A White Starlit Dance Floor at The Wood Norton

The Wood Norton is one of our closest wedding venues, located only a few minutes from our unit. It is the sort of local booking we would happily do every week—although the stairs make each installation slightly more challenging than the short journey might suggest.

For this wedding, we installed a 12ft × 12ft white starlit dance floor in the Orangery for approximately 60 guests.

Getting equipment into the Orangery

The Orangery sits below one of the hotel’s car parks. We drive around to the car park above the room and carry the equipment down approximately 15 steps before entering through the fire exit opposite the main function-room entrance.

Some of the steps are relatively high, so every dance floor panel and item of equipment must be handled carefully.

Parking close to the top of the stairs can also be interesting when several suppliers are loading or unloading simultaneously. Fortunately, we have worked at The Wood Norton numerous times and now have the process down to a fine art.

Preparing for the room turnaround

It was a glorious day, which made moving equipment outside much more pleasant.

The DJ was Dave from Wedding & Party DJs, someone we know and have worked alongside before.

Ahead of the planned 6pm room turnaround, Dave and I moved our equipment down the steps and positioned it near the fire exit. This meant everything was ready to go as soon as the wedding guests left the Orangery.

Guests began moving out at approximately 6.10pm, and we went straight into the room to begin setting up.

Working alongside the DJ

Dave and I work well together during room turnarounds. We position our equipment so that we each retain enough working space while also ensuring the DJ setup and dance floor are correctly aligned.

The installation took approximately 20 minutes, although it might have been slightly quicker if we had spent less time chatting.

Once complete, the white starlit floor provided a clear focal point for the couple’s first dance and evening celebrations.

Was 12ft × 12ft large enough?

A 12ft × 12ft dance floor can look relatively small in the Orangery because the room usually has a large open central area available for dancing.

We would normally suggest a minimum size of 14ft × 14ft. A larger floor fills the central space more effectively and prevents there being too much unused wooden flooring around its edges.

However, temporary dance floor hire is not essential in this particular room because the Orangery already has a suitable wooden floor. The main benefit of adding a white starlit floor is that it highlights the dancing area and creates a more distinctive setting for the first dance and photographs.

With approximately 60 guests attending this wedding, the smaller floor was the right choice. A larger floor would have filled more of the room but could have left a considerable amount of empty space on the dance floor itself.

It is always better to select a floor that suits the number of guests than to choose a larger size simply because the room can accommodate it.

A straightforward morning collection

We were able to leave the floor in place overnight and return at approximately 10am the following morning.

Nobody else was loading into the venue at the time, which made parking and access much easier. The floor was dismantled and carried back up the steps without having to work around other suppliers.

Being able to collect the following morning also meant there was no late-night journey back to The Wood Norton after the wedding.

Dance floor hire at The Wood Norton

The Wood Norton is a beautiful local wedding venue that we know particularly well.

Although access to the Orangery involves carrying equipment down several steps, knowing where to park, which entrance to use and how the room turnaround operates allows us to complete installations efficiently.

A 14ft × 14ft floor would normally be our minimum recommendation for the room. However, this 12ft × 12ft white starlit floor was correctly proportioned for a wedding of approximately 60 guests and gave the couple a clearly defined dancing area without creating an oversized, empty floor.

If you are planning a wedding at The Wood Norton, contact Just Dance Floors for practical advice about the best floor size and style for your guest numbers.