page_title: Wedding reception
section_title: Dances
hierarchical_section_title: Wedding reception / Western culture / Dances
caption_attribution_description: Polski: 'Wesele Góralskie', zespół Wiyrchowianie. Dom Ludowy w Bukowinie Tatrzańskiej English: "Gorals' Wedding" folk performance at Dom Ludowy Theatre in Bukowina Tatrzańska - bride and groom dancing
context_page_description: A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple receive society, in the form of family and friends, for the first time as a married couple. Hosts provide their choice of food and drink, although a wedding cake is popular.
  Entertaining guests after a wedding ceremony is traditional in most societies, and can last anywhere from half an hour to many hours or even days. Most wedding receptions are made in the evening for dinner however, the couple may opt for a luncheon, brunch, or even afternoon tea. Ultimately the married couple chooses the details and location of the reception.
  In some cultures, separate wedding celebrations are held for the bride's and groom's families.
  Before receptions – a social event that is structured around a receiving line, and usually held in the afternoon, with only light refreshments – became popular, weddings were more typically celebrated with wedding breakfasts and wedding balls.
context_section_description: If there is dancing, the newly married couple typically open the dancing with their first dance.  When waltzing was popular, it was sometimes called a "bridal waltz" to a love song, although other dance styles are more commonly used now. The bride and groom might decide to choose a choreographed dance routine or other forms of dancing, like club, disco or even hip hop.
  Top 40 chart hits becoming an increasingly popular option for the first dance - the most popular first dance song at UK weddings in 2020 is You Got Me Thinking, a soft rock ballad by Joshua Radin. Now couples are increasingly booking DJs for their weddings. Before the wedding, the newlyweds choose a DJ and agree on a playlist with them. As a rule, the performance of the DJ takes place after the official traditional part.
  Traditionally, shortly after the dance begins, guests would promptly join in the dancing, in order of precedence, exactly like at any other ball.  In very recent times, some families have told guests to not start dancing until after watching a sometimes lengthy sequence of "special" dances.  For example, after the first dance, the newly married couple might dance with their parents and/or in-laws.  However, there is no requirement that any particular people dance at all, much less with any particular person, and no absolutely required order for the bridal couple, their families, or the bridal party to begin dancing in.
caption: "A Gorals' Wedding" – bride and groom dance
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