Bar in separate area to main reception room - issue?

reap-a-rat

Hey all! We're currently in the very early stages of planning our wedding. Looking for a venue for about 100 adult guests. We've been around a couple of venues for an informal viewing, getting a feel for what we'd like. We haven't been to many weddings and none have been this small.

One thing we've been wondering about is venues that have the bar in a separate area, off the main function room. A concern for us would be that the band would be playing in the function room but if the bar is elsewhere then guests might tend to stay out there rather than be in the function room.

Has anyone been in a venue with this layout before? Has there been a noticeable issue with an empty function room? Or does it all come down to the band being brilliant enough to command a crowd? In a bigger venue with a bigger crowd I don't think it matters as much but with a small crowd in a smallish place we would be a little worried. So very interested to hear any opinions on this!

One venue in particular that took our fancy was Delphi Resort so if anyone has been there in particular that would be interesting. Thanks!

TheValeyard

Depends on the crowd. I've been to weddings where the bar was separate from the function room and a lot of people did end up at the bar and left the dance floor and room bit empty. Other times it's not made a difference.

kippy

reap-a-rat wrote: »

Hey all! We're currently in the very early stages of planning our wedding. Looking for a venue for about 100 adult guests. We've been around a couple of venues for an informal viewing, getting a feel for what we'd like. We haven't been to many weddings and none have been this small.

One thing we've been wondering about is venues that have the bar in a separate area, off the main function room. A concern for us would be that the band would be playing in the function room but if the bar is elsewhere then guests might tend to stay out there rather than be in the function room.

Has anyone been in a venue with this layout before? Has there been a noticeable issue with an empty function room? Or does it all come down to the band being brilliant enough to command a crowd? In a bigger venue with a bigger crowd I don't think it matters as much but with a small crowd in a smallish place we would be a little worried. So very interested to hear any opinions on this!

One venue in particular that took our fancy was Delphi Resort so if anyone has been there in particular that would be interesting. Thanks!

Have no experience of Delphi however I think that a bar in a seperate area as the function room could be an issue. I've seen it happen in the past however it would depend a lot on the makeup of your crowd and the band.
However, if it were me, I'd make sure that this wasn't something you needed to "worry about" on the day and go for somewhere where there is a bar is in the function room.

TrixIrl

I would say unfortunately that it is a major issue. I have worked, in my previous life, as a wedding coordinator in 4 hotels... one of which had the bar outside the main room. It was a significant consistent issue of guests disappearing to the bar during dinner/band etc. It got to the point we actually bought a mobile bar for the room.

Now I would say.... if you love a venue, you love it and should go for it. But be prepared for the group to be split. Sorry to be so negative!!

_Brian

I wouldn’t choose it.
Since your in planning stages it’s easy to avoid such places and not have the worry.

unclebill98

As a band/DJ I hate it. Very annoying tbh.

sweetie

I play a lot of venues like this and it varies, depends if the crowd are big drinkers. If a bar is in the main room they could still congregate at it anyways so mightn't make much difference to dancefloor. Sometimes older guests like the option of being away from loud music. I wouldn't let it be the deciding factor.

harr

I have seen it both for a small and large wedding , the larger wedding was fine but still a bit of a pain with some guests staying in the bar and not coming into main room.
With the small wedding ( 150 ) it was very noticeable that 50 or 60 guests were in the bar at any one time. I know at one wedding they removed any seating near the bar in other room.

banie01

It'd be a deal-breaker for me with a venue.
The crowd becomes very spread out and it makes things like the 1st dance a bit hit or miss.
I have experience of it from going to a few weddings set up that way and when planning our own, it was the 1st thing I really laid out as a "must have" for our venue.

reap-a-rat

Appreciate all the responses to this. We've actually been told about a wedding there next weekend and if it suits it would be interesting to pop our heads in for a look after the night has really got under way.

It's a funny thing to judge; I think some of our guests would gravitate towards the bar no matter where it was so it's the other guests wed have to think about. The point about the venue not having seating next to the bar was interesting but I do also understand older guests wanting to escape sometimes.

Very interesting to hear it'd be a deal breaker for some. We've loads of time to think about it anyway and thankfully it's not our must-have venue but I think it's an important thing to consider nonetheless.

hanaimai

We went with a venue that has the bar in a separate room (it's very close though, like you can still see the function room from the bar). Although we haven't had the wedding yet, I can give you our reasons why we felt it wasn't an issue. Basically, we didn't want to force people to do particular things at our wedding. If people want to dance, they will dance, and if they don't, they won't. From my experience at weddings, if you're a non-dancer, it can be annoying to have to sit around the dancefloor anyway and you can't even have a conversation because the music is so loud. We wanted to give people the choice to chat or dance as they wish. Sure, I'm paying for the band and all, but I think they sound great so even if people aren't constantly in front of them dancing, I think they'll still provide great background music.

That was just our thoughts anyway! I can update this thread after the wedding to see if it actually bothers me or not on the day!!

reap-a-rat

hanaimai wrote: »

We went with a venue that has the bar in a separate room (it's very close though, like you can still see the function room from the bar). Although we haven't had the wedding yet, I can give you our reasons why we felt it wasn't an issue. Basically, we didn't want to force people to do particular things at our wedding. If people want to dance, they will dance, and if they don't, they won't. From my experience at weddings, if you're a non-dancer, it can be annoying to have to sit around the dancefloor anyway and you can't even have a conversation because the music is so loud. We wanted to give people the choice to chat or dance as they wish. Sure, I'm paying for the band and all, but I think they sound great so even if people aren't constantly in front of them dancing, I think they'll still provide great background music.

That was just our thoughts anyway! I can update this thread after the wedding to see if it actually bothers me or not on the day!!

This is a really interesting perspective and I've thought it myself. The "dancers" will seek out the floor regardless. The non-dancers will also avoid the floor at all costs regardless. It's the in-betweeners I have reservations about, but we could be way over-thinking it! And you're right re: the background music. I'm not much of a dancer myself but I'll happily sit and listen to a good band and bop along in my seat or sing along. If it's a really good song, I might hit the floor.

witchgirl26

This is something I'm trying to avoid when looking at venues. At my cousins wedding the bar was outside the room with the dance-floor and band/dj. The amount of people who didn't see the first dance was mad. They were all out at the bar. Not out of badness but went out to get a drink, got chatting to someone and just stayed there rather than going back in. I feel it somewhat splits the wedding up a bit. I've seen venues where the bar is just off to the side and not as separate as that one and that's ok as you can still see the main room from it quite clearly and is just like another area as opposed to being a completely separate room.

pooch90

I've been at one wedding where the bar was right beside the function room. The function room was empty for most of the night. The bar was much better craic and a lot of us only ventured in for a few dances. Mostly out of guilt. We ruled out venues for our own wedding with separate bar as a result.

cooperguy

It really depends on the crowd I think. Are they big dancers? If so they will stay with the band, if its 50:50 then the group will split up

clint_silver

depends on band/dj too, if theyre only ok and youre not much of a dancer then its not going to be much of a night. If you have a great band or DJ then people will get up and be talking about it for ages about how much they enjoyed it.

the other side of that is you could have an amazing band playing and if the bar is in another room people will stay in there and you might be wondering why people arent dancing.

Would be a total deal breaker for me for my own weddding and I’d find it very annoying as a guest.

convert

I've been to a wedding where the dance floor was separate from the bar, and about a minute's walk away, and it did split up the night as if the group isn't inclined to dance, most people will stay in the bar with a pretty empty dance floor. For me it would be a deal breaker.

thunderdog

I play in a few different wedding bands. It makes a big difference where the bar is. When the bar is separate, Generally you will find that the ladies make a bit of an effort to stay on or near the dance floor but groups of lads will just congregate at the bar for the evening.

woodchuck

Adelaide Important Poem wrote: »

Would be a total deal breaker for me for my own weddding and I’d find it very annoying as a guest.

I actually feel the exact opposite! I always like it when the bar is separate and/or there are other areas to congregate besides the dancefloor.

Don't get me wrong, I do like to dance, but when I'm not dancing, being in the same room as a band is far too loud to chat comfortably. I much prefer find a quieter area to catch up with other guests (doesn't mean you can't enjoy the "background" music though).

I can see why this wouldn't be every brides cup of tea, but personally I'd be in favour of giving guests the option of where they want to spend their time.

witchgirl26

woodchuck wrote: »

I actually feel the exact opposite! I always like it when the bar is separate and/or there are other areas to congregate besides the dancefloor.

Don't get me wrong, I do like to dance, but when I'm not dancing, being in the same room as a band is far too loud to chat comfortably. I much prefer find a quieter area to catch up with other guests (doesn't mean you can't enjoy the "background" music though).

I can see why this wouldn't be every brides cup of tea, but personally I'd be in favour of giving guests the option of where they want to spend their time.

I don't mind there being a quieter area for people to chat/chill out but I don't think the bar would provide this.

My sister's wedding had the bar in the main room with the dancefloor/dj but there was 2 other areas just out either door of the reception that provided quieter areas for people if they wanted to have a proper chat. I prefer that set up that the bar being in one of these as I find the bar tends to get loud too with people ordering drinks etc.

It does come down to personal preference though and which you think your guests would enjoy more.

woodchuck

witchgirl26 wrote: »

It does come down to personal preference though and which you think your guests would enjoy more.

I totally agree, but I get the impression that these two things can be conflicting.

For example, the guests might be perfectly happy to stay at the bar in a separate room to the band. Whereas the bride and groom would prefer to see the dancefloor full and not have the money spent on the band go to "waste".

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

hanaimai wrote: »

We went with a venue that has the bar in a separate room (it's very close though, like you can still see the function room from the bar). Although we haven't had the wedding yet, I can give you our reasons why we felt it wasn't an issue. Basically, we didn't want to force people to do particular things at our wedding. If people want to dance, they will dance, and if they don't, they won't. From my experience at weddings, if you're a non-dancer, it can be annoying to have to sit around the dancefloor anyway and you can't even have a conversation because the music is so loud. We wanted to give people the choice to chat or dance as they wish. Sure, I'm paying for the band and all, but I think they sound great so even if people aren't constantly in front of them dancing, I think they'll still provide great background music.

That was just our thoughts anyway! I can update this thread after the wedding to see if it actually bothers me or not on the day!!

Yeah, my sister had the bar in an adjoining room with seating and it worked well. The dancefloor was still plenty busy all night but people would escape to the bar room for a natter and a breather. There was never more people in the bar room than the dancefloor room.

sweetie

many different or unique venues have a seperate bar whereas generally more traditional one's don't. Depends what you're into really.

woodchuck

woodchuck wrote: »

I actually feel the exact opposite! I always like it when the bar is separate and/or there are other areas to congregate besides the dancefloor.

Don't get me wrong, I do like to dance, but when I'm not dancing, being in the same room as a band is far too loud to chat comfortably. I much prefer find a quieter area to catch up with other guests (doesn't mean you can't enjoy the "background" music though).

I can see why this wouldn't be every brides cup of tea, but personally I'd be in favour of giving guests the option of where they want to spend their time.

I spend a lot of time standing at the bar at weddings and I’d find it annoying in many ways it it was I a separate room. I wouldn’t be able to see what was happening and listen to the music, I’d feel bad for not being in at main part of the wedding, if your oh is dancing etc and you aren’t or they want to call you out to the floor you are in a different room etc. I think it’s a bad idea from every angle.

If you want to have a chat in a quieter place just go to the main bar in the hotel, I’d do this sometime for one drink with 2 or 3 people but wouldn’t wait gone from the function room for too long.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

harr wrote: »

I have seen it both for a small and large wedding , the larger wedding was fine but still a bit of a pain with some guests staying in the bar and not coming into main room.
With the small wedding ( 150 ) it was very noticeable that 50 or 60 guests were in the bar at any one time. I know at one wedding they removed any seating near the bar in other room.

I don’t know... my sister’s wedding was 100 or so people and the bar being in an adjoining room with seating was grand. The dancefloor was well-filled for the whole night. There was a good few teatotallers and light drinkers in attendance though so that likely had an influence.

It totally depends on the crowd. I’ve been at weddings with the bar in the function room where people were hugging the bar all night and the dancefloor was empty a lot of the time.

woodchuck

Adelaide Important Poem wrote: »

I spend a lot of time standing at the bar at weddings and I’d find it annoying in many ways it it was I a separate room.

So why not just go back to the function room once you have your drink?

I just don't see the downside in giving people the option of where they want to spend their time. Fair enough that you need to leave the function room to get a drink, but you can go straight back in once you've been served. Whereas other people might decide to stay at the bar after they've been served and I see no harm in that.

Sunny Dayz

I wouldn't be a fan of the bar being separate to the function room. I was at one wedding where the bar was partitioned off from the function room. A lot of people stayed standing around in this area rather than going back to their seats or watching the dancing. The music could be heard from the bar but you couldn't see the band, dancefloor etc. Also this bar area was cramped as people were staying in there and as a result I didn't go to the bar as often as it was too much hassle.

lazygal

I was only saying to someone that I'd never book a place with a separate bar. Friend of mine had a fabulous band but they played to an empty floor most of the night because the bar was outside the function room. The night fizzled out very early on.

reap-a-rat

Thanks a million for all the replies. We decided to take the venue off the shortlist - there were some really good points with it, but the bar thing and also a number of people not having great reports on the service has led us to consider other venues that aren't coming with the same issues. It was still really interesting to hear all the varying views and it's definitely something I'm going to be more aware of at any future weddings I attend!