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Original poster

Alternative to disco / band / dancing????

21 replies

cosmosforall · 29/07/2023 13:18

Hi all

Does anyone have any ideas or experience of an alternative 'activity' to the after food disco / band / dance?

I hate this bit at other weddings ( totally due to me - throwing no shade!) and was wondering what else we could do.

OP posts:
bellac11 · 29/07/2023 13:20

Have one of those italian or spanish groups that build a tower out of 50 people or something

hexsnidgett · 29/07/2023 13:22

There is no alternative, this is the best bit.Confused

HundredMilesAnHour · 29/07/2023 13:28

Hire a comedian instead?

cuckyplunt · 29/07/2023 13:29

You might hate it, but your guests will have a great time. Some things are traditional for a good reason.

hexsnidgett · 29/07/2023 13:30

If you provide another sort of entertainment, then that will stop your guests mingling and having a good time.

explainthistomeplease · 29/07/2023 13:31

Weddings are my only opportunity to cut up a rug these days. I love an apres wedding disco

PTSDBarbiegirl · 29/07/2023 13:31

Games? Get a party planner type. An activity that is led could be fun. Then have music in the background. I hate weddings and find all the expected parts strange and forced, which is why I decided against 2nd wedding. If I ever do it'll be with DP only.

LimeCheesecake · 29/07/2023 13:47

I’ve been to a wedding without a disco, but they got married late afternoon, long drinks reception with canapés, then a long sit down meal that went on until 9:30pm-ish, then moved to another room /bar with more drinks and chatting and a string quartet playing relatively quietly so we could hear to chat. Most people left around 11pm. Was a small wedding though, 25 people.

Original poster
cosmosforall · 29/07/2023 13:57

I totally here what you are all saying! The only other problem is that the potential venue, dance room is upstairs to the bar / garden so will peopl e actually go there as it's likely the majority of people will be a floor below. Empty dance floors at wedding make me so sad.

I think if we don't do a dance thing then we accept it's more likely to finish early etc.

OP posts:
StamppotAndGravy · 29/07/2023 14:10

Ceilidh or line dancing? Salsa teacher for an hour followed by salsa music? Alternatively scrap the tradition and do what you want to do. We went to one that was a whole afternoon of boardgames with a bbq. Hire a campsite and have a big bbq, fire pit and everyone had to bring a guitar? Goat yoga session? What do you find fun?

Augend23 · 29/07/2023 14:14

One wedding I went to had a room full of board games that people could sit down and join in for?

They had a band in the other room and most people moved between the two. It depends on your target guest list I think.

LadinLee · 29/07/2023 14:14

Ceilidh or barn dance. With a band and Caller to talk everyone through the steps. Great fun and everyone joins in and dances with multiple partners

minipie · 29/07/2023 14:17

I would be on the dance floor even if it was upstairs and just me OP 😆 I absolutely love dancing and don’t get the chance often!

May I ask what you don’t like about it, that might help with alternatives?

Growlybear83 · 29/07/2023 14:23

I couldn't face the thought of a disco and I doubt any of our friends would have appreciated it either. We hired the upstairs room in our local pub, our mothers did all the catering so we had lots of lovely food, plenty of wine and beer, and prerecorded several tapes with hours of our favourite heavy metal music. No-one complained and it went on for the best part of 12 hours until everything had run out. it's still by far the best wedding I've ever been to over 40 years later. 😆

aintnospringchicken · 29/07/2023 14:25

DH and I were at a wedding earlier this year where games of bingo and a quiz were arranged.It was great fun and a good laugh and the quiz was a great ice breaker if you didn't know everyone at your table.There was also the usual music and dancing

FeigningConcern · 29/07/2023 17:22

hexsnidgett · 29/07/2023 13:22

There is no alternative, this is the best bit.Confused

This.

Whataretheodds · 29/07/2023 17:25

What is it you hate about it, @cosmosforall ?

LaMarschallin · 29/07/2023 17:28

LadinLee · 29/07/2023 14:14

Ceilidh or barn dance. With a band and Caller to talk everyone through the steps. Great fun and everyone joins in and dances with multiple partners

I was thinking this too.
I've been to a few barn dances and they've been good fun and suit all ages.
But, like other posters, I find weddings are pretty much the only time to have a dance at my age and would be (silently, of course) disappointed not to get up for a minuette or Charleston or whatever the young people do these days...Wink

AccidentallySuckedTheStrippersDick · 29/07/2023 17:43

I went to a murder mystery party recently and it was AMAZING! It would totally suit an evening do at a wedding and you could still have disco music in the breaks and afterwards. Absurdly great fun and 100% memorable. The "play" was in two fifteen minute segments with a savoury buffet in between. Then pudding buffet after the murder in the second half. Then questions from the audience to the cast. The entire thing took around 90-120 Minutes and I thought it was a lovely way to stretch the buffet out, everybody there was raving about the company and a few went on to book them for various future events. It's probably the favourite thing I've been to since I saw Shakin Stevens as a teenager 😂

Original poster
cosmosforall · 29/07/2023 17:51

The reason I don't want a disco for me is that I can't dance and hate dancing!!! I will dance at a festival cos no one is looking!

I was going to book lessons if we did have a disco. But my reluctance coupled with the tricky venue layout made me think what else could I do!

Loving the alternative ideas everyone.

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