“Wedding etiquette” often sees the bridal party share a dance during the reception. Typically, this comes after the bride and groom’s first dance, the father/daughter dance and the mother/son dance, according to the American Wedding.
Some couples even choose to have the maid of honor and other bridesmaids dance with the groom and best man and other groomsmen dance with the bride, Wedding Forward reports.
However, these traditions have fallen by the wayside in recent years as many couples feel it is awkward and unnecessary to pair what can sometimes be complete strangers. Also formal wedding dances take up a lot of time, and guests often become bored and want to get to social and hit the dance floor themselves.
If you’re considering nixing the bridal party dance, here are some alternatives we’ve seen over the years:
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- Invite your bridal party to dance with their dates rather than their corresponding bridesmaid/groomsman.
- Host an anniversary dance. Have the DJ invite all married couples to the dance floor. Every so often, the DJ will narrow down the couples left on the dance floor by dismissing those married less than a day (that’s you!), one year, two years, etc. until you’re left with the couple married the longest.
- Have your bridal party perform a dance routine. While it can be hard to coordinate schedules for rehearsal, a dance routine puts less pressure on individuals to dance with a stranger. Check out our blog on the best songs for a choreographed dance routine!
- Skip it all together! Complete other dances of your choice (father/daughter, mother/son, etc.) then ask the DJ to invite everyone to the dance floor with a crowd-pleasing first song!
Bottom line: You don’t need to have a bridal party dance. Skip the awkwardness and do whatever works for you in its place!
And to learn more about how brides are “bucking tradition,” read our blogs on flowers, first dances, rings, wedding cakes, the bouquet toss, the garter toss and whether white is always right.
