Tell me about the weddings you've been to that did not include dancing, please.

lt470 · September 2023

Neither my fiance nor I enjoy dancing. I do think weddings are about hospitality and thinking of guests, but as the bride and groom, I also anticipate that if we offer dancing, there will be a lot of attempted coaxing to get us on the dance floor, etc. So: I'm just not interested. I recognize some people may leave early if there's no dancing, and that's fine.

However, I really haven't been to any weddings that don't include dancing, so I'm having trouble envisioning what that looks like.

We've only just begun the planning process, so we're pretty much open to whatever. It will likely be a fairly small gathering (30-50 people).

banana468 · September 2023

They are generally shorter and likely in the afternoon. Could you do an afternoon luncheon?

MyNameIsNot · September 2023

I've been to a couple of afternoon things that didn't have dancing, and one that was more like a cocktail party. The easiest thing is to not have a dance floor or music that promotes dancing. You could do some other type of entertainment (I'm thinking along the lines of lawn games for a picnic wedding), but you have to be careful with games.

I, for one, would love to go to a smallish wedding that was a fancy dinner party and then a bit of socializing after. For something more casual, I could see an outdoor event with bonfire after dinner.

maine7mob · September 2023

Neither my wedding, nor my daughter's, had dancing. Both were afternoon weddings. I do think that if you have an evening reception, dancing will be expected, so if you really want to avoid it, have a brunch or lunch time wedding instead.

One unexpected bonus in this is that your alcohol bill will probably be lower. I debated for weeks about whether to pay the flat rate per guest for my daughter's bar but then went with the per drink rate instead. I was kind of expecting a super high bill, because I didn't know how much people would drink, but we definitely saved money paying by the drink. I did tip on the higher flat rate, but even then, it was less than expected.

ei34 · September 2023

A delicious meal and an open bar won’t have many guests missing dancing. I attended two no-dance weddings in the last few years- one was in the afternoon and was quicker (maybe 2.5 hours?) and the other was in the evening but at a restaurant in a private room with no dance floor. Both did have music (a string quartet and a 3-piece jazz ensemble) but no one seemed to miss dancing.

Fwiw I’ve never been to a wedding with any activities other than a photo booth. Plenty of good food, drinks, sit your guests with fellow guests they like…that’s really enough.

MesmrEwe · September 2023

I've been to a number of weddings without a dance.. I noticed that at least the ones I attended, people weren't leaving early (Usually the second dinner is over) because a DJ was far too loud however people left at a reasonably appropriate time FWIW (that 9-10PM split)... The family these involved were more of a mingling type family rather than one that would stick around to dance so it really was a "know your crowd" type preference as well.

Also, for a couple of them, they did do a simple "first dance" using their own computer/speaker in sort of the transition time between dinner/dessert being served which was appreciated. They also had a couple decks of cards, glow necklaces, snacks, simple games, etc. available..

Tell me about the weddings you've been to that did not include dancing, please.

Re: Tell me about the weddings you've been to that did not include dancing, please.

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