DETAILS!!! Alcoholic beverages - We like everyone to have a great time, but this is not the place for a drunk-fest. A couple of drinks to shake off dance-inhibitions? Sure! We're all for that. A banquet permit, ($10 at any liquor store), is necessary if you plan on having any alcoholic beverages, including "just Champagne for the toast." You do get to bring all of your own alcoholic beverages AND there is no additional charge or corkage fee! This will save you a small pile of money, generally $2-$3 dollars per drink. If you want to serve more than just champagne for the toast then you must hire a licensed bartender, either through a Preferred Caterer or from our Approved List. The bartenders should arrive one hour before your guests and plan on staying until the end of the night (usually 6 hours total.) They are responsible for setting up the cups, chilling appropriate drinks, serving all alcoholic beverages, checking identification, monitoring guests' alcohol consumption, and keeping the bar area tidy. In our very litigious society their services are an essential element of any well-planned event. This requirement is ours, not the liquor board's, and is not negotiable. Cost: generally $150-$300, depending on what they'll be serving and how many people you expect to attend. (Bartending is included in the Perfect Day Wedding Package.) We're sorry, but you may no longer hire "someone you know" or a bartender from a non-preferred caterer. We've had licensed bartenders do some very stupid and dangerous things, including unwiring Champagne but not removing the corks immediately (which means the bubbly was free to uncork itself, thankfully shooting the projectiles into the ceiling and not into someone's eye), serving one table of 8 guests 60 beers in a two hour period (even after we asked them to stop), taking so many smoke-breaks that they might as well not have been there at all, and leaving a half-hour early (thereby shutting down the bar and leaving dancers thirsty.) We'd like to think a serving license indicates competence, but unfortunately that is not the case. Our Approved Bartenders are all competent, courteous, and conscientious, and will take great care of you and your guests. BEER & WINE LIMITS: You may have one keg of beer for every 100 guests, with a 2 keg total limit. Each keg serves 160, 12oz glasses. The local breweries are great places to get good prices on kegs. Check out Northern Lights or Shenanigans for good beer that's easy to pick up and return. If you'd like a distributed brand of beer check out the Hi-Neighbor Tavern on Monroe. It's very close to us so your beer stays cold and doesn't get too shaken up during transit. (For more than 50 or so guests choosing bottled/canned beer is not feasible.) Wine & champagne are welcome in reasonable amounts (1 case serves 60 glasses.) You may also add up to 4 cases of pre-bottled beverages, such as Mike's Hard Lemonade, which is particularly popular during the hot season. COOLING: We provide 2 keg-cans and 4 metals tubs for the white wine, Champagne, & Mikes. Add red wine and a signature drink and the space behind the bar is full. Any back-up beer in coolers (4 cases max) will fit under the tables, but please respect the laws of physics. When we say this is all that will fit. . . we mean it. We know our space. If you want to add something else, such as sodas, be prepared to subtract something such as the Mike's. CHAMPAGNE must be opened by Dance Street staff or the hired bartender. Dance Street does not charge a corkage fee, it's simply an issue of mess and safety. Bottles may not be placed on the tables since we require that all alcoholic beverages be served. Feel free to skip the Champagne in favor of a "toast with your preferred beverage." Many people are doing this if their group doesn't particularly care for Champagne. Champagne, white wine, and water are the only consumables allowed in the bride's dressing room, and the former MUST be opened by us (again, it's a safety & mess issue.) HARD LIQUOR: If you'd like to provide a small amount of hard alcohol for those who don't drink beer or wine then a "signature drink" is an excellent way to do so. This could be something simple like a rum & coke, or something fruity like a Mai Tai or a Margarita on the rocks. If your chosen drink contains multiple ingredients it should come pre-mixed except for the alcohol & you'll need a BEVERAGE JAR to serve it from. These can often be found at Costco or Fred Meyer, or of course through Amazon. A 1.5-3 gallon size is perfect! This will make your bar line move much more smoothly. Consider providing fruit garnish or the little umbrellas if you're doing something tropical, and remember it's always fun to match the color of your signature drink to your wedding.
Miscellaneous details - Guests may bring in alcoholic beverages as long as the total provided still falls within the stated limits, and as long as the beverages are given to the bartenders to serve. FLASKS make a nice groomsmen's gift but they put you at odds with this rule. Consider engraved beer mugs instead! The bar will be closed down one hour before the end of your time slot (at the end of your 4 hour party block, usually when you are leaving.) Last call has a 1 drink limit. You must provide adequate food in order to serve alcoholic beverages (not just desserts.) Beverages - non-alcoholic - If you hire a full-service caterer they'll handle the punch, water, & coffee. Feel free to add iced or hot tea too, but don't go overboard with too many choices of beverages. If you hire a food-only caterer then you'll want to provide your own punch, water, & coffee. That way it's available until the end of the party, not just until the caterers leave (often a 2 hour difference.) The best way to serve water is to buy or rent one of the large glass beverage jars and fill it with water, ice, & lemon slices if so desired. You can do the same for punch, but most people choose to use a punch bowl. Keep your punch recipe simple, such as Sprite & strawberry lemonade powder, Sprite & Costco's strawberry-mango juice, or my favorite recipe: 2 cans frozen cranberry, 2 cans frozen orange, a 46oz can pineapple juice, a 2-liter of Sprite/7-up, plus 2-liters of water & ice. Mmmm! Guests will suck this down in quantity, though, so make sure you provide enough. One batch per 25 guests is reasonable, maybe a little more if you're not serving any alcoholic beverages or if it's the middle of summer.
Capacity
- 225 people by fire
code. We will seat up to 200 (at 10 per table) and provide
standing-only bar tables for the other 25, which works great for
buffet-style food on disposable dishes. This leaves most of the
20x20 dance floor open, only encroached upon by one "magic" table
that disappears after dinner. It is no trouble to move a few more
tables back after dinner if you have an enthusiastic dance crowd. In order to "set" your tables with china, flatware, & glassware you
need to limit yourselves to no more than 160 guests (8 per table.)
Plated/served dinners are limited to 125 guests. We suggest this as
a limit for receptions with live bands also. Combined
ceremony/reception events are limited to 175 guests (10 per table).
Ceremonies, Outdoor - Spokane has many lovely possibilities for outdoor wedding ceremonies. A few of them include Manito Park's Duncan Gardens or Rose Garden, the Finch Arboretum, or Riverfront Park's Floating Stage or Canada Island amphitheater. Please remember than an outdoor ceremony in a public location is best suited to fairly relaxed couples with small to medium sized events. The best time for an outdoor ceremony in Spokane is from mid-July through mid-September. Choose an early evening ceremony (6pm is great) to avoid taking your pictures (usually about 2 hours worth) in the worst heat of the day. Make sure your invitations include a contingency plan in case of inclement weather, such as telling guests that the ceremony will move to the reception location in case of rain, and a number to call for a recorded message in case of uncertain conditions. You'll need a trustworthy friend to remember to record that message saying where the ceremony absolutely will be, and to hang out at the original site to redirect wayward guests (make sure they have raingear.) Dance Street is happy to provide some peace of mind by being your back-up ceremony location. If you choose a different reception venue please make sure you ask about their policies on this issue, as not all facilities have the same rules. Children - Well-behaved children are a joy to have at weddings, and welcome at the Dance Street Ballroom. The facility is, however, designed for adults with lots of glass, candles, and other opportunities for ignored children to cause trouble. We expect parents and other adults to supervise any children in attendance and enforce good indoor manners. We love it when the kids dance and screech in delight, but if you want a place where they can run amok then please choose a different venue. Please avoid the generous impulse to provide them with entertainments such as markers, crayons, slinkies, party poppers, connectable glowsticks, etc. These are all a hazard to the venue and therefore your damage deposit. Small tops & plastic puzzles are fine.
Dancing
- Most of the couples who are interested in our facility want to
have dancing at their receptions. Here are some observations about
dancing from our last eight years of receptions: Decorating - You are welcome to add favors, a floral swag on the arch, or small personal touches such as photo displays. Our niche, however, is to provide a decorated space ready for revelry. In addition to our white lights & numerous candle sconces we also provide table centers with mirror squares, candles, & color-coordinated fresh flowers; decorate the cake table with candles & flower petals or small vases; provide a vase of flowers for the guest book table & punch table; and provide floral arrangements next to the arch for ceremonies. All of this is included in the rental fee. Except for unity candles we do not allow additional candles unless they are fully contained in one-piece holders, with the flame at least 1 full inch below the top of the holder. (Wax on our dance floor is a major hazard, and this is a very necessary precaution.) Please keep in mind that we are not a blank slate for you to rearrange and decorate as you please - it just takes too much time, effort, & stress for us to put things back in order afterwards. While we want your wedding to be personal we also expect our couples to focus on what is important that day - getting MARRIED and celebrating with their family & friends - not how many pieces of doo-dah and thingamajig they can fit onto each table. That said, if you have a "vision" for your tables and a host of helpers willing to swarm in and put it together then we are happy to accommodate that. If your ceremony is off-site then you will need to book an extra hour of time to make this happen. Facilitation Services - The Dance Street Ballroom is one of very few owner-operated event facilities in the Spokane area. What this means to you is you'll be dealing with the same person from your tour, though the booking process, for any questions between then and your event, and on your event night. The person who makes the decisions, so there'll be no "well, let me ask my boss" issues. This allows a continuity of information and details that's hard to find anywhere else. We will certainly have a clue about your likes and dislikes, and how you envision your event. It also means we care very much about the experience you have, and will do all we can to make things as smooth and easy for you as possible. (The only exception to this is emergencies or dates when I am scheduled to be away. In that case my minion (a.k.a. s-daughter) will be there to be me.) Favors - Feel free to do them if you want to, but don't feel like you have to. We're happy to put prepared favors out on the tables for you. Anything consumable is a good choice - candy, candles, flower seeds, etc. Magnets are always fun too, especially when they have your picture on them. Our only restrictions are that we don't allow TULLE CIRCLES as a wrapping or EASTER GRASS as padding. Tulle Circles are very hard to see on the floor and very slick, which makes them hazardous. Easter Grass acts like confetti - it's impossible to get it all cleaned up by the next day. Please make sure your favor maker knows this. We also ask nicely that you not use Jelly-Bellies. As tasty as they are they act like gum when they get squished on the floor. Flowers - We always provide color-coordinated, fresh flowers (generally from Costco) for the guest tables, punch table, guest book table, & bar. For your personal flowers (bouquets, corsages, etc.) we suggest you contact Esther at Special Touch Floral. She is the florist for our Perfect Day Wedding Packages and does a fantastic job at incredibly reasonable prices! Food - (The PDWP includes your choice of several delicious menus from some of our Preferred Caterers.) Food is a key element to any event, and one of the few particular details anyone remembers is whether or not they ate well. We do not have an in-house caterer and there are no exact catering requirements. We offer three options:
In all cases, we expect food to
come already prepared and essentially ready to serve. We
provide a small
food-prep area with a table, refrigerator, & sink that is curtained
off from the serving area. There is no kitchen, and
cooking is absolutely forbidden. We provide two buffet tables (with
linens) for serving, and we recommend that guests go through the buffet line on
both sides of the tables to make the line as efficient as possible.
This arrangement suits professional caterers just fine, and we're
happy to give a tour and explanation to any caterer who has not been
at our facility before. Please understand that catering is based on an average appetite/meal size. Portions are generous but not gargantuan! If you have a lot of heavy eaters then you will need to pad your numbers. Having several guests who take 3 helpings of mashed potatoes on their first round is going to run you out of food. The per-person costs after the fact often double due to the fact that the caterer is the one who looks bad for "running out of food" even when it was the planner's mis-count that made it happen. Dishes, napkins, flatware, & cups for non-alcoholic beverages will be included if you choose a preferred caterer, but you may still need plates, forks, & napkins for the cake. If you prefer to rent china, flatware, and glassware we'd be happy to suggest some reputable vendors. Remember that rented dishes require a lot more labor (= $) and space. If you like the convenience & economics of disposables then we suggest shopping at Costco or URM. Again, keep it simple. The pull-apart champagne glasses seem cute until you have to put them all together, find a place to arrange them, and figure out how to get them to the tables - very labor intensive little things. We prefer the little 5oz. cups that are miniatures of URM's normal beverage cups. Very cute and easy to handle.
GREEN DISPOSABLES -
There are now a lot
of disposable dishes out there made of cornstarch,
potato starch, or sugarcane. Plates, forks, cups, & to-go
containers are all available from a variety of companies.
We've tested the plates & forks from
Ecoproducts and found them to be
very sturdy, better in fact than your usual disposables. Besides being biodegradable (moot
point since Spokane burns its garbage) they are made without any
petroleum products, which is
a good thing. Check out these sources if you're interested in
such things, or ask your caterer if they offer such a "green
option." There may be a nominal fee to cover the difference in
costs. Friday Night Weddings - Consider these benefits to choosing a Friday date:
Guest Count - To figure out how many people you're going to have, wave your magic wand, utter your incantation of choice, spin the dial on a clock, and multiply by 20. Yes, it's that easy to figure it out. The best formula I know of is to count everyone you're inviting, and figure that 80% will show up if most of them are in town and it's a good-weather time of year, but not too hot. About 70% will show up if there are a lot of out-of-towners, if it's too hot, or if it's a bad-weather time of year. If it's two or three you might get 60%. Oh, and time of night makes a difference too. Some people don't like to be out after dark. Really, you just have to give it your best guess, make RSVP-ing easy, and then still contact the non-responders. RSVP cards are good, but I think it's also helpful to include a phone number and especially an email address for them to respond to. I wish there was a polite way to say, "RSVP if you want to eat." I'll certainly post it here if I figure it out. Is it critical that you have an accurate guest count? Yes, very. It makes your guests very uncomfortable when there is not enough seating and they will be grouchy about it. It also means you are likely to run out of food and be charged dearly by the caterer for making them look bad. If your invitees are horrible about RSVP'ing then you're going to have to take the extra step of contacting them by email or phone and asking them if they are going to be able to come or not. You need to know at least two weeks before your event and four is preferable. I know people around here hate to commit to plans but this is a WEDDING, not a bbq in someone's backyard. Trying to change your numbers at the last minute is like trying to turn a cruise ship on a dime - it is going to be messy and expensive if it can even be done! Head Table - Our layout does not lend itself to a "head table" where the bridal party is all seated on one side of a long table facing the crowd. We choose instead to put out a bridal party table on the edge of the dance floor. Considering how little time you'll spend sitting down this table can seat up to 12 if you really like each other. For groups of 120 or less we can put together two tables for roomier seating or bigger bridal parties. Another good option is to seat the bride, groom, best man, maid of honor, & their dates at the bridal party table and reserve another table nearby for the rest of the bridal party, especially if they have significant others they'd like to sit with during the event. We also have an intimate table for two for the bride & groom if that suits your style. Toasts are generally done at the cake table, which we find works much better than doing them at a head table long since demolished by empty plates and cups. Hours & Time - Dance Street only books one full event per day. Your time block can be anywhere from 11:00am to Midnight. The Midnight to 1am hour is an additional $250. Your time block is all inclusive and must allow for vendor set up & take down, your beverage & supply drop off, and your clean up (packing up gifts, leftovers, and any added decorations.) The seven hour block for reception-only rentals generally breaks down into 2 hours for set up, 4 hours for the party, & 1 hour for clean up. This seems to be just the right amount of time for most groups. Remember, you've had a really long, exciting day & will probably be very ready to go by the end! If you're doing the ceremony as well we add one additional picture hour the day of the event as well as a one-hour rehearsal the week before. Extra consecutive hours, up to 2, are available for $150 each ($250 Midnight-1am.) Very few events ever need this, but it may be necessary if you plan on having any family members set up food, cake, or music, or if your ceremony is far away or fairly long. Our 7 hour time block is based on a calculation that is driving time + ceremony = one hour (or less). This is very reasonable when you consider our central location that is about 15 minutes from almost everywhere. Truly, extra time is rarely necessary. (With the Package-Lite extra hours are $200 each up and available until Midnight only.) The one instance where you MUST book the 12-1am hour is if you choose the 7:30pm ceremony at St. Al's. From experience we know that this doesn't give you enough time for a decent reception without booking the extra time. DROP-OFF - We're happy to take in a bin with your toasting glasses, cake cutting set, guest book/signature mat/pen, favors, and cake plates/napkins/forks a few days before your reception. It gives us peace of mind to have these smaller, important items already here so that we can get them arranged where they belong.
Music
- We also offer DJ'd music with full coordination services. This means that we'll coordinate with your
other vendors during the event, make all of the announcements such
as your arrival, when it's time to eat, toast, cut cake, etc., the
special dances, and anything else guests need to be informed of
during the event (e.g. turning off cell phones before the ceremony.)
We'll play ceremony, dinner, and dance music, and are happy to
integrate any special songs you may want to hear. The majority
of our weddings have hired us to perform this service over the past
many years, so you can feel confident that our skill set is up to
par. If you'd prefer to hire an outside DJ you
are more than welcome to do so! Please see the list of
"Preferred DJs" to ensure that you
get a professional.
Our DJ/MC services are included in the Perfect Day Wedding Package &
Package-Lite. Out of Town / Destination Weddings - We're here to help. I've done one of these myself, and held enough here to know what special challenges you'll face. We're happy to share all of our tips for making things go as smoothly as possible. Pictures - Before or after? Most couples are now choosing to do all of their formal pictures before the ceremony. You'll still get that "first look" moment, it just won't be in front of all of your guests. It actually gives you the option of having that moment be just between the two of you and your photographer. It also allows your photographer to capture that moment with both of you in the picture instead of having to choose between you. Taking your pictures before the ceremony lets you get all of the pictures you want without the stress of rushing through them to get to your reception, and allows you to fully enjoy the moment. In our opinion this is absolutely the way to go. Just make sure you're on time! Most photographers want 2 full hours of picture taking for medium sized groups: not-too-extended immediate families, 2-4 attendants on each side, plus a flower girl & ring bearer. Some couples are very set on not seeing each other until she walks down the aisle. Keep in mind that the bulk of your pictures will involve both of you, as well as family members and the bridal party, so the "just the ones with both of us" segment will take at LEAST an hour. This can be arranged, but in order to not sabotage your reception too much keep two things in mind: feed & refresh your guests while they wait, and make sure your ceremony and reception are in two separate locations. Why separate? The well-wishing of your guests will keep you from getting your pictures taken if you stay in the same place for the ceremony, pictures, and reception. The one exception would be summer weddings where you can disappear to nearby outdoor-picture areas (like Riverfront Park and the Arena grounds near the Dance Street Ballroom.) This is not a practical option in the winter! Reservations - A $700 initial payment will secure your date with us and is non-refundable. This is applied to your total bill. The final payment and $500 damage/overtime deposit are due at least 15 days before your event. There's an additional $200 damage deposit for chocolate fountains. Dance Street does not accept debit or credit cards - sorry! In case of a medical or military emergency, you may reschedule the same event for a new date which is within one year of your original date, excluding holidays as well as Saturdays from May-October. Current rates will apply to rescheduled events. Only one such rescheduling may take place. Please understand that we only have so many dates available, and when someone cancels a date it is very rare to re-book it. This is why your initial deposit is absolutely non-refundable. The Packages both require a $2,000 deposit since these are distributed amongst multiple vendors. Smoking - Dance Street is, and always has been, a non-smoking facility. Smoking is permitted outdoors, 25 feet away from any entrance, as per the Washington Clean Indoor Air Act. Please remember that smoking directly outside the doors is pointless - it still comes straight back inside the facility. We appreciate it when you encourage your smoking friends and family to be considerate in this matter. THROWABLES - Silly string, party poppers, confetti, birdseed, rice (in any form), & flower petals are not allowed. Basically, anything that can be seen the next day is on the Forbidden Substances list. Bubbles, glow sticks, bells & party horns are all good suggestions for "going away". We would also like to see someone try a "Just Married" banner (perforated) for the couple to run through. Sparklers are also fun but illegal, fyi. If you use them please put someone in charge of making sure they are cleaned up properly. We're happy to provide a bucket of water to cool them off before disposal. Wedding receptions at the Dance Street Ballroom Reception Facility in Spokane, WA are generally suited to couples who want a classy, welcoming, pretty place to have a great time with their family and friends. We want to help you create wonderful memories of who celebrated with you, not of the exact shade of celadon in the centerpiece greenery. If your decorations are the primary issue on your mind we are probably not the right venue for you. If you are most concerned about who's coming, what they're going to eat, & whether the music will be fun then we are quite likely the right place for you! We hope you found this information helpful, and if you think the Dance Street Ballroom event venue may be the perfect place for your Spokane reception then we look forward to hearing from you and giving you a tour. Thanks for reading this far!
Amanda Hansen,
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