Black and white chequered dance floors proved particularly popular this weekend, with two traditional designs installed at two very different wedding venues.
The first was a 16ft × 16ft dance floor at Hyde Barn, a familiar Cotswold wedding venue where we have installed numerous floors over the years. Although we regularly work there, this was the first time we had supplied a traditional black and white chequered floor for the room.
The following day brought a considerably more unusual setting: a wedding inside The Church Tattoo at The Old School House in Wythall.
Both installations took approximately 30 minutes once we had access. However, as is often the case with wedding work, physically assembling the floor was only one part of the job.
A 16ft × 16ft dance floor at Hyde Barn
We have installed numerous dance floors at Hyde House and Hyde Barn over the years, making it a venue and function room we know particularly well.
For this wedding, the couple selected a traditional black and white chequered floor measuring 16ft × 16ft.
The band was positioned centrally against the wall opposite the entrance into the room, with the dance floor installed directly in front of them.
This created one clearly defined entertainment area in the middle of Hyde Barn while leaving the wedding tables arranged around the outside. It also meant guests entering the room would immediately see the dance floor and band directly opposite them.
At 16ft × 16ft, the floor was well proportioned for Hyde Barn. It filled the central dancing area without interfering with the tables or the routes guests would use to move around the room.
The bold black and white pattern stood out particularly well against Hyde Barn’s pale wooden floor, exposed beams, white ceiling drapes and warm wedding lighting.
Arriving early for a 6pm installation
The installation was scheduled to begin at 6pm.
Jez arrived at approximately 5.45pm, giving him a 15-minute margin before the agreed setup time. However, the wedding breakfast and speeches ran considerably later than expected.
Access to the room was not available until approximately 7.15pm.
Even then, installation could not begin immediately. Tables and chairs were still occupying the area where the dance floor needed to go, resulting in another wait of approximately 15 to 20 minutes while the space was cleared.
Altogether, the room turnaround was approximately an hour and a half behind the original schedule before the dance floor installation could properly begin.
Once the area became available, the 16ft × 16ft floor took approximately 30 minutes to install.
When the photographs were taken, the band was completing its soundcheck and the room was almost ready for guests to return.
Why our delivery pricing allows for delays
This installation is a useful example of why dance floor delivery and installation costs cannot be calculated solely around the 30 minutes spent physically assembling the panels.
From the moment our installer arrives at the agreed time, that member of staff and the vehicle are committed to the booking. The installer still needs to be paid while waiting, even when a delayed wedding schedule means work cannot begin immediately.
Wedding days frequently overrun. Speeches can last longer than expected, meals may be served late and guests naturally take time to move between different parts of the venue.
We allow for a reasonable amount of this within our delivery and installation pricing.
We never want a couple to worry that their dance floor supplier will simply leave because the room was not available at precisely the agreed time. If the wedding is running late, we will wait and complete the installation wherever reasonably possible.
There naturally has to be a limit. A delay of several hours could affect another booking or create additional staffing and transport costs. Ordinary wedding delays, however, are something we anticipate when planning the day.
We take a similar approach to travelling. Our schedules include additional allowance for traffic, meaning we leave earlier than the journey should theoretically require.
Sometimes everything runs perfectly and that extra time is not needed. On other occasions, it protects the wedding from an unexpected delay. Across different bookings, it balances out.
A straightforward nighttime collection
Despite the delayed installation, collection from Hyde Barn was extremely straightforward.
We returned at approximately 12.30am and dismantled and loaded the floor without any problems.
Nighttime collections can occasionally involve waiting for guests to leave, entertainment equipment to be removed or access routes to become clear. On this occasion, everything went smoothly and the first black and white floor of the weekend was safely back on the van.
From a Cotswold barn to a Wythall tattoo studio
The following day’s wedding took us to a particularly unusual setting: The Church Tattoo at The Old School House in Wythall.
The building’s red brickwork, arched windows and position beside the churchyard give it a distinctly chapel-like appearance. Inside, however, it is very clearly a working tattoo studio.
The dark walls are filled with framed artwork, while tattoo stations, ring lights and shelves of coloured inks remain part of the room’s distinctive appearance.
For this wedding, White Violet had added white and pale-blue floral arrangements around the studio. These included two tall floral displays at the end of the room and additional flowers surrounding the fireplace.
Against the dark interior, colourful artwork and soft floral styling, the traditional black and white dance floor looked particularly striking.
It was certainly one of the more unusual places in which we have installed a wedding dance floor.
A fixed 16ft × 14ft dancing area
The available space inside the studio dictated the floor’s exact dimensions.
The couple had requested a traditional black and white chequered floor measuring 16ft × 14ft. We could not make it any wider because it needed to fit within a specific area of the room.
At its finished size, the floor filled almost the entire usable central space while retaining access around its edges for the wedding tables and movement through the studio.
Guest numbers had not been supplied, but in this instance they were less important when determining the dimensions. The physical shape of the room established the maximum suitable size, and the requested 16ft × 14ft floor fitted it extremely well.
Installing between the ceremony and wedding breakfast
The wedding ceremony took place inside the building before the floor was installed.
We then needed to complete the installation during the turnaround between the ceremony finishing and the wedding breakfast beginning.
We had been advised that access should become available between approximately 2.30pm and 2.45pm, giving us around an hour to complete the floor.
As commonly happens immediately after a ceremony, guests remained in and around the space for a little while. We were eventually able to begin at approximately 2.45pm.
Fortunately, access was extremely easy and the floor did not have far to travel between the van and its final position.
White Violet was also working inside the building, preparing the floral arrangements and other decorative elements for the reception.
With several suppliers working towards the same deadline, everyone needed to use the available space carefully and complete their part of the transformation before guests returned.
An unusual but straightforward installation
The setting may have been unusual, but the actual dance floor installation was one of the easier jobs of the weekend.
There were no long carries, difficult stairs or complicated access arrangements. The rectangular area was clear, the requested dimensions fitted correctly and the floor took approximately 30 minutes to install.
It was an interesting contrast with the previous evening at Hyde Barn.
Both floors required roughly the same amount of physical installation time. At Hyde Barn, however, the lengthy room delay meant the overall booking took considerably longer.
At The Church Tattoo, we had a relatively narrow turnaround window, but straightforward access allowed us to complete everything comfortably.
Collection the following morning
The Wythall floor remained in position overnight and was collected the following morning.
Being able to return during the day avoided a second nighttime collection and provided a straightforward finish to the weekend’s bookings.
Both floors were the same traditional black and white chequered style, but each was selected and positioned for a very different environment.
At Hyde Barn, the 16ft × 16ft floor created a central dancing area directly in front of the band, which was positioned centrally against the wall opposite the entrance.
At The Church Tattoo, the 16ft × 14ft floor was carefully sized to fill the available space inside a dark and characterful tattoo studio transformed with white wedding flowers.
Planning beyond the installation itself
Each dance floor took approximately 30 minutes to install, but that figure tells only a small part of the story.
The weekend also involved:
- Allowing additional travelling time
- Arriving before the scheduled setup time
- Waiting through a delayed wedding breakfast and speeches
- Allowing time for tables and chairs to be removed
- Working during a short ceremony-to-reception turnaround
- Coordinating the available space with another wedding supplier
- Completing one nighttime and one following-morning collection
This is why planning a dance floor booking involves much more than calculating how quickly the panels can be assembled.
We plan around realistic wedding timings, provide reasonable allowances for delays and ensure the floor dimensions suit both the available space and the way the room will be used.
This weekend, that resulted in two traditional black and white chequered floors at two very different venues—and two dancing areas ready for their respective celebrations.
If you are planning a wedding at Hyde Barn, in Wythall or elsewhere across the Midlands and Cotswolds, contact Just Dance Floors for practical advice about the most suitable dance floor style, dimensions, installation timing and collection arrangements for your venue.
