Evening Reception Without Dancing?

JenniferC2010 · April 2010

I'm having a small 30-40 person wedding. We are going to have a 3 course dinner in a private dining room at a 5 star restaurant for the reception. FH and I aren't the dancey type so we decided against having dancing. We've vetoed the bouquet toss, garter toss and of course all the typical dances. I'm happy with that, but I have this feeling that people will get bored with dinner and conversation. I've never been to anyone else's wedding to have an example of what even goes on at receptions so...

Am I worrying needlessly?

saisongbird · April 2010

Just keep in mind that without dancing, people will probably leave sooner - so instead of a 5 hour reception, you're looking at maybe a 2-3 hour reception.

brandibooh · April 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_evening-reception-dancing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:46e3941a-26d1-44b2-ac8d-8479e3f0790cPost:d50c8c1f-2da3-479a-ba53-de94d09210c0">Re: Evening Reception Without Dancing?</a>:
[QUOTE]Just keep in mind that without dancing, people will probably leave sooner - <strong>so instead of a 5 hour reception, you're looking at maybe a 2-3 hour reception</strong>.
Posted by saisongbird[/QUOTE]

This.

JenniferC2010 · April 2010

Thanks ladies, I've already planned for this.

6:30 - 7:30 Cocktail hour while BP gets photos done
7:30 BP Arrives, dinner starts
9:00 cut cake and serve
I figure people will start leaving at 9:30 or after they are done with cake.
We'll stay till 10:30 if people are still hanging around. Restaurant closes at 11pm.

Mrs.B6302007 · April 2010

Your plan sounds great. With only 30-40 people, they'll be fine with dinner and socializing and cake.

danieliza1127 · April 2010

I think your plan sounds great for a small wedding in a restaurant. No worries!

mwhitson14 · April 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_evening-reception-dancing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:46e3941a-26d1-44b2-ac8d-8479e3f0790cPost:d7335dfa-8928-496d-9970-4f7a1674d098">Re: Evening Reception Without Dancing?</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks ladies, I've already planned for this. 6:30 - 7:30 Cocktail hour while BP gets photos done 7:30 BP Arrives, dinner starts 9:00 cut cake and serve I figure people will start leaving at 9:30 or after they are done with cake. We'll stay till 10:30 if people are still hanging around. Restaurant closes at 11pm.
Posted by JenniferC2010[/QUOTE]

This is basically how we did it. No one seemed bored, but they did leave pretty quickly after the cake cutting. Which was fine with us, we left early for our HM :)

2dBride · April 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_evening-reception-dancing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:46e3941a-26d1-44b2-ac8d-8479e3f0790cPost:9f0f6199-4e2a-4851-8de6-e50da9bf30e1">Re: Evening Reception Without Dancing?</a>:
[QUOTE]I think that your plan sounds fine. We had an afternoon reception with no dancing and when we left 3 hours later, most people were still there. The only thing I would recommend is being a little flexible with the cake cutting. If the natives seem to be getting restless, go ahead and cut the cake right after dinner, so that those who want to leave sooner than 9:30 can do so gracefully.
Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]Another alternative would be to have the cake cutting <em>before</em> dinner. That would give the staff the time to serve and plate the slices of cake, and deliver them to the guests right after dinner.

lalap69 · April 2010

As long as the music isn't too loud and the food is good, I see no issues.

keziah23 · April 2010

Thanks for posting this, we are planning on doing the same thing!

JenniferC2010 · April 2010

Thank you so much for reassuring me. I seem to fuss about the silliest things so far out yet.

Evening Reception Without Dancing?

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