Is it ok to not to dance at the wedding reception?

Question

We are both from very religious families and no one would dance anyway. Should we dance anyway?

there is no rules in the religion that would prohibit this, it's more that our families wouldn't dance even if we hired a DJ and all that. We plan to have music playing and slide show. Any other ideas on entertainment?

Answer 1

I agree with the other answerers- if you don't care to dance, don't bother. Maybe after your slide show/grand entrance, the two of you could tell the story of how you met, or read a prayer together, or repeat your vows instead of having a dance.

You could even recite personal vows at that time. Like, instead of the traditional "to have and to hold" that you'll probably use in the ceremony, you could say vows like "I promise not to wake you up at 3:00am to squash a spider in the bathroom sink" or "I will not leave the house without giving you a hug."

Answer 2

I totally agree with everyone else when asking what dancing has to do with religion. Hopefully your family and friends would know better than to think they're in a music video while they're at a wedding reception!
You absolutely don't have to dance if you don't want to. I've been to many weddings/receptions where the couple simply had love songs playing in the background but didn't dance.
Good luck!

Answer 3

If nobody at the wedding would dance, what's the point of having a dance floor and DJ? I wouldn't have a dance at my wedding only because I don't like dancing! I've been to a lot of weddings that don't have dances at the receptions. There's no requirement if you don't want it.

Answer 4

No, it is not necessary, although expect it to be a short reception as well, since dancing usually follows dinner. You can merely state "Dinner reception" on your invitations and then arrange for some nice soft dinner music.

I attended one reception where the bride/groom had a dance but they specifically don't dance. So really, nobody was interested in dancing, because the bride/groom didn't want to.

Answer 5

I would very seriously doubt that not dancing at a wedding is associated with certain religions. My cousin is christian and they only did the first dance and no dancing after that but my other sister who is christian had dancing at her wedding. I think it all depends on the person and the family and friends.

Answer 6

I think you should do what you want at your wedding and take both digital stills and audio/videos of the whole affair so you remember it. You could even get a shot of you dancing, encircled by an audience of everyone else present. Plan lots of shots and edit them into a nice presentation you can send to your friends and relatives, post on the web, and view again every anniversary untill you are old together.

Answer 7

What's wrong with dancing. You are a married couple, holding each other close and dancing. It's not like you are two unmarried 18 year olds grinding to some rap song.

I think you'll be surprised that other people might follow along and dance with you.

Religious or not, dancing to a slow song is innocent.

Answer 8

We didn't have dancing at our wedding reception - not for religious issues but because no one in our families like to dance. We had nice music (i.e. Frank Sinatra) playing throughout and everyone liked it.

Answer 9

If nobody would be interested, why would you try to force it? I would recommend doing something else, though. How about putting together a slide show of both of you from children to now--they did this at a wedding I attended, and it was lovely and very well recieved.

Answer 10

What religion is against any and all dancing? That doens't make sense to me. I can understand not "dirty dancing" but ANY dancing?

I guess I can't really answer that without understanding the religion.