Anyone done a silent disco for their wedding?

anronmor · 02-09-2017 9:29am #1

Hi folks
We are booking a band and our venue is a bit small so we are thinking of booking a silent disco for a bit of fun, something different and it will suit the venue as the folks not dancing can retire to another bar in the building

Has anyone ever done this and what would you change / avoid?
Thanks

cailinoBAC · 02-09-2017 9:36am

Not for my wedding, but my sister had one at hers and it was great fun. Go for it!

Digs · 02-09-2017 4:50pm

Again not for mine but my friend did and it was absolutely brilliant! Old and young really enjoyed it!

Addle · 03-09-2017 12:00am

How does it work?
Do you supply headphones?

Faith · 03-09-2017 7:48am

I think it has the potential to be brilliant, but you'd need two djs playing two different types of music* for it to be best. That would provide entertainment and atmosphere for those who're just having a drink or a chat around the dance floor.

*This may be standard practice; I'm not sure!

jlm29 · 03-09-2017 9:09am

I would love this! If you know your crowd stops ups be into it, then go for it! If the crowd wouldn't get into it, it would have to potential to fall flat on its face!

autumnbelle · 03-09-2017 12:33pm

Oh Id say it would be brilliant and something different!

cailinoBAC · 03-09-2017 12:36pm

Yeah, at my sister's they had two songs on at all times. It was really funny if you weren't listening, guessing who was dancing to which song. Everybody got into it, even my parents.

SCOOP 64 · 03-09-2017 12:44pm

Reading replys, still not sure how it works?

wirelessdude01 · 03-09-2017 12:57pm

SCOOP 64 wrote:

Reading replys, still not sure how it works?

Wireless headphones. Work off two frequencies. Each frequency has a song on it. Two different songs to choose from at all times.

SCOOP 64 · 03-09-2017 1:03pm

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Wireless headphones. Work off two frequencies. Each frequency has a song on it. Two different songs to choose from at all times.

Who supplys all the headphones ?

jlm29 · 03-09-2017 1:21pm

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

Who supplys all the headphones ?

There's companies that hire them. I've only ever been at one silent disco, at oxygen a few years ago. 4 different frequencies, 4 different songs, and it was BRILLIANT!

Malari · 04-09-2017 8:28am

Is there just silence for the guests who aren't dancing? Well, not silence, but no music?

Colliewollie · 04-09-2017 8:41am

Brother had it at his wedding a few years ago, if I remember correctly there were 3 different songs to choose from.. It was kept as a surprise from the guests until the last moment.. Great fun. People who wanted to dance could dance away and the rest were able to enjoy drinks and conversation at the bar without ear-splitting music, watching people dancing like lunatics on the dancefloor!!

Some laugh, you should go for it, the guests at my brother's wedding really enjoyed the novelty of it. It was also my first experience of a silent disco!

circular flexing · 04-09-2017 5:48pm

It was at a wedding I went to a few years back. The hotel was in a residential area so they couldn't have a disco after the band because of noise restrictions. It worked really well. Everyone got into it.

SarahS2013 · 06-09-2017 2:55pm

As a guest I'd avoid.
But each to their own.

missmatty · 06-09-2017 6:23pm

They had one at my friend's wedding last year, it was great as I hate really loud bands. Very funny both to watch and take part in, also could easily chat to people while it was going on. Wasn't sure when I heard about it but was converted! Also another vote here for the blow up instruments, the lads had great fun with them.

circular flexing · 06-09-2017 6:24pm

SarahS2013 wrote: »

As a guest I'd avoid.
But each to their own.

You say that now

goldsalmon33 · 06-09-2017 7:09pm

Brother had one instead of the usual dj thing doing the after band entertainment. Went down a ball. Way more oldies dancing than normal

Meauldsegosha · 07-09-2017 9:04am

What do the guests who are not dancing listen to? How do you know when a song you like comes on so you can get up and dance?

Candlemania · 10-09-2017 4:27pm

Silent disco... sign of the times we live in.

To me it's almost the same as sitting with family or friends at one table and everyone is staring at their own smartphone / ipad. Everyone is in their own world. People are seemingly together, but in fact, they're apart...

When you have 3 different songs to choose from, and everyone's dancing to something else, how does it look like? Does everyone just make some moves on the dance floor with their eyes closed? Do people dance in a cricle? Look at each other? Share fun from hearing the same thing? Dance in pairs?

As @Meauldsegosha noticed, when the band/dj plays a song everyone likes, people just get up from their chairs and go on the dance floor to share the joy from hearing it... The beat coming from the speakers stimulates our bodies (the illusional sensation of our hart beating to the beat of the song)... And as far as I remember from weddings, people like to sing out loud the words of their favourite songs - the ability to express it also adds to the overall joyous experience...and leaves great memories, too.

From the sociological point of view, weddings have always been (so far) about:
1) Sharing things together. Sharing the happiness coming from the two people who are in love with each other and who are about to start sharing their lives together...
Sharing a dance with somebody, a conversation...
2) Bridging the gap between the two families and between generations.

You may agree or disagree, and that's no problem, but music has always been bringing people together, and in the case of a silent disco, it may actually push people apart.

Addle · 10-09-2017 6:06pm

Not when it's a choice because of restrictions to noise levels due to the venue.

cml387 · 10-09-2017 6:09pm

Addle wrote: »

Not when it's a choice because of restrictions to noise levels due to the venue.

If you can't have a disco because of the venue, possibly it's the wrong venue.

Quite frankly the whole idea sounds absolutely appalling.

Avatar MIA · 10-09-2017 6:14pm

cml387 wrote: »

If you can't have a disco because of the venue, possibly it's the wrong venue.

Quite frankly the whole idea sounds absolutely appalling.

Sounds like a gimmick, bit like when people look back at old photographs and see their hair in a perm and think, EEEK. Yes, I'm thinking of you Kevin Keegan.

Addle · 10-09-2017 6:19pm

Do you remember the episode of Glenroe with the silent disco?!

bucketybuck · 10-09-2017 6:32pm

Colliewollie wrote: »

People who wanted to dance could dance away and the rest were able to enjoy drinks and conversation at the bar without ear-splitting music,

I'm not much of a dancer but I like listening to music, so what are the non-dancers listening to? Surely there must be background music playing as well?

Its going to be a really crap atmosphere if the choice is either listen to headphones or have no music playing at all. There is more to atmosphere in a room and in a crowd than whether people are dancing or not.

GingerLily · 10-09-2017 9:36pm

I'm only talking for my wedding guests, but a lot of the older crowd only danced to the songs they knew when they came on, to begin with anyway. You wouldn't have got them dancing in a silent disco.

I cherish the memories of my uncles with their ties on their heads and my in laws swinging!!

The young ones that will always dance will probably love it, but I can't see it appealing to the older generation.

Colliewollie · 11-09-2017 12:35pm

Hi,

I should have clarified my original comments. My brother also had a typical wedding band before the silent disco part. If I remember correctly the band was on for about two hours, typical wedding music as there was a large amount of over 60's present at his wedding. Most people were dancing during this.

The DJ came later on, after the band and then the silent disco started for about two hours. A lot of the elderly guests had left by this stage. The band beforehand was a typical wedding band with all the typical songs etc. The silent disco part was a surprise.. No one knew.. When it started people were reluctant to dance but then the guests got into it, whilst others could enjoy themselves at the bar.. Some people didn't dance, the majority did as it was a novelty.

While the silent disco was on, there wasn't any music so therefore people were able to chat away at the bar and at some tables. However, watching lads and lassies dancing and hopping like lunatics on the dance floor was quite hilarious. It was great fun, as people were dancing to different songs. Some groups danced together by telling each other what channel they were listening to.

bucketybuck · 11-09-2017 12:49pm

Colliewollie wrote: »

Hi,

I should have clarified my original comments. My brother also had a typical wedding band before the silent disco part. If I remember correctly the band was on for about two hours, typical wedding music as there was a large amount of over 60's present at his wedding. Most people were dancing during this.

The DJ came later on, after the band and then the silent disco started for about two hours. A lot of the elderly guests had left by this stage. The band beforehand was a typical wedding band with all the typical songs etc. The silent disco part was a surprise.. No one knew.. When it started people were reluctant to dance but then the guests got into it, whilst others could enjoy themselves at the bar.. Some people didn't dance, the majority did as it was a novelty.

While the silent disco was on, there wasn't any music so therefore people were able to chat away at the bar and at some tables. However, watching lads and lassies dancing and hopping like lunatics on the dance floor was quite hilarious. It was great fun, as people were dancing to different songs. Some groups danced together by telling each other what channel they were listening to.

The more I hear of this idea the worse it sounds to me.

Anyone done a silent disco for their wedding?

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