Fill the Dance Floor Immediately With This Trick

by Chris Brower
Last Updated: September 26, 2024

Wedding DJs live for a packed dance floor full of people dancing.

For one, it’s a sign you’re good at your job. You played a song that got people out on the dance floor – tons of people!

And two, the more people on the dance floor, the more fun they’re likely having and the happier the newlyweds will be. After all, people are having a blast at THEIR wedding!

Sometimes a packed dance floor is easy. Sometimes guests are eager to dance and don’t need much convincing to get out there and cut loose.

But other times, guests are shyer or need more motivation to dance.

So how can you easily go from an empty dance floor to a full dance floor quickly?

Methods to Fill the Dance Floor

First, let’s review a few methods that can quickly fill the dance floor. I covered these in a separate, must-read article, What If No One Is Dancing? I won’t go into detail here, since I recommend just reading that other article, but some popular methods include:

Playing a Group/Line Dance, such as the “Cupid Shuffle*” or the “Cha Cha Slide.”
Playing a “For Sure” Song, a song that is a huge hit that you know from experience usually does well, such as “September” by Earth Wind and Fire or “Timber” by Pitbull (featuring Kesha).
Playing a Slow Song.
Playing a Sing-Along, such as “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks or “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond.

But there’s one other method that can often work even better…

The Easiest Way to Fill the Dance Floor Immediately

There’s another method that I’ve done a few times to much success. I did it again at a wedding I DJed a few days before writing this article, and I was blown away by how well it worked. So much so that I thought, “I gotta write an article about this!”

It’s this:

Invite everyone to the dance floor for a group photo taken by the wedding photographer. And when that’s over, play a popular song, and watch as the dance floor stays packed. But now people are dancing and the party is really going.

That’s it! It’s pretty simple.

And if you’re lucky, the dance floor will remain crowded as you play great song after great song. And it didn’t even take much convincing, either.

How to Successfully Do This Trick

First, it’s good to ask if the couple is okay with this. It’s almost a guarantee they will be, but be sure. You should also make sure their photographer is interested. Again, very likely they will be.

You can ask the couple, “Would you like me to announce a group photo on the dance floor? I can invite everyone to the dance floor, and your photographer can get a photo of you with everyone. Plus, it’ll likely get the dance floor packed and going when I start playing dance music.”

If they give the go-ahead, great!

Note: It’s best to ask the couple this in your planning sessions and chats before the day of the wedding, rather than springing it on them in the moment during the reception.

When to Do the Trick

In theory, you could do it anytime the dancing portion of the night is happening and the photographer is still there. But it’s best to do it when you need it most – aka, when the dance floor is empty.

That could mean waiting for a moment during the night when things are lagging, and the dance floor is not very crowded. (Of course, hopefully that never happens!)

But likely the best time is at the very beginning of the open dancing (the time when anyone and everyone is allowed to dance). For most weddings, this’ll be right after the couple has done their first dance and any dances with the parents.

After all, the dance floor is empty, and you want to get it going.

Invite People to the Dance Floor

When you’re ready, announce into the microphone, “At this time, we’d like to invite anyone and everyone to the dance floor for a group photo with the newlyweds.”

Like all announcements, you’ll likely have to make it multiple times. Especially since you’re inviting people who are likely seated to stand up and come to the dance floor.

Have Your Song Ready

For this trick to work, you need to have a popular, for-sure song queued up to play after the photo is taken.

It’s not the time to take a chance on a lesser-known song or something that feels like a gamble. You want something that is a virtually guaranteed to be a huge hit with the crowd.

For a list of the most-popular songs from my 12+ years of DJing, I recommend reading Fill the Dance Floor: The Most Popular Wedding Reception Songs.

Once the Photo Is Done, It’s Go Time

After the photographer is done taking the photo, invite people to dance like you normally would.

“At this time, we invite everyone to dance.”

And now start the song.

A huge group of people will already be on the dance floor. Many of them will likely start dancing right then and there, even more so than if you had started with the dance floor completely empty and invited people to dance.

Ready for the complete guide to becoming a wedding DJ? Here you go.

What Should the DJ Do During the Group Photo?

The group photo is the photographer’s job. But pay attention if there are any additional announcements you should make during the photo, such as instructions like, “People in the back, please try to move to a spot where we can better see your face” and other photo tips. Look for the photographer to let you know what any of those announcements will be, or if you hear the photographer trying to yell instructions to the group, you could repeat those over the microphone to make them more audible.

As well, you could play some background music during the photo to keep a party feel going.

Mostly as a joke, I usually play “Take a Picture” by Filter, starting the track at the chorus right when he sings, “Could you wanna take my picture?” And then I let the song play from there.

But there are certainly other songs about photographs you could play as background music while the photo is being taken.

Are There Downsides to This Trick?

Luckily, there aren’t any huge downsides to this trick. It’s not likely to backfire and make everyone leave, for example.

It can be annoying that the group photo will likely take several minutes. It simply just takes a long time to get people to get out of their chairs and come to the dance floor, plus get arranged in a way that a successful group photo can be taken.

Luckily, as the DJ, you’re not in charge of taking the photo!

So you’ll simply need to be patient while the photo is taken, and be ready with your song guaranteed to get the party going.

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