Ask the Planner: What To Do With Lots of Space

Here is a question from a bride that hit my inbox and I think lots of brides may have this question before:

My venue ha[s] a lot of rooms and I want to take advantage of them. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can use the rooms for in the mansion? I can't do a photo booth. But any ideas? I would appreciate you[r] help.

I know in this day and age, we tend to want to use everything that is available to us. However, when it comes to special celebrations, bigger is not always better. Before deciding that you want to use all the space that you have, first decide on what type of wedding you want? What is the feel of your wedding? Do you want it large, loud and boisterous? Or do you want a low-key, intimate and cozy gathering? The potential problem with spreading out through all the rooms of a mansion is that the guests are not together in one space--everyone will be separated. In my opinion, this is not ideal for a wedding reception. You can set up different, interactive stations throughout a large area, and your guests will be doing different things, but they won't be separated by walls, per se. Many times, if you are working with a large space, you may need to place the tables closer together in the center of the room and build a perimeter around the tables using trees and greenery or draped fabric. This will contain the party and make it cozier.

However, you could go another route and make each individual room a totally different experience and this would be absolutely delightful! Let's say you and your hunny love to travel internationally. You could turn each room into a different corner of the world, complete with food, lighting and music. You could have an Egyptian Room, a Paris Room, a Roman Room, a South African Room, a Japanese Room. . . you get the idea. If you have enough funds in your coffers to pull this off, it would surely be a winner with all of your guests. You could even embellish on this idea with personalized passports.

Have any wedding planning quandaries that you want an expert to answer? Please send any questions to info{at}ksherrieco{dot}com with Ask The Planner as the subject line. I would love to be of assistance!
Photo Credit: Southern Weddings