Why have a Ceilidh or Barn Dance at Our Wedding Reception ?

Why have a ceilidh ? (instead of 'entertainment' ?)

Nearly every home in Britain has got a telly – because they are a means of very cheap entertainment . Nothing wrong with that – we’ve got a telly as well !

But - let’s presume that a telly just will not do for entertaining your wedding guests !! Then what ?

Alternatives will often be a DJ and Disco….there’s some cracking DJ’s/disco rigs/lights/pumping lively popular music and a good disco and DJ will get people dancing…..or ‘live’ entertainment by way of comedy,magic,’covers’ or function bands and novelty acts.We all know that some of these types of entertainment will ‘involve’ your guests (disco,live music) and some will be extremely entertaining with repartee (comedians,magicians) which actively engage an audience.BUT – will they ‘break the ice’ between people who have never met before until the day of your wedding ? People who just nod politely to each other during the day without taking ‘the mixing’ any further ?

Ceilidhs and Barn Dances,on the other hand,are a participation thing – either for part of the night’s fun (along with a disco/ceilidh set-up) or a whole night’s celebration in it’s own right.

We believe that ceilidhs/barn dances will actively encourage ‘mixing up strangers’ just a bit when they join in some of the ‘silly’ dances.Quite a number of ceilidh and barn dance dances actually mean that you will dance with a new partner 6/7/8 times through the duration of the dance,all touchy-feely like,because the dances were specifically designed to do this ! (What we call the progressive dances). Or maybe you’ll just keep the same partner throughout the dance (but dance opposite different couples).And your guests are joining in and participating – rather than waiting to be ‘entertained’.It’s a bit like ‘what we did before the telly’ !

And the best bit is that age matters not ! Grannies/grandkids/mums/dads/sons/daughters/friends can all be put into the blender (as long as they can stand up) and be shown,very quickly,by the caller some very simple,basic moves that they can do in time to the music.

Will this work for your wedding reception ? Well,there are a few tips for the bride and groom which we think are important and will help the night go with a bang ! We’ll be dead honest with you ………. Not every ceilidh at a Wedding Reception works out for a number of reasons…. Shape/size of room….. venue chosen ….. poor planning before the event ….. misunderstandings before the event of what is on offer….. timings ….. alcohol (no !!! we’re not banning it !!)….. rules,regs,laws …….phew ! time to move on to more FAQ’s