We had __________ instead of dancing at our reception. It was awesome!

April 9, 2013 12:23 PM

How do you entertain guests at a wedding reception if you don't have dancing? Is that even possible?

My fiancé and I are planning a 100ish-person wedding for early June and are going back and forth on the issue of a dance floor (our venue has a small one available if we want...or not if we don't). Neither of us enjoy dancing, and I actively hate it. My family won't dance, and my friends probably won't either. It's possible a very select few of his friends might want to. I would strongly prefer not to have a dance floor because I have no desire to deal with people pushing me to dance and I'm pretty sure that would happen; I am going to have enough of a hard time being the center of attention at the ceremony itself.

BUT- if you don't have dancing at a reception, what *do* you do? My husband-to-be is anxious about NOT having a dance floor because he worries a) that people will expect it and be disappointed we have removed even the option b) people will leave sooner than we'd like. The pile-on in this thread makes me a little worried that we'd have a straight-out revolt. We're having a fairly nice buffet-style dinner and drinks, but we'd hate for everybody to just bail after an hour. Ideas?

posted by charmedimsure to Society & Culture (53 answers total)

I went to a Karaoke wedding that was pretty fun.
posted by hollyanderbody at 12:26 PM on April 9, 2013

We had karaoke at our reception. Spontaneous dancing occurred along with fun songs being sang by individuals and groups, and everyone had a really great time. I was told by several people that ours was the first "actually fun" wedding they'd ever been to.
posted by erst at 12:28 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

I was just about to say Karaoke as well. Or what about a Vocal Jazz Quartet or some other non-dance-y musical entertainment?
posted by Lescha at 12:29 PM on April 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

I would strongly prefer not to have a dance floor because I have no desire to deal with people pushing me to dance and I'm pretty sure that would happen

I think I've actually been to multiple weddings at which, other than the First Dance (which you could simply skip over), there was dancing but the couple barely stepped onto the dance floor. You make the rounds to the tables; you talk to people; you find some time to actually eat. It really isn't that unusual for the couple to not dance very much; moving from "not much" to "not at all" doesn't seem like a big leap.
posted by Tomorrowful at 12:29 PM on April 9, 2013 [7 favorites]

My ex-husband and I had our wedding in a building in Connecticut that housed a historic horse and buggy style merry-go-round, which was on and rideable during the reception. People had a blast riding it over and over again. (There was also dancing, but the carousel definitely kept people amused enough that it wouldn't have been a problem if we'd set up the space without a dance floor area.)

I clicked on your profile to see your location, and hey, we share a birthday!
posted by jesourie at 12:31 PM on April 9, 2013

We had no dance floor. Our guests ate, talked to one another, ate, toasted one another, talked a little more, mingled, snuck outside for a smoke, took pictures, talked to each other. Basically, all the stuff people do at parties at places where there is no DJ and no dance floor.

Really, I don't think you need to worry that your guests won't know how to enjoy themselves if there isn't a dance floor.
posted by crush-onastick at 12:32 PM on April 9, 2013 [9 favorites]

I am a pastor. I have celebrated many weddings, and have attended many receptions. Here is my two cents:

My favorite wedding was like this:

- There was acoustic jazz (not the Electric Slide or the Funky Chicken)
- Some people danced to some (usually slow) songs.
- The rest of us enjoyed a leisurely meal with nice conversation where we could actually hear and understand each other.
- Cake
- Good drinks

It was refined and fun and no one went home with a headache or the Macarena stuck in their head.

YMMV. Congratulations!
posted by 4ster at 12:33 PM on April 9, 2013 [6 favorites]

They can talk to one another! Just make sure there are a lot of different spaces to mingle and talk (or even sit?), so people won't feel stuck at their tables. A mix of inside and outside space is good too.

Wait a while to serve them dessert and keep the bar open, and I suspect plenty of them will stick around.
posted by willbaude at 12:35 PM on April 9, 2013 [4 favorites]

My cousin's wedding last fall had one of those rented inflatable sumo wrestling rings, complete with sumo wrestling suits. Instead of their first dance, they had their first sumo wrestle. They also had a giant jenga game and then a big bonfire. (The party after the reception was outdoors at a beautiful park on the Mississippi. Your venue might not make these possible.) Pretty much, the guests would like some kind of possibly active, participatory entertainment for the evening. Dancing doesn't have to be it.
posted by jillithd at 12:36 PM on April 9, 2013 [4 favorites]

A friend of mine is having dueling pianos at her upcoming wedding, and guests will be encouraged to sing along (karaoke style). She's also talking about having board games, but to me that seems too closed-off.

If you're uncomfortable being the center of attention and worried that people will pressure you to dance, though, karaoke might be even worse than a dance floor!

I love weddings with dancing (partly because I never seem to go out dancing anywhere else nowadays), and I never notice whether the wedding couple are dancing or not (it seems like they usually end up dancing less than the average non-grandma guest). I think some of the advantages of having dancing are:
a) it gives guests something to do
b) it gives guests something to watch (other dancers)
c) it gives guests a chance to interact with each other and the couple for short, manageable snippets of time (since it is perfectly acceptable to leave the floor at the end of a song or even in the middle of a song)
So maybe keep that kind of stuff in mind when you're considering alternate entertainments.
posted by mskyle at 12:37 PM on April 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

My wedding was like the one 4ster described, but with traditional Celtic music instead of jazz. To this day, people tell me how nice it was to not have loud music.
posted by JoanArkham at 12:40 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Of the many weddings I've attended, only one or two had the usual DJ-with-dancing thing. But I'm a hippie nature lover, and most of the weddings I go to are of the nature-loving sort, often involving a bonfire and drum circle after dinner. And yes, even the couple's stuffy relatives in their chiffon dresses & heels or 3-piece suits all come sit around the fire with us and enjoy wine while chatting & listening to the rhythms. There are always compliments on how relaxed and enjoyable it is to do something out of the mainstream. Sometimes people get up and dance during the drumming, sometimes not. One of the coolest wedding receptions was held in a fixed-up barn and after dinner the bride and her closest friends, who were all in a belly-dancing troupe together, changed into their dance garb and did a dance routine onstage. This was followed by a mini talent show where the groom went up & performed a song to his new bride with his guitar then a few guests who were musically inclined each went up and did some sort of performance. There was no dance floor but the guests loved it and we still remember it 10+ years later.
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 12:40 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Is it outdoors? How about croquet, horseshoes, stuff like that?
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:41 PM on April 9, 2013 [12 favorites]

We had board games at our wedding and it was, indeed, awesome. We also had many very avid board gamers in our invite list, which presumably helped. My partner and I circulated from game to game to make sure we weren't neglecting anyone, and also spent some time just chatting with the folks who weren't into board games.

(The thing that everyone remembers, though, is the treehouse. Our venue had an enormous 5-story treehouse in which the guests played. It was as great as it sounds.)
posted by dorque at 12:42 PM on April 9, 2013 [4 favorites]

I think a small dancefloor is a good idea because it creates an outlet for people who don't want small talk and don't know many people at the wedding. My boyfriend and I do not go dancing. We dance at weddings. Partially because it's cheesy and fun in a way normal dancing isn't. Mostly because we've run out of things to say to the new folks at our table who are quite lovely, but we're introverts who can't handle that much small talk in one go.

I had a friend who saved money thinking the regular floor would be a decent dance floor. It was too slippery, and I didn't feel comfortable dancing. We graciously waited to tell the couple how grateful we were to be there, and slipped out at the 90 minute mark.

I want to emphasize Tomorrowful's point. If you spend five minutes with each guest, that's five hours. Even if you break it up into couples, you have legitimate commitments before you have time to dance if you don't want to.

Give your guests something to do during that time, so they don't disappear before you get to say "So great to see you!"
posted by politikitty at 12:44 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

I am the danciest person to ever dance. I have danced at every wedding I've ever been to in my life. Even the wedding where the bride and groom specifically did not create a dancefloor because they hated to dance. I am the theoretical person who would howl "No dancing?"

Here's the thing. If you have music, people who reallyreallyreally want to dance can and will do so. Whether or not there is a dance floor. Whether or not you are on it.

Also: are drinks open? That tends to keep people for a while if so.
posted by corb at 12:48 PM on April 9, 2013 [4 favorites]

My wedding had a keg, a ton of wine, barbecue, pie and music. There wasn't a real dancefloor, but some people danced anyway. Mostly people hung out and ate too much, and everyone says it was a great time.
posted by mchorn at 12:53 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best wedding ever was at a dim sum restaurant. We all sat at big tables, food and drinks arrived continuously, and the bridal party et al made the rounds a few times. A few toasts and all that.
posted by rhizome at 12:55 PM on April 9, 2013

We didn't have a DJ at our wedding, just a small duo (flute & harp) playing classical music for the ceremony and reception. People visited and wandered around. We did finish up fairly early (around 8:30 or 9 IIRC) but that was okay. It's your wedding... I think it's okay if you don't want dancing.
posted by tuesdayschild at 12:55 PM on April 9, 2013

We didn't do dancing at my wedding. We had:
+ Appetizers served before and directly after the ceremony.
+ A photobooth set up with a ton of silly props. This took up a lot of free time.
+ A dinner that came in stages & was passed around family style. (All Cajun foods)
+ Trivia cards that I made- questions ranging from personal bride & groom questions to trivia about the venue & the date. I did about 100 questions, printed 4 copies of each, and dispersed them over the tables.
+ Music playing lightly the whole time. No one wanted to dance.
+ A tree with handmade paper star ornaments that guests could write wishes for us on.
+ Toasts.
+ Cake cutting & serving.

The whole thing was about 3 hours long but it fleeeewww by. Basically we wanted a nice dinner party, so that is how the fashioned the reception.

I loved it. I wouldn't have changed a thing & the guests seemed really happy at the change of pace from "regular reception" stuff.
posted by haplesschild at 12:55 PM on April 9, 2013 [4 favorites]

biscotti and I had our reception-oid* in a pub in large part to prevent people from applying Pressure To Dance. Because we Do. Not. Dance.**

It was in a pub, so there was drinking and talking and darts and pool and whatnot. Good time was had by all.

corb's comment reminds me that we should also have had either (a) big signs with pictures of Grumpy Cat saying "NO" or (b) super soakers to deter hardcore dancers, since there is some chance that merely rendering dancing physically impossible might not deter all attempts.

*For immigration reasons we had to have our reception in Toronto before the wedding in NFNY.
**I sometimes perform the Valu Home Center Guy "dance," but only if stricken with inexplicable joy.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:58 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

I need to add though that the no dancing thing seems to be very specific to different parts of the country, religions, and family culture. I worked helping a wedding photographer in Las Vegas for a while & saw everything from people super pissed about no dancing to guests being offended that there was dancing.

You know your guests- do what makes you comfortable, but also decide on if this is the hill you want to die on if they MUST have dancing.
posted by haplesschild at 1:00 PM on April 9, 2013

Friend of mine had a softball game, friends of the bride vs. friends of the groom.

If the groom's team won, the bride would take his name. If the bride's team won, she would keep her own. (The groom's team was slaughtered, but she took his name anyway -- true love!)

Another wedding I went to had one of those hammer-bell things from the carnival. It was a HUGE hit.
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:02 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I'm a non-dancer, and when the dancing starts up at wedding receptions, it's usually the point where I think "how soon can we leave without seeming rude?" It's a no-win for me: dancing makes me feel self-conscious, and not dancing makes me feel like a poor sport. And whether or not I'm on the dance floor, there are automatically fewer people for me to chat with.

We didn't have dancing at our wedding; that was one of the first decisions I made, and it was absolutely the right choice. Maybe some people missed it, but not enough to complain. Mostly everyone was happy to mingle and eat and drink, which is how most grown-up parties go anyway.

If you decide to have a dance floor, or any substitute activities, have them be smallish and not in the middle of things, so that people can opt in without feeling like they're the center of attention, opt out without feeling like they're on the sidelines, or come and go as they please. Games like horseshoes (if you're outside) would be a great option.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:08 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

We had a five piece jazz band and people mingled and talked. It was fantastic. For various reasons we also did not have the drinking at our reception, but had a drinking party AFTER with our friends. Much preferred. A+++ would do again.
posted by Medieval Maven at 1:14 PM on April 9, 2013

We didn't have dancing at our wedding. It was an afternoon wedding and we weren't allowed amplified music (we did have a friend play guitar a little, but only when he felt like it). So, no dancing. No one seemed that bothered.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 1:16 PM on April 9, 2013

I've actually been to a lot of weddings that had no dancing and nothing to substitute for dancing. I've never heard anyone complain and never seen anyone attempt to dance somewhere wholly unsuitable for it. In fact, I've been to weddings with giant dancefloors and decent DJs where no-one danced.

Don't feel pressure to have "activities" for your guests. You've offered them an activity: the opportunity to share in your wedding and celebrate at a party. Be a good and gracious host: offer comfortable seating, good food, good drink, pleasant company and thank people for coming. You will have done all you need to do. Even for a wedding.
posted by crush-onastick at 1:17 PM on April 9, 2013 [3 favorites]

We had karaoke. It was amazing. Our photographer stayed to shoot the karaoke, and several of our friends still use the photos she took of them singing as their FB profile photos, 2 years after the wedding.

One note about karaoke though: You will likely still both need the dance floor and be pushed into one dance, because someone will sing a slow song and you'll be dragged into it. On the upside, your friends who also hate dancing will be spared and will thank you profusely.
posted by smoq at 1:22 PM on April 9, 2013

My fill in the blank was "a bourbon fountain"

That marriage didn't last so you can come to your own conclusions.
posted by MysticMCJ at 1:23 PM on April 9, 2013 [5 favorites]

We didn't want dancing. We had a string quartet play throughout the reception. It was beautiful.
posted by obol at 1:32 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Hula hoops. No, really, we had hula hoops and board games, and it was awesome.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 1:46 PM on April 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

I was recently at a gamer wedding where we played board games -- that was pretty awesome, and as long as you provide a mix of games so that everyone can find something they like, it's a fun for all ages thing.

A few years ago, I went to an outdoor wedding where the bride and groom provided frisbees and soccer balls and whatnot and we did outdoorsy picnicy things. That was pretty great, too.

I've heard tell of a field day wedding -- basically, the guests were organized and encouraged to do all the silly-ass things we did on field day as kids. Three-legged races, egg tosses, etc. I didn't attend that wedding, but it sounds fun!

I've also been to concert weddings, where a non-wedding band was brought in to do a show or where the friends of the bride and groom performed a show.

I'd far rather attend a wedding that wasn't focused on dancing, because that would mean I might actually be able to hear the people around me.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:57 PM on April 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

What about carnival games? I know the strength test was mentioned upthread, but it could be really fun to have some standard carnival games. I know at least one person who would refuse to leave if I had a skee-ball game available - yes, politikitty?

Add a popcorn stand, a cotton candy mixer, a photo booth, and some prizes (possibly wedding mementos?) and I think you've got a recipe for a really awesome wedding reception.
posted by jph at 2:02 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

The last wedding I went to had a dance floor that was empty the entire time and several of the friends I went with were of the "But I want to DANCE!" variety. They were going up to change the music on the iPod that a friend of the bride had set up and being a little obnoxious about trying to get people on the dance floor. It might be good to go all or nothing with the dancing so that people don't behave the way my friends did. If you do decide to have a small dance floor, make sure that someone is in charge of the music and playing what YOU want to hear. If you don't have a dance floor, maybe put up a cheerful sign about all the fun board games available or indicate in some other way that there won't be dancing so people don't pester you about it.

Honestly, if people are disappointed, they don't really have the right attitude about weddings. They should be coming to support and celebrate with you, not because they like to dance and don't make other opportunities to do it, which seems to be what many people in the other thread were saying.
posted by Colonel_Chappy at 2:04 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Honestly, if people are disappointed, they don't really have the right attitude about weddings. They should be coming to support and celebrate with you, not because they like to dance and don't make other opportunities to do it, which seems to be what many people in the other thread were saying.

IATWC. I was appalled at what I perceived as the entitlement of many of the comments in that other thread - that your wedding is about your guests, not you and your spouse. Sheesh. People older than kindergarten age need to accept that they aren't going to be slavishly catered to at every event they attend. (And people who try and fiddle with the iPod set up? Rude and tacky and worthy of being put on a "do not invite" list.)

There are lots of excellent suggestions in this thread (I love the idea of a merry-go-round! Is there such a thing as a bouncy castle for adults? That sounds like it might be fun, too!) and if you want to accommodate the must-dance crowd with a small space set aside for them, that is fine, but not necessary. And, of course, no-one can make you dance if you do not want to. Again, your wedding, and, of course, your boundaries, which you should feel free to enforce.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 2:40 PM on April 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

We rented a photobooth for our wedding. It wasn't meant to replace the dance floor but it took up a lot more time than I realized it would, which in your case could maybe be a feature, not a bug. We had a lot of goofy costuming--boas, masks, cheap props, etc.--set up in baskets for people to use, and after everyone had had a turn (the booth spit out 2 strips, one to place in our special sleeved guestbook and one for guests to keep) some guests pretty much spent the rest of the night in there playing around (we rented by time--the entire evening--not per strip, so).
posted by ifjuly at 2:48 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

And yeah, I've been to weddings where karaoke inadvertently took the place of dancing (doesn't need to be fancy--the best involved simply an iPod full of songs everybody knew, a stage, and a few microphones for group singing) and those were always a lot of fun.
posted by ifjuly at 2:50 PM on April 9, 2013

At my wedding, we were the only ones who danced (there was no dance floor; we were just having fun.) At my brother-in-law's wedding, no dance floor and no one minded; they had an outdoor wedding with a bunch of young kids in attendance, and it was more like a big picnic than anything. At a distant cousin's wedding, I would've missed dancing if they hadn't had it, because it was a massive affair where we barely knew anyone.

So I'd say judge the entertainment by the crowd and degree of formality you want; board games or a picnic style wedding are great if everybody already knows at least enough guests to chat with, but if you're flying in a lot of people who will be strangers to each other, try for some kind of centralized entertainment that people can watch, whether it's a band or something else.
posted by tautological at 2:56 PM on April 9, 2013

Really good food. No, seriously, REALLY REALLY REALLY good food. Unbelievably good food. I can still taste it (especially the cake) 7 years later, 2 years post-divorce.
posted by dmd at 3:26 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

When I got married five or so years ago, we had a photo booth, good food, a fire pit, and no dancing. People still tell me how much they loved it.
posted by smirkyfodder at 3:52 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Please do have something for people to do! I was at a dry wedding with no dancing & no music, everyone was done eating before the wedding party even started making their rounds to the dinner tables.

Most people left very early or cut in line since there wasn't anything else to do.
posted by TheAdamist at 4:13 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

We had a bunch of Icehouse pyramids on every table, along with some glass beads, so that people could play Zendo. Also a photo booth (I have no idea what happened to the photos), and some posters on the wall where people could post stories about us, and then vote with green/red stickers about whether they were true.
posted by novalis_dt at 4:30 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Photobooth! Or approximation with a backdrop and photographer. With lots of hilarious props. It seems overly done but honestly they're so much fun and it's lovely to get some nice shots with your good friends.
posted by barnone at 4:56 PM on April 9, 2013

Can you rethink your venue? I've been to lots of weddings without dancing, but they were in parks, in the daytime. These were casual, beautiful outdoor venues where people were mingling freely and behaving as though it were a dressed up picnic, basically. I agree that in a formal evening "reception" environment people are likely to leave early if there's no dancing.

In a daytime outdoor setting you can do croquet and such games as well.

Just FYI though, your premise is somewhat flawed -- if you're circulating and greeting your guests, you won't really have time to dance anyway, and as the bride you have the best excuse to say "I'm catching up with my guests" if anyone steps so far out of line as to nag you about it.
posted by fingersandtoes at 4:57 PM on April 9, 2013

We have two kinds of people hunts at our wedding a couple of weekends ago for those who didn't want to dance. We had a photo hunt (find a person doing this and take a picture), and a person hunt (find a person who...). Both got people mingling. It worked for our small wedding, but I dunno how it will do with bigger weddings.

We also had a hosted bar and great food (according to everyone), so there's that.
posted by patheral at 5:03 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

We had no dancing at our reception. We had none of the usual wedding rituals, either: no toasts, no garter, no bouquet toss, no throwing crap at the bride and groom as we left (in fact, we were the last to leave!). The reception was held at a local brewery, for a strict 3-hour block of time, and we had an iPod with a playlist that we'd created hooked up to the sound system in case anybody felt like getting up and dancing, but nobody did.

Our guests loved it. Many of our friend group don't dance (and the only way the non-dancers can be jollied into dancing is if the Time Warp is playing). At friends' wedding, if there's a bouquet toss, all the single women forced up to catch it just watch it fall to the ground instead of leaping after it (while the guys all fight to catch the garter), so I figured that nobody would care if I didn't toss it. We had board games available, but it turned out that nobody played any--the guests came from across the state and spent the time catching up with each other instead of doing anything else!

We also had a food truck for the dinner, so it was exceptionally low-key: dinner started when the food truck was ready to serve, and people just wandered up and got dinner whenever they were hungry. None of our families and close friends really wanted to stand up and make any speeches, and I didn't want to have to toast with alcohol as I'm prone to it triggering migraines, so we skipped all that.

Short version: it depends on your particular circle and your personal tastes and personalities. I think our friends and family would have been more surprised if we had a stereotypical wedding.
posted by telophase at 5:57 PM on April 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

We didn't have dancing or music at our reception. Instead, my husband and I really made an effort to visit with each table for a good chunk of time. A lot of our friends were from specific life periods and hadn't seen each other for a while, so it was a sort of reunion-y atmosphere. Maybe people were just being nice, but a lot of people said that having the opportunity to really catch up with (or in some cases meet) each other and us was a nice change from the usual quick receiving line and then loudness.

I also fully accept that our wedding was really weird and totally tailored to our bizarre preferences, and that we were ok with that and ran with it.
posted by charmcityblues at 6:45 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

One of my favorite weddings had the reception at a bowling alley (they rented out the bowling alley and paid for everyone to have shoe rentals & unlimited games for a set period of time). So much fun! But definitely depends on the age range of your guests/what they're up for and who you want to include - the older set basically did not attend the reception (which I think they wanted...there were some rocky parent relationships).
posted by rainbowbrite at 7:17 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

I went to a wedding where the bride and groom strenuously dislike dancing. They put Jenga on everyone's table, which was pretty fun. (And got increasingly competitive as the booze was a-flowin'.)
posted by Charity Garfein at 8:17 PM on April 9, 2013

I attended a wedding where there was an xbox kinect set up. The bride and groom did a guitar duel on Rock Band in lieu of a first dance. It was a lot of fun!
posted by hellopanda at 12:38 AM on April 10, 2013

I hate dancing at weddings. The most fun wedding I went to had...dancing. Stay with me here. They had a folk band who talked everyone through a bunch of traditional dances - grab your partner by the hand, back to back three times, swop with the person on your right, etc etc. Ok? Right now from the top with the music.....

It wasnt so much dancing as it was organised stomping. Nobody was forced to join in and each time a new song/routine was started, more and more people joined in. People who dont go out dancing dont know how to dance and so dont enjoy it, tell people what to do and suddenly all the pressure is off.

The success of this depends on hiring a band that does this sort of thing, ofc.
posted by Ness at 7:20 AM on April 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

We had a morning wedding, afternoon reception and no dancing. I'm not even sure if we had any music (it's been awhile).

I think it gave people a chance to talk without needing to shout at each other to be heard, and we were able to wander from table to table and make sure we saw everyone, rather than hoping to catch someone when they weren't dancing.

So yeah, you can do it without it being horrible.
posted by Lucinda at 8:13 AM on April 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: We ended up with no dance floor, and no other entertainment besides some background music at the reception. We had a great time just hanging out and chatting/eating/drinking until we ran out of time in the reception venue, and I think most of our guests did too. Of 95 people there, 2 extrovert dancers asked me why no dance floor with sad faces, and I stole Metroid Baby's response of, "Well, I usually try and find a way to leave when dancing starts at a wedding, and I didn't think that would be appropriate," which I think they understood.

Thanks, everyone!
posted by charmedimsure at 7:58 AM on June 19, 2013