Things to do besides dancing

Should your budget permit you can do a multi-course tasting menu with drink pairings. People tend to bond over food, and if you're not dancing you can turn the evening into a nice culinary experience that people will remember. This coupled with speeches, and stories can be quite intimate.

You could do games if your having it outside

My fiancé and I are big fans of board and table top games. I'm considering adding a couple of uncomplicated, casual games as table decorations for our small afternoon reception.

We're also planning on having a shorter reception because no one on either sides of our families really dances. About 2 hours.

ETA: typo

Karaoke

I think it is fine if you just plan on a shorter reception. We didn't have dancing at ours. Many of my relatives had to leave early, so DH and I did a dance, then took pictures with different groups, and then cut the cake all in pretty rapid succession. We had made a dance playlist, but by the time that was all over and relatives started leaving, really DH and I most wanted to catch up with some of our friends that we hadn't seen recently (and who had traveled a long way, so I wanted to make sure they knew their presence was noticed and appreciated!) DH and his friends are big into games, so I think they might have played some. We had originally planned on lawn games, but it rained all afternoon.

I think if you plan on having games, it's a good idea to cut the cake before that. Cutting the cake is a signal that people can leave without being rude, and since not everyone likes playing games, it would be polite to signal that they don't have to.

I was thinking of doing a brunch with just background music for my at hone reception, but no actual dancing.

We're trying to get an arcade section for our reception. We want to at least get the basketball game (two-so people can play against each other), so that's a fun option! My friend had a cirque de soleil show at his wedding. So maybe a sort of show as entertainment would be nice

There was very little dancing at the last wedding I went to. (Swing band.) There was plenty of beer and wine. We were perfectly entertained.

No dancing here. We are turning our venue into a theatre/piano bar.

Following this for ideas!

I hate hate hate dancing so am also looking for ideas as well. So far we'll be having a table with a giant Jenga set on it. We'll also have a selection of three different wines, giving it a wine tasting feel.

At other weddings, I've seen lawn games like cornhole, which is tons of fun. Maybe lawn bowling is another option too?

Is your family into taking pictures? Maybe a photobooth or a selfie station with props might be another option.

You don't have to have dancing! It's not a requirement! It's honestly only become a thing at weddings I've been to in the last 3-4 years. It just isn't that much of a thing in my area. There's nothing wrong with food and mingling!

ETA: my church doesn't allow dancing at receptions in its hall. Are you by any chance southern baptist?

We didn't have dancing either. It's just not our thing. We just had a shorter, more low-key reception, which was more our style.

My favorite part of weddings is catching up with people I haven't seen in awhile, or meeting mutual friends I have with the couple. Depending on how long you want your reception to be, I think you can get away with a nice dinner and cutting the cake, no entertainment needed.

This is one aspect of religion I don't get. No snark intended, but will someone please explain to me why "for religious reasons" you can't dance?

Mrs. Sasswood-- you aren't seriously asking for religion to make sense? You MUST be kidding! Can't eat pork. Can't eat beef two hours after drinking milk. Can't do work on the Sabbath. Can't eat beef on Friday. Can't have sex before marriage. Can't gamble. Can't lend money for interest. Can't drink alcohol. Can't drink caffeine. Can't smoke. Pick your religion, but they're all full of nonsensical restrictions.

No offense intended here- but most people expect dancing at a wedding. I understand if you have religious reasons, but incorporating things like karaoke and games just doesn't seem wedding like in my personal opinion. There is nothing wrong with a simple, short dinner reception to thank your guests for attending the ceremony. I personally wouldn't stick around for games and such.

Just wanted to know the rationalization behind this particular thing. There's a point Zoe, I swear lol

@Zoe... yesssssssssss

We too are not big dancers and our families aren't into dancing either. We are having a luncheon reception (getting married late morning) and we just plan on having music, food, a caricaturist, and then a little photo area with a backdrop and props :-)