A reception with no dancing?????

[nobya blanks]

Hello Ladies, Question:

So I have been to several wedding, most of which, the ceremony is held at a church and the reception held at a banquet hall or someplace where they can dance. I have only been to two or three weddings where both the ceremony and reception were at a church and it was soooo long ago that I was way too young to remember the details.

What do you do (activity wise) at a reception held in a church that keeps the guest interested and make the reception not so lame.

I know the cake cutting, the toast, the food, bouquet/garter toss, but in between time????????...................................... ........
Everyone always looks forward to the dancing, what have you guys experienced or what are your ideas?

[Kelly1Mickey]

I have been to one wedding where there was no dancing...and barely any music. THey just had a tiny boombox in the cornner that you couldn't hear if you were more than 5 feet away. It was absolutely the worst reception I have ever been to.

So, my suggestions are (1) good background music...for our cocktail hour we plan on playing stuff like Norah Jones, Harry Connick Jr., Sinatra, etc.
(2) something to get the conversation started. We plan on naming our tables after something important in our lives and then having a short explanation. You could also incorporate something with trivia about the 2 of you.
(3) Do you have any really great story tellers in the family? You could ask a few people to make a 'speech' or something to that effect.
(4) Ask your bridal party to help you keep people mingling.
(5) Think carefully about your seating arrangement. Seat people together that you think would interest each other and have something in common to talk about.

[lyndsaynicole]

I'm not trying to sound naive but I need to ask-is that a common church thing that you can't have dancing and music?? Cuz I know other people have said they are having the reception at a church and there is no dancing. Why would that be a big deal to a church? I can't see having a wedding reception with no dancing-no first dance, no father/daughter dance? I just think it's sorta strange.

[rachmc]

Hello Ladies, Question:

So I have been to several wedding, most of which, the ceremony is held at a church and the reception held at a banquet hall or someplace where they can dance. I have only been to two or three weddings where both the ceremony and reception were at a church and it was soooo long ago that I was way too young to remember the details.

What do you do (activity wise) at a reception held in a church that keeps the guest interested and make the reception not so lame.

I know the cake cutting, the toast, the food, bouquet/garter toss, but in between time????????...................................... ........
Everyone always looks forward to the dancing, what have you guys experienced or what are your ideas?



Well, I can tell you from experience that you don't have to have dancing. At my reception I had classical music playing throughout the night and instead of dancing we played a power point presentation with pics of us when we were growing up set to our song " When God Made you" I didn't have any complaints.

[ca_dawson]

I'm not trying to sound naive but I need to ask-is that a common church thing that you can't have dancing and music?? Cuz I know other people have said they are having the reception at a church and there is no dancing. Why would that be a big deal to a church? I can't see having a wedding reception with no dancing-no first dance, no father/daughter dance? I just think it's sorta strange.
It's usually a religious thing. I know for Baptists it's against the rules. In the baptist religion you are not supposed to drink, smoke or dance. Not really sure of the root behind it.

[nobya blanks]

yes, Its a church thing. although I am partly perplexed because it is perfectly fine to have a love song/songs sang in the ceremony at a church. but most churches will not even let you play love songs during the reception because it encourages people dance. However at my church my pastor allows the frist dance and the father daughter dance but Its the whole audience/dance floor thing because its a different type of dance.

Like I know one of my favorite dance songs at a wedding is the Cha Cha slide and the Stepping game ( R. Kelly) and those are the types of songs people usually dance to at receptions, if its a party type crowd. so its considered inappropriate.

I guess if I have soft music to play it would be okay. Like stevie wonder, celine dion, babyface, norah jones, etc it would be okay, but I would have to check with my pastor but I know the audience dancing is OUT!

Any other activities I could be missing??

[rachmc]

It's usually a religious thing. I know for Baptists it's against the rules. In the baptist religion you are not supposed to drink, smoke or dance. Not really sure of the root behind it.


It is definitly a baptist thing but not all baptist believe the same way. Our pastor would not allow us to dance but we would have. The whole no smoking or drinking that is something we believe is not good for your health and In the bible it states that your body is a temple of the holy spirit (if you are saved he lives within you) and you should not defile it. But like I said not everyone believes in it or practices it.

[alley06]

At my cousin's wedding, they just had back ground music playing. You either need to make sure you have a 5 disc cd changer or have someone who is in charge of it making sure that they change the CD when it needs to be changed. There's nothing wrong with that. It was a small wedding though, less than 100 people. Everyone just mingled with each other. You can make sure that there are toasts and stuff. Maybe some wedding games that you could get the guests involved in.

[bambie215]

It is definitly a baptist thing but not all baptist believe the same way. Our pastor would not allow us to dance but we would have. The whole no smoking or drinking that is something we believe is not good for your health and In the bible it states that your body is a temple of the holy spirit (if you are saved he lives within you) and you should not defile it. But like I said not everyone believes in it or practices it.

Well it's nice to know that someone believes that way still! I agree!!