Forgo first dance and DJ?

Went to a wedding this summer almost exactly like you are describing. I thought it was still fun. Are your guests expecting to dance ? The wedding I went to had an iPad playing in the background softly and that was nice. There was no dancing except for the couples first dance. I think guests will definitely notice but it doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

I don't think you need to do a first dance but who will they request a song to if there is no dj? I wouldn't expect much dancing but thats up to you if you don't want much.

Besides venue choice, DJ was the second most important aspect for us. We both are dancers though so there is definitely bias but in my mind an emcee and DJ make the wedding. I would be devastated if there weren't any dancing lol.

We're not doing scheduled spotlight dances, but still are having a DJ the entire event. We'll pick out songs for the "spotlight dances" that we will tell him about in advance. If we decide to do them day of we'll just cue him at the time we want to do them. We're doing a more cocktail party style event without anything scheduled other than the ceremony and when the buffet opens. He'll be playing background music and eventually switch to dance music once everyone is properly cocktailed. That's what we're paying him for- to figure out when & how to go about all that so we don't have to worry about manning the sound system

I think it will really depend on if you're doing a smaller or larger wedding and if your families are dancers in general. My fiancé and I both know neither of our families are big on dancing, but I still really would like to dance with my FH and dad and FH would like to dance with his mother.

I point out the size because it can get really hectic when you have a larger amount of people with different music tastes and trying to find something that fits most everyone's tastes will be hard, which is why a lot of people hire DJs and emcees because they are good at reading the crowd and figuring out what genres to stick to and which ones to stay away from.

Even if you don't hire a DJ, someone will have to be in charge of the music (so guests can make requests) and you have to let them know that that's an option. I've been to a few weddings without social dancing (only first dance) or even no dancing at all and still had a good time mingling and chatting.

My wedding will have a first dance, family dance, and anniversary dance; however, the remainder of the time will be more dinner party atmosphere. We're still hiring a DJ to MC the evening and because they'll bring their own equipment.

FH and I were just talking about a wedding very much like this. The couple were Southern Baptists who didn't drink or dance. They chose to have a DJ but there was very little dancing (we had a rousing chicken dance, mostly lead by me) but still lots of fun.