Money Dance.....traditional or tacky??

Ultimately, it's you guyses choice, but I would never do that. Your loved ones being there is a gift itself, and often they'll give you a wedding gift too. I would only consider a "money dance" to donate money to charity as I've seen in other situations. I've never seen it at a wedding.

We are not having one at our wedding. Its just not my kind of thing! Your going to get lots of answers on both sides of this one. It seems to depend on where you live and your friends. I personally have never seen or heard of a friend doing one.

If it's tradition, do it. I have never been to a wedding that didn't have one so the fact that it wasn't done by some people was new to me.

Yipes -- i had truly never heard of this before getting on this site... and i have been to a lot of weddings... i know several brides here have done them or are doing them... but i feel it is inappropriate. i think much of it depends on what your guests will expect and what the style of your event is. if it is a common practice in your area / family then it would be very different than it might be for others. - - if that makes sense...?

Thanks everyone. I'm starting to think it's a older tradition. It just feels a bit cheap. I'm gonna have to go with my man on this one and pass on the "traditionally tacky" money dance.

I used to agree with your FH, but according to all my friends, relatives, etc I've talked to - they all think its a really fun cute way that they can help contribute towards our honeymoon fund to give us a little spending money, plus it will be awesome to be able to see everyone and have some one on one time!

I'm not familiar with it, and if I attended a wedding that had it, I'd be slightly put off, as this isn't something common or even been done in our cirlce of friends and family. If it's very common on both sides, go for it.

Shannon....that's where I was torn! We are paying for everything by ourselves and will most likely not be able to afford any kind of honeymoon except maybe a weekend trip. So the extra $ would definately be appreciated and I like having a one on one visit with the guests. Decisions!!! Thank goodness this is just a small detail! haha

Never heard of it until WW wire, so it come downs to what your guests/family will expect, a lot of brides here says it's tradition, it's always been done at every wedding they attended, so in that case it is not tacky, but if most of your guests are unfamiliar with it (like mines), it would be extremely tacky to them.

And of course make sure both your FH's side and your side are okay with it, it may be tacky to his side and okay with yours, talk about it.

I agree with Mags and some other posters-- it depends a lot on your location and your family's traditions/culture. Some areas/cultures never do it, and for others it's expected.

FH and I had only seen it done at one other wedding, so we opted not to do it. Even still, a couple guests asked about it and said they had brought money specifically for it! But we wanted to be safe rather than sorry-- since it's not especially common here, I was afraid that hardly anyone would have had cash on them & it could have been a disaster! lol

I believe that "money dances" often stem from cultural traditions. I know I've heard it as a Polish tradition... and Wikipedia suggests it's most prominent in Eastern European traditions. I'm not positive, but I don't believe that gifts were historicially given along with the cash. Young Couples were assisted in the setup of their life either with cash or items, not both.

I might consider it if it has a strong tradition in the families.

Ive never been to a wedding that didnt do it. i didnt want to do one because i get so uncomfortable with hugs and what not and i didnt want everyone touching me, but my mom said everyone would be thrown off if i dont do it and that everyone looks foward to it where im from. everyone i know makes sure they bring dollars to wedding to participate. if ur fh is going to feel uncomfortable with it at all i would listen to him and just not do it.

Money dances vary by culture and region. In our culture, it is considered in bad taste mainly because most gifts that are given are cards with money in it.

If it is part of your tradition or culture and you are comfortable with it, go for it.

I did it for my first wedding and I am going to do it now. It's not even really about the $$ (although that is an awesome factor! My Ex and I got almost $700!!) but we are not going to have the time to do a receiving line so the dollar dance will make it so that we get to see a lot more guests one on one.

At my first wedding guys were going up to dance with my ex husband and they were dipping each other- it was quite humorous! It was also great because people would come up with $5, $10, and $20 and saying keep the change. It was great!

It is traditional in my family/where I grew up, but I never once considered including it in my reception. I personally think it's a little outdated and awkward. Plus, half of my guests would be puzzled by it.

I think you made the right choice in nixing it if you were already feeling iffy about it and your FH was uncomfortable with it.

I had never heard of it until recently on the WW forums, so it's not at all part of any culture or tradition I know. So that may be why I think it's incredibly tacky. No offense - I understand that I might feel differently if I was used to seeing it, but as it is....nope.

It is a tradition in my family and region however because my FH and family are not used to it we decided not do it. Plus, I personally don't like it (I don't think its tacky) but I don't like that it takes a while and I rather have all the guests dancing and having a good time rather than be standing up on line waiting to dance with me or FH.

If you're not comfortable with it, don't do it.

For people that have guests expecting it, then I think it's okay. But if it's not culturally relevant to you, it's best not to have it.

I've seen it done once where it was culturally relevant, but it was awkward. You get a few outgoing guests that jump at the bit to give money, followed by reluctant guests that feel obligated.

It's definitely not for the shy at heart.

I have never been to a wedding that didn't have one and didn't think anything of it until WW and it made me iffy on it. When I asked FH he said of course we are because he had never been to any that didn't have one either. I agree that it depends on comfort level and culture. I think I have seen on here that some brides were uncomfortable with the dollar dance because they didn't want to ask for money and instead just had a bride/ groom dance where you still get the same time with your guests without the expectation of cash.

Im not having the money dance... my MOH and FMIL insist that i should, but i dont feel comfortable with it. I hardly want to do the FIRST dance.. the dancing part is for everyone else, not FH and I!