A wedding without dancing

I'm having 50 guests and we are not having dancing but we are having a local band to play for 4 hours! I think it's better than nothing. Your wedding is really up to you but be considerate of other people feelings.

I wouldn't try to do anything 'instead of' dancing. Most dinner parties or cocktail parties don't include dancing, and people still have a great time. As long as there is good food, good alcohol, and good company, people will enjoy themselves.

Please tell me you're serving alcohol

I have been one of the 10 people dancing at a small wedding. dont care, i love to dance and dancing is what people do at weddings.

It sounds like FHs family wants to dance. I would compromise by having an Ipod with a good spotify playlist. those who want to dance can, and those who dont want to can mingle and watch

if you really want no dancing at all, I would have a brunch reception, cake & punch reception, or short cocktail reception. No matter what, it will be shorter. Even if you provide lawn games or other activities, most people wont stay very long after eating. ETA: if there is alcohol and some kind of music, some people will dance. no dancefloor required.

DH and I don't like dancing and my family isn't a dancing crowd so we skipped the dancing at the ceremony too. To combat that we actually had our reception at an awesome bowling alley. That way everyone at least had an activity while they were socializing and DH and I love to bowl. A lot of our family thought it was odd at first, but everyone ended up loving it. If you want to do something really nontraditional for the reception just do it (unless it's dangerous). All your family will come no matter what.

I've been to one and it was one of my favorite weddings I have been to. Just stand your ground.

I'd love to attend a wedding where no one dances. I like to talk, listen, and observe. Hate dancing. It also doesn't help that people have told me how bad of a dancer I am, so I just gave it up and now prefer to drink, eat, and find other non-dancers to hang out with (and I always find TONS). Most of my family feels the same. We have tons of large parties where no one ever dances. We sit, talk, and eat.

Don't let anyone make you feel bad because you're not doing exactly what they would do. If you have the power, I implore you to do what *you* want.

We're not having dancing because our Southern Baptist church venue won't allow it. I've been to numerous weddings and receptions there and not one person ever complained.

We made the choice to not leave anyone out that invested in our lives and has loved us at our best and worst. It was more important to us to be able to host (i.e. feed and give a place to sit) 250-300 people rather than have dancing because it was the only budget friendly option as the church is the one I grew up in. It's special to me but it's also free.

I love to dance. Some of my favorite pictures of FH and I are dancing at weddings but for us it wasn't worth cutting people from the guest list and they're going to be happy, fed, and celebrating with us regardless.

If your FILs really want dancing, a friend of mine did a rehearsal dinner with dancing. It didn't go late or anything but they danced for an hour or so. Maybe that's an option?

While you say only about 10 of your guests would actually dance, I feel like a lot of non-dancers end up dancing once they've had a few drinks. You could very easily end up with about half your guests wanting to dance. I personally would be bummed about no dancing, but if that's really what you want, keep it cocktail style and short and still have some music playing in the background (even if just for the ambiance).

I agree that you don't need dancing or other entertainment. You should think of a way to signal to guests that they don't need to stay in their seats through the formal dinner though and encourage them to mingle. Jessi's cocktail reception is a perfect way to do that. Also, I know everyone here hates not having assigned seats, but I think in your case open seating would encourage people to get up and socialize and not make it seem like have to stay in their assigned seat until the dancing starts. Just be sure to have more chairs than people.

My wedding is a cocktail style reception with dinner but no dance floor I mean if people want to start dancing randomly around go for it but no formal dancing area or set up

My FH HATES dancing, like absolutely hates it. He's pretty shy and they idea of anyone watching him stresses him out to no end. So, we are still doing a night reception, but it's only from seven to nine. Which is where I think you could go, just have the reception short and have it end earlier, that way if people want to dance, they can... just somewhere else. We are planning on passing the time with dinner, toasts, and then with background music we will just all greet our guests, we have a photobooth, and some fun games like madlibs and a "bride or groom" portion on our placemats. Just an idea! Good luck!!

Honestly, it's YOUR wedding so don't let anyone pressure you into doing something you aren't comfortable with.

ETA: Oh also, after reading other comments... she's not saying people CAN'T dance, they just aren't putting up places to dance. As in, if you wanna go get down to the background music... be her guest!

Also, dancing/notdancing does not make or break a wedding. It will still be lovely. I know mine will.

Jessica, I may be the lone voice on this, but I have been to two weddings with no dancing-- my mom's to my step-father three decades ago-- it was a lovely wedding, and people stayed and talked. And, just a week or two ago, went to another lovely wedding of a friend's daughter-- again, no dancing and it was lovely. If you and your FH don't want it, stand firm. This is your wedding, not your MILs, and whether you dance or not will not change how married you are at the end.

I think if you are going to do this, you should have a brunch style reception with food, cake cutting and toast. I don't think this type of event should go beyond 2 hours and people out of town should not be invited, only because I think it is unfair to make them travel for a 2 hour brunch event.

@Kari, my wedding was actually in VA. It was cold and rainy. As for the Saturday vs. Sunday thing, I actually thought hers was a Friday until I realized I was looking at the wrong year. Additionally, it has more to do with end time. Of course a reception on a Saturday going until 11 PM or later - you'd expect dancing. But if it ends at 8:30 or 9, as a dinner party would, then I don't see why anyone would expect dancing. You just have to make it clear on the invitation. We said "Dinner reception to follow" or something like that.

Personally, I think a Saturday is the perfect opportunity to have the non-dancing wedding you want, and then if people want more of a party - they can have an after party.

We are having a small wedding - 40 people. The dinner will be in a wine cellar where there is no room for dancing. So, it will be more of a dinner party setup. We will have a string quartet at the ceremony and cocktail hour for entertainment.

If you and your fiancé don't want dancing, then don't have dancing. Your guests should be there to support you on your special day and not to just be "entertained." Plan the wedding you both want, not your guests' idea of what a wedding should be.

@ Jessica M Hi! We are having VERY similar weddings. FH and I are inviting 33 guests. We are not having dancing. We don't dance, we know our crowd, they don't dance. We are having our ceremony, followed by a cocktail hour and dinner. We purposely are not calling it a reception as I think the word reception, when it comes to weddings, holds itself to certain expectations(dancing).

Stick to your guns, you don't need to hire entertainment.

EDIT: Adding addition info.

-we ARE serving alcohol(open bar with wine and beer)

- we hired a harpist for ceremony and cocktail hour

-during dinner/dessert their will be background music

-it's a Sunday wedding

We are having small also..35ish people... And none of them dance so we are doing music in the background also...it's fine in my opinion

I'm no help. My favorite part of a wedding is the dancing. Oh and the drinking.

My wedding we planned on dancing, cleared room for a dance floor and bam, barely anyone danced at all, they were more interested in socializing and hanging out by the bonfire. sometimes clearing a dance area is a huge waste of time. people have fun socializing too, you dont need games or weird events in order for people to enjoy themselves