of your guests.
The bar
Depending on the size of your celebration, you may want more than one bar to avoid congestion as guests queue up for refreshments. Brides magazine recommends one bar with two bartenders for every 100 guests, so if you’re expecting 150 guests, plan for two bars and three bartenders. Place one bar near the dance floor to keep revelers hydrated and the other a little further away from the action.
Cocktail hour
The party portion of the day starts with cocktail hour, a welcome invitation for guests to mingle and enjoy a signature cocktail and hors d’oeuvres while the bride and groom take photos.
Planning to have cocktail hour in the same space as the reception? Scatter high tables with stools around the space so guests have a place to sit or set their drinks and snacks while chatting. Add some tables for food stations, all of which can be quickly cleared away when dinner begins. You may also want to incorporate a cocktail lounge into your wedding floor plan.
Kitchen
If the kitchen is the workhouse of your home, just imagine its importance at a wedding. When laying out your wedding floor plan, remember that the wait staff needs to be able to circulate to and from the kitchen. Place guest tables away from kitchen doors and noisy server stations.
Cake table
A wedding cake is sometimes displayed on its own table. Often it takes center stage on a dessert table that’s decorated with linens, greenery, and florals and offers a tempting variety of cakes and other decadent treats. Raised platters and cupcake towers add depth and dimension to an otherwise flat table.
It’s common to place the dessert table along a side or end of the reception room so guests can serve themselves without getting in the way of fellow guests as they mingle and make their way to and from the dance floor. Consider placing a pretty backdrop on the wall behind the table.
Dance floor
Brides and grooms want their guests to have fun, and a packed dance floor is a sure sign of mission accomplished, underscoring the importance of placing it in a central location. Guests may feel disconnected from the festivities if tucked in a corner or at the end of a hall.
Once you’ve decided on a location, use your wedding floor plan to position the tables so guests can enjoy the main attractions, including newlywed and wedding party entrances, toasts to the happy couple, and the first dance. The size of the dance floor is also essential: too large, and it will look empty even if many of your guests are dancing; too small, and guests won’t have space to bust a move or break out a conga line!
Bathrooms
If hosting your reception in a typical event space, consider creating personalized signs pointing guests to the bathrooms. You might even want to add fresh flowers, decorate stall doors and provide bathroom baskets in the bathrooms to give your guests a helping hand should they need one.
If you’re hosting an outdoor wedding, porta potties are essential but have no fear – luxury loos are wedding-worthy. When placing them on your wedding floor plan, make sure they’re not in full view of guests or anywhere near food and beverages. At the same time, ensure they’re not too far from the tent and that the path is well-lit and covered in the event of inclement weather.
Gift table/area
Wedding etiquette recommends guests send gifts directly to your home before the wedding day, but some guests may prefer to present their card or gift in person. When placing the gift table, it should be visible in the main event space – not the lobby or too close to an exit.
Add a card box and wedding guest book. Decorate the table with signs to greet guests and personalize it with framed photos, perhaps of the bride and groom over the years or loved ones unable to attend the celebration but not forgotten. Don’t forget to plan how to get the gifts home once the festivities wrap up.
9. Visualize Your Wedding Venue in 3D
3D floor plans give you an incredible visualization of the venue's appearance and feel on the wedding day. You will better understand the space's scale, colors, texture, and potential.
You can create 3D floor plans for outdoor weddings as well. Visualize how your outdoor wedding space will look, complete with grass, plants, flowers, tables, and decor. You can follow these same tips to lay out your wedding tent.
Here are a few extra tips to keep in mind when planning an outdoor wedding:
- Will you require additional tents for catering, the bar, coats, etc.? Locate these close to the event tent, but out of the line of site for photos. Don’t forget the WCs.
- Create two versions of your wedding floor plan – one scenario for good weather and one scenario in case it rains. Having a plan for both situations will help you keep your event organized and running smoothly no matter what.
- Staging an outdoor wedding can be just as labor-intensive, if not more, than holding one indoors. Work with a professional event wedding planner or caterer to ensure that you can sit back, relax and enjoy your big day.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
By the time you’ve settled on a wedding venue, you’ve likely already envisioned a tentative wedding floor plan based on your estimated guest count and whether you’ll offer a sit-down dinner or buffet. Many wedding planners recommend nailing down details like table shapes and sizes eight months in advance of your wedding.
Finalize your wedding floor plan two to three months before your nuptials, which still allows time to make changes. Expect to give your caterer and florist your final seating assignments two weeks before exchanging your vows.
The wedding floor plan is the secret to an incredible celebration because it impacts so many details, from how many tables, chairs, and centerpieces you need to whether you require additional power sources for a band if you’re having one.
A floor plan that’s to scale allows you to:
- Maximize every square inch of the space, ensuring you’ve strategically placed everything on your must-have list, from the dance floor to the photo booth.
- Thoughtfully place tables. Ensure none are located too far from the dance floor or too close to the speakers. Use your wedding floor plan to check the distance between tables and walls so guests and staff can smoothly navigate the room.
- Ensure faster setup. A detailed wedding floor plan will ensure vendors, especially those responsible for placing furniture, can work quickly and efficiently, avoiding the stress of last-minute changes.
Whether you’re a professional wedding planner or looking after your nuptials yourselves, you can use a free floor plan maker like the RoomSketcher App.
Create a map of the space, complete with the location of walls, windows, entryways, and more. Determine the location of the dance floor and stage and add elements like the color of the carpet or floor. Play around with the location, size, and shape of tables based on factors like your estimated guest count, the type of meal service you’ll be offering, and how guests and staff will flow through the space.
Choose a Great Tool to Create Your Wedding Floor Plans
The RoomSketcher App is your go-to wedding floor plan app. You’ll be able to easily visualize exactly how the venue will look and feel on your W-day and can revise and fine-tune the plan right up to the last minute.
Adding details like the color of the carpeting and walls can help you determine a theme and make decor decisions. Whether your celebration is indoors or out, intimate or large, creating a detailed wedding floor plan will help ensure your celebration is personal and unforgettable!
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