Wedding Reception without Dancing?

The rundown:


We are having our ceremony at an adorable white chapel in Corona Del Mar, CA (Newport Beach) and our reception at Sorrento Grille, an amazing restaurant in Laguna Beach, CA. We have the restaurant to ourselves as we are buying out the venue. The restaurant oozes ambiance...it is very elegant with muted lighting, which is wonderful because we won't have to spend as much on decorations.





The Problem:


The restaurant can accomodate 75 guests comfortably. Our target attendance is 70. We could fit in a VERY small dance floor, but it would be cramped and awkward. We want to keep everything traditional (cake cutting, toasts, flower %26amp; garter toss) but want to cut out dancing and keep the reception under 2 1/2 hours. I think this would be an awesome reception, but my fiancee is hung up on the "no dancing" element. What do you think? How true is the old addage: "People will only remember what you had at your wedding, they won't remember what you didn't"?

Wedding Reception without Dancing?
i didn't have any dancing at my wedding and no one mentioned it negatively, only that we were not dancing people. :) not everyone likes dancing. do what you want at your reception and they will remember how happy you both were.





you would not want to force dancing if there is no room, that would be awkward. just do what is important to you, it sounds fine to me.
Reply:Your wedding sounds very nice. Considering the reception (time factor), don't think there would be enough time for dancing. How about a compromise of some sort? First dance (bride/groom), groom with Mom, bride with Dad, etc....? Open up the dance floor for a very limited amount of time in case you still have time after your toast, cake, garter toss.... Most likely not everyone will join you on the dance floor. But, a 1st dance for the two of you would be nice. Don't even need a DJ.
Reply:It sounds like fun, if you keep it under 2 1/2 hours like you said.
Reply:It's so okay not to have any dancing.. in most of the weddings i attended they never have dancing.. and in my wedding even if we will have a big place or a small place for the reception.. it won't matter coz i still don't want to have any dancing
Reply:you can have a pinata instead and musical chairs
Reply:If you dont have dancing I dont think itll be that big of a deal but if your fiancee wants it, you should consider it as it IS his wedding too.
Reply:The bridal tradition of dancing with her father, your tradition of dancing with your mother....your first dance together- these are moments that people close to your family anticiapte to see.





I can see, based on your venue size, that your limited to what you can do, but I would still try to fit the traditional dances in SOMEHOW. this could be a compromise with her- the most important dances,and thats it. No extra cost for a DJ or a band....those 3 dances could be played off an ipod.





As for as the old addage- I agree...kind of! I was at this wedding and they had.....ever hear that line when your finace was planning? People get thier ideas from other peoples weddings. Your guest will remember, but at the same time- a small guest list means more time you can spend visting with your guests, you dont see that often and that should be what hey remember most!





Good luck!
Reply:The wedding is more fun and memorable wit dancing...but, it really depends on what type of guests you have......If most of your guests are young, they probably would like the dancing element more...if you have older or business-type guests....no-dancing would be the way to go.
Reply:The addage is very true. I hate receptions without dancing. They are always really boring and I leave as soon as possible.





Does the resturant have a terrace or a lawn you can have dancing on? Perhaps after dinner remove a few of the tables to make room for the dancing since dinner is the only time people will all sit down at once.





Perhaps have an "after party" at another location like someone's home where you can have room to dance and party as long as you like after the dinner at the restaurant.





As it stands I think you should look for a slightly larger venue. When you are right at max like that it usually ends up stuffy and cramped, plus don't forget you are only leaving room for 5 unexpected guests.
Reply:If the rest of the reception is good - people will survive without the dancing. Most people don't care for it anyway, to much pressure to preform in public.





If he really wants it - is there a patio, nearby lawn area or beach area attached to the restuartant that could be used for dancing? Or, after the food is done, have some of the tables cleared away and just the chairs left around the edges to make a larger dancing area.
Reply:Know your guests. Do they like to dance or would they sit it out anyway? If the guests will be disappointed without dancing find a better venue to hold it in. It sounds like you may be crowding people into this place as it is. Plus, if your fiance wants dancing you should have it.





I know that at my wedding I had a ginormous dance floor. I'm guessing 20 x30 or bigger. The whole dance floor was filled all night long and everyone had a blast.
Reply:Dear Cooper,





Your idea sounds awesome. I have been to too many weddings where the bride and groom had dancing, and no one was on the dance floor. What a waste of money! Please tell your fiance this fact, and maybe he will change his mind.





When we married, we married in a small chapel, and did the flower and garter toss before the dinner. We did end up getting a "first dance" song since there was a band at the hotel we dined in, and everyone we started out dancing, and people cut in during the middle of the song. The restaurant we choose also had great ambiance, and I didn´t spend a dime on decorations-it was like we were in Paris, and the table was very pretty.





I think it´s true about that old addage, because the people that attended our wedding only reported back to my Grandma (she is 96, and was unable to attend) the great things, not the bad. I would have heard about the bad, as my family is open and honest!





If your fiance insists, there had got to be a place on Pacific HWY 1 with dancing-why not get a group of people to go dancing after dinner? This way, you only have to pay for the dinner, and not the DJ!
Reply:Easy fix. The invitation should be worded, "Dinner Following," and not "Reception Following." Good Luck
Reply:its up to you two. people these days concentrate on what they think is best. I've been to plenty that didn't have dancing. usually only the couples friends do the dancing. the relatives in my opinion start leaving as soon as it starts. of course there's the few that actually like it and stay. but I'd say 9 times out of ten the relatives start leaving.
Reply:I didn't have dancing at my reception either. My wedding was small and I thought it was nice to just visit everyone and meet and greet each other's families. I don't think it's a necessity since you will be doing everything else. Maybe just play one song for your first dance as a married couple. :)
Reply:When my husband and I married we didn't have a dance. We had the full dinner, cakes, bouquet and garter toss but we also had a pinata for the kids. That was so much fun thought I don't think that would fit your venue.





My husband and I are wedding photographers. When we married I moved to him in Wisconsin. Five years ago we moved back to Texas. There are lovely traditions in different parts of the country. I have to say, even though I was married in Texas and loved my reception I LOVE the ones we shot in Wisconsin. So much fun. Some had dances, many did not.





Often there was entertainment. The brides maids would have a song they had rehearsed and would sing for everyone. Often the groom's men. Many times the bride and groom would join the brides maids and groomsmen and they would all do a song and dance to some popular music. It was a ton of fun and lots of laughing.





One other thing that was done at almost every wedding in WI is someone would sing a song with the word "love" in it and when they did the bride and groom would have to stop what they were doing and kiss. This was done two different ways, most often there was a microphone set up somewhere or passed around and various people would sing an impromptu song with love OR an entire table would start signing. Usually it was just one or two that would sing into a mike. I heard everything from the theme from Love Boat to Jesus love me. It was always great fun.





Congratulations! Hope all works out for you.