Your wedding reception; it’s the best, most memorable party you’ll ever attend. As tradition goes, you’ll eat, there’ll be speeches, mingling, photos and dancing. But what if dancing was removed?

Fear not! There are plenty of ways to host a fantastic wedding reception without dancing. “Impossible” some may say! Well…we’re here to prove them wrong.

Note: food is your best friend
To fill the night, food service can be stretched out or even better...add some extra courses to pass time (helloooo antipasto platters). Realistically, how many parties do you attend where you dance? Our guess is not many. Once you remove the expectation of dancing, the idea really is quite exciting rather than disappointing.

Our event coordinators at City Beach have come up with plenty of alternative ideas that will make sure all guests tumble out smiling (except maybe Aunt Cheryl who just wanted to Macarena).

If you want to amp-up the ‘party’ vibe, put on a show! Make your wedding stand out with a magician, contortionist or belly dancers! And if you’re a fan of the limelight yourself, don’t put on a show…BE the show! Prepare a comedy skit, a couple’s performance or bust a move on your way to the way to the bathroom – your guests will certainly be entertained.

Hot tip: this can extend to your guests – how about turn ‘Best boogie to the bathroom’ into a competition for the night?

And if you aren’t after such a high-energy atmosphere, invest in an acoustic live performer to set the tone for your special night. Just enough to get your guests bouncing in their seats but not enough for a full-blown Nutbush.

If you’re after a more sentimental pastime, invest in an ‘Anniversary piñata’. Guests leave messages, jokes, predictions, etc inside the piñata that is then sealed, to be popped on 1 year anniversary. Similarly, each guest can fill out an ‘advice card’ or ‘memory of the couple’ to be read out during the reception.

Our number 1 tip: Always invest in an MC. An MC will help your event run as smoothly as possible and will fill any empty time with entertainment. Most importantly, they’ll take the weight off your shoulders. They’ll take on the role of entertaining your guests, leaving you and your partner to enjoy your special day to the fullest.

Some of the super fun games our mc’s can facilitate for you are;
• The shoe game –sitting back to back, exchange one shoe. Our mc will ask you a list of questions “who is…” hold up the shoe to reflect your answer. Even more fun is audience participation.
• Wedding guest mad-libs. We’ll provide one card to each table and let your guests get creative! Your MC will read out the best cards at the end.
• Challenge your guests to see how well they can interpret emojis, with our “Guess the wedding movie emoji” card. We have seen some crazy answers here – guaranteed a laugh!

In case you’re still not convinced, who could say no to an all-in quiz about the couple, ‘heads or tails’ edition?  Every guest participates in a battle to find out who knows the bride and groom best. Champion gets a drink on the couple (oh wait… maybe they just get the glory!)!

Lastly, current rules state that you and your bridal party can dance. And if that's the only dancing happening all night, you better hope you guys are bringing the moves! Perhaps a girls vs boys dance-off, something more choreographed depicting your relationship through the ages or surprise your beau with a little routine just for them.

Above all else, dancing is just one component of what will be the most memorable, fun-filled day of your life. There are so many exciting alternatives to fill your wedding reception that’ll only make the day even more memorable. So relax, get crafty and enjoy your special day.

Cover image: credit to Splendid photography