Dancefloor Dilemma

The Q: I'm operating on a tight budget with a big guest list (350 invited, we're hoping closer to 250 on the day) and was astonished at the cost to rent a dance floor!  To get one the size I keep reading we need (approx. 24x24 for 250 people) the rental company is charging about $1000 to provide it and set it up. 

We're getting married in the conference center of a state park so it's indoors but carpeted.

Do I really need a dance floor or can we mark off an area of the room?  I want a rockin' dance party!

The A: I know, these things get expensive.  If you were on a marble floor or a hard wood floor or even a concrete floor, I would probably tell you that it isn't a necessity at all.  However, the fact is that carpet is a little tricky to move on, particularly to dance on.  There's a reason why grandmas say "Roll up the Rug and Shake a Leg", it's not that easy or safe to dance on a carpet.  Indeed, heels can get caught, people can trip and you can create a little bit of static. :-)  Additionally, there is something about a clearly delineated dance floor, separated from the carpet, that does invite people to cut loose a bit more than walking onto a clearing in the room.

If you don't have the money to do the dancefloor, I totally get it, but you might want to consider this as something skeletal that you should shift money around to do.  See if you can cut out a dessert course, make some floral pieces smaller or nix your favors to come up with some of the extra cash.  Not ideal, but you might want to consider it.