Do I HAVE to have a dance?

Shaykitteh

My fiance hates dancing, and I don't really care of it myself... it's usually my least favorite part of a reception. 

I'm having a small wedding... only 50 people including the wedding party, and I don't really see the need to have a dance.  I'm thinking:  Good Food, Good Alcohol, Good Conversation, maybe some games...  Do I NEED a dance?  One of my coworkers has been giving me hell over the fact that I don't really want one.

Instead of a dance, what are some other fun ideas that peopel might enjoy?  Most of the group is going to be in their 20s or 30s with a few people in their 40s. amd then the parents.

dplett

I say no.  If its not something you would enjoy then why have it at your wedding?  Actually, almost no weddings in my area have dances.  Very few even have alcohol.  My fiance and I will be having a bit of a dance, not the typical dance into the night idea but we both really want to do the first dance and father/daughter etc.  So we'll dance for a little while and then head off to the honeymoon  
An important thing though is that the receptions that don't have dancing generally don't last nearly as long as the receptions that do.  These ones include the dinner, speaches, toasts, cake cutting and then guests mingle but usually leave soon after.  There just isn't a lot to do once its all done. 

Shaykitteh

The current plan after talking with friends and my fiance, is to have casino style games (blackjack, roulette, craps) as well as Board Games and Karaoke.  Prizes given out at the end of the night for the three people with the most chips left from the casino games.

Since the reception is mainly going to be family and close friends, I'm not worried about them leaving right away even if there is no dancing... in fact, our friends aren't really into the dancing so much anyway, so I think they'd be more likely to get bored and leave if there WAS just dancing.

nay1984

i would say it depends on weddings maybe your family is used to. i know i went to a wedding where they didnt really want a dance..so the band played jazz type music throughout the night...and a lot of werent that happy with it...because then after you ate you just sat around...so id say it depends on maybe what the guests are expecting as well bc you do want them to enjoy themselves too....

nay1984

i really like those ideas too...id say you want something for people to do so that they dont just want to leave....it doesnt have to be dancing

LesaAdams

I know how you feel about the dancing. I am not much of a dancer and either is my fiance but I am excited about having the dance with him as my husband and also dancing with my father. More importantly, I want to see others dancing and having fun. We are taking a dancing lesson to learn to dance to our wedding song. I think this will make me feel more prepared. I chose the song "I'll Be" By Edwin McCain as my song. So I know it will be easy and mellow for me to dance to.