Small Wedding with no dancing?

Have you considered a brunch wedding? You could do mimosas and bloody Mary's, no one would really be thinking of dancing and it would be a totally casual and relaxed vibe. I wanted to do one so bad but we decided on a dinner reception instead.

If you just want a quick reception, it's perfectly fine to have cake and punch (with or without alcohol) where your ceremony and reception start and end between meals.

Alternatively, a dinner reception is nice too! You could do it at a restaurant to save yourself the hassle of finding catering, a baker, a venue, and decor. It wouldn't be weird at all even if your families haven't met. You might be able to do smaller tables in a restaurant so you can seat people with others they know!

I love the Brunch idea. Just no virgin mimosas, ok?

We're doing the same. Small wedding with a dinner party style reception. No dancing but we will have musician playing background music. That's exactly what we want. We don't expect people to hang around all night since there won't be dancing but I don't think it'll be boring either. I actually think it'll be a great opportunity for our families to get to know each other a little better... or at least I hope that's the case.

We had a "cocktail reception" with about 60 guests.

It was in the afternoon (between lunch and dinner time). We had heavy apps, passed, stations, open bar, etc.

We had some music playing in the background and people drank, ate, and mingled. We didn't have dancing, because that's just not our crowd. We skipped bouquet toss, announcements, first dance, all that stuff. The reception lasted about 2.5 - 3 hours, and everyone really seemed to enjoy it including us (H and I are pretty introverted too).

I had a small wedding- no dancing. It was fine. I had a great play list (IMHO) and lots of booze- we had a really good time.

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I agree with brunch but you can definitely still do dinner without the dancing. There are plenty of restaurants with beautiful private rooms.

If your partner is worried about awkwardness at your wedding, could you hold a small dinner party before the wedding to introduce everyone?

We are doing a extended cocktail and diner. We are also "trying" to keep the wedding small (I wanted under 30 guest, agreed on 50 and send out 68 invites...sigh...) still NO dancing at our wedding but background music and (hopefully) plenty of laughs

It's ok not to have a dance. Previous posts have given several different great options.

We aren't interested in dancing either. But we know some of our guests may be, we are hiring an inexpensive DJ to play background music and leaving space at our reception for a dance floor, but not an obvious one if that makes sense. That way, if people start dancing the DJ can up the tempo of the music. Otherwise it'll just be a big relaxed dinner party. We're having lots of little fire pits and tons of lawn games to keep people entertained. Just an idea

Let vendors comment. They've seen tons of weddings, can't advertise and give great advice!

I have a similar situation and I know many people we are inviting that I feel aren't the dancing type. So I plan to have a more relaxed reception with just our favorite snacks and and foods, pizza being one of them. Lol. And I plan to have someone I know play some live music just to have a little entertainment/background music.

You could have it at a restaurant instead of a reception venue. Many restaurants have private function rooms for this purpose. Have dinner/toasts/candles and etc without the trappings of a wedding reception. I also like the brunch idea!

First - congratulations on getting ready to propose. I think an intimate dinner is great. I'd use it as an opportunity for folks to get to know each other.

We are having 38 guests; super intimate wedding. Just family and handful of friends. We are doing more of a dinner "reception"

I personally HATE being the center of attention and I am a full blown introvert. We are hiring a DJ to keep the schedule of things going and make announcements, as well as to handle some background music. We wanted more of a laid back reception were both families can interact and get to know each other rather than a huge party where we both would be uncomfortable. Don't worry about what anyone else says. As long as you both are happy with the decision and you are hosting the guests properly in my mind that is all that matters.

I'm doing same thing for my wedding. Having wedding in a nice restaurant in a private room a cocktail party and then dinner. We will have a string trio during the ceremony and cocktail party. Then during dinner we will have light jazz playing (sorta like on XM satellite radio Chill channel ). We will be in an adjacent private room and have plated dinner and a cake of course. So it's doable.

It's okay to skip the dancing and I don't think it will be as awkward as you think! I'm having an intimate wedding with 25 guests, most of which are family members that I know have zero interest in dancing. We will have a dinner reception immediately following the ceremony and our plan is to have light music playing in the background, nothing too popish or dance-like. Our families haven't met either, but we are serving alcohol to loosen them up a little. Plus, it's such a lighthearted occasion, I don't think anyone will have trouble coming out of their shells to mingle.

Oh my word! My guest list adventures are just like yours. Except it is probably going to be 67