Dollar Dance

last time i answered this question i got attacked....butttt i do feel that it is tacky HOWEVER it is a tradition for some backgrounds and it is expected to be at the wedding just like it is expected of you to cut the cake and be announced in etc.

if it is not a tradition of your culture then i would say dont do it, it is tacky. but if it is for cultural/religious reasons than no it isnt tacky it is honoring where you came from

Not a fan, but I know it can be a cultural/geographical thing.
Edited for grammar

I did the dollar dance for my sweet 16. My dJ just busted out with it. I had no idea what was going on! lol. It was fun, people got up and gave me a couple of bucks to briefly dance w. me. I was in teh middle and everyone was around me. It only lasted a song. Nobody thought it was tacky. 1 dollar was clearly not going to make me rich or make a diff.


omg, I just remembered that my stupid DJ also made me sit down on a chair after the cake ...again I had no idea what was going on...when all of a sudden I was being carried on the chair from one end of the hall to the other. I was so freakin scared I kept screaming the whole time. LOL.... stupid DJ ./

obviously from the answers above, it's just not a New York thing. My cousin did it at her Pennsylvania Wedding 8 years ago. It was pretty popular there and actually cute to watch! Due to that, my sister (although in NY) decided to also have it done at her wedding 5 years ago. People actually did enjoy it a lot. Those who said on here that it's terrible to ask for more money, make me laugh. It's a dollar. You're not charging 50 bucks per second. It's just a cute little tradition, and the guests liked it a lot because it gave them a chance to have personal time with the bride & groom. I think they each got about 20 seconds. So that went over well....

As for me though, I considered it, but I don't think so. At first I told the DJ that I'd do it, but without the money. Even though I stand by what i said before ($1 is NOT a lot to ask for) I still felt a little weird being 'payed' to dance. lol. So I thought we'd do it without the money and just get that personal time with each guest who wants it (like the people at my sister's wedding seemed to really love). But as time went on, I just realized that I don't want ANY of it. I do think that it kind of IS tacky and it takes away from the other stuff you & the guests could be doing during that time. Plus i know FH is a little uncomfortable with the idea of dancing with possible 'strangers' on my side of the family. lol.

So really - you can do whatever you prefer and what you think your guests would enjoy. But like i said before, it's just not a New York thing, so mosts guests might be a little turned off or confused by it

p.s i wont stop the music ppl will just throw money at us

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Posted by MrsLarrea2B

I did the dollar dance for my sweet 16. My dJ just busted out with it. I had no idea what was going on! lol. It was fun, people got up and gave me a couple of bucks to briefly dance w. me. I was in teh middle and everyone was around me. It only lasted a song. Nobody thought it was tacky. 1 dollar was clearly not going to make me rich or make a diff.


omg, I just remembered that my stupid DJ also made me sit down on a chair after the cake ...again I had no idea what was going on...when all of a sudden I was being carried on the chair from one end of the hall to the other. I was so freakin scared I kept screaming the whole time. LOL.... stupid DJ ./

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Thats hilarious but wrong lol....i think the dollar dance is also tacky

It's not really done here because on in the NY metro area, people give money as gifts. Outside of the metro area where people give actual presents, it's common practice.

I say, do whatever you feel comfortable with. However, I've been to some weddings outside of the NY metro area where they have done it, and I'm not really comfortable with it, and never participated.

But, in the end, it's YOUR day do you what YOU want!

As far as I know, it is a polish tradition. My college roommate did it but she also had to ware a kerchief on her head while it was done.

otherwise, I think it is tacky same reason I wouldn't want my RH to put a tip jar out on the bar. These are my guest, they are giving me gifts and I am inviting them to a party. No need for them to spend money once they get there. No tips for valet either, we will take care of all that.

I had never seen this before, and then a few years ago me and FH went to his cousin's wedding in the middle of nowhere, PA.

They busted out this dollar dance, and I was horrified. I just thought it was painfully uncomfortable and tacky. I still remember saying to FH 'What they hell are they doing?' And he looked at me like I was an idiot ( a look he has perfected). He couldn't believe I had never heard of it.

If your family is from out of town, and they are accustomed to this, then by all means, do it. However, if they're from LI, chances are they are not familiar with it. And frankly, people pay so much money to go to these weddings (gift, hotel, etc), that I would feel grubby asking for a few more bucks.

I said I wouldn't do it becuase I would find it weird for people give me money to dance with me...lol, but if my DJ mentioned it, its a cultural thing and therefore it is NOT tacky. There might be some LI people who go to one of these weddings and while they might see it tacky its what their families do. My family has never herd of it...I am not sure if DH family does this, but if we were to do it I guarentee that majority of our family and friends would not think the word 'TACKY' but instead 'FUN' and like someone else mentioned $1 will not make anyone richer or poorer. I have been to some LI weddings and seeing some people they way they dress (guest) and even some bridemaids dresses are TACKY. One just have to keep in mind that these dresses, these 'games' are part of who the person is and their culture.

If you want to hear of a tacky story which happen in an all LI Wedding, a bellydancer went to perform. No most people especially the MOB knows that if you shower the bellydancer it's hers, because its her tip. Well the MOB asked the men to broom it up and put it in the bag the bellydancer then went to pick it up (she says it was well over $200) and the MOB said no this is for my daughter (the girl who contracted the bellydance). NOW THAT'S TACKY! My friend decided not to ruin the poor girls wedding by going up to ask for what belongs to her (TIPS). She has just made sure to add that any shower of money is her TIP in the contract.

Girl....are you serious?! The Mother of the Bride had the dancer's tips swept up and bagged?!?!


That sounds like something from a sitcom! I'm glad she wrote this into her contract.

Funny thing is I never heard of the DOLLAR DANCE until I came to LIW... BUT my FH cousin got married this past summer... at one point the DJ said.. ok.. who wants to dance with the Groom... lets get those dollars out.. it was Hilarious!!! everyone crowded around... maybe 3 people had a dollar and it was just funny!!! Never looked at it as tacky I guess because we were all DONE( DRUNK ) and MY FH even danced for the dollar dance for a moment.. lmao! It was hilarious.. he didnt really take the money... everyone just crowded around and held dollars in the air... lmao! it was just fun! The way its described on LIW is different.. It seems like people take it serious.. like you dance with the person and hand them the dollar and the person racks up with money... thats TACKY.. but I think for fun... for a moment.. but not a thought out dollar dance to get money... lmao...
THE MY FH GETTING DOWN ... LIKE I SAID.. THEY HELD DOLALRS IN THE AIR.. BUT HE DIDNT COLLECT THEM AND TAKE THEM HOME.. LMAO! I THINK AT THAT POINT ITS TACKY...

Its how its done.. if the music is stopped and some serious announcement is made... then its tacky!

HELLO EVERYONE... please gather around and take out your money..... this is the only way to dance with the groom... if we dont see a dollar place in the grooms hand you have to leave!


Come on... I cant imagine people really do it like that... or even really take the money... if yes THATS CRAZY!

Quia you cracked me up with the pic my DJ said that the $1 bills is taped to the wedding dress...I was like HELL NO, no tape is touching my wedding dress

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Posted by QUIA

Its how its done.. if the music is stopped and some serious announcement is made... then its tacky!

HELLO EVERYONE... please gather around and take out your money..... this is the only way to dance with the groom... if we dont see a dollar place in the grooms hand you have to leave!


Come on... I cant imagine people really do it like that... or even really take the money... if yes THATS CRAZY!

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that's not how it's done at all actually. At least not how I'VE seen it. There's usually a person collecting the dollar bills (like the MOH or BM) and it's all done in a funny, tasteful manner. It's not like people who don't have a dollar are turned away. Everybody who wants to dance with the bride & groom dances with them. But those who have a dollar, it's just funny to kinda swing it in the air, and then ya give it to them just as an extra little something. It's not meant to give the couple REAL spending money. It's just a game. In the OLD days, it was meant to help pay for the couple's honeymoon, but not anymore. It's just like every other tradition we see at weddings. They all came from some old idea that we don't necessarily 'follow' anymore. I mean back then, flowers were used for weddings because people didn't get to bathe often and having such a crowd in such close quarters required flowers to use as an 'air freshener'. Nowadays we take showers, but we still use to the bouquets because they're pretty. Look at everything else too - white was only to be worn by a completely chaste woman to represent her purity (the Garters too). In the old days, if you were not 'clean' or if you were previously married, then you had to wear a different color like cream, ivory, or off-white. I see a LOT of people wearing white to their weddings who technically should not be allowed. lol. So the dollar dance is just like any of those old traditions. It used to have a real custom behind it. Just because you don't wanna follow it's REASONING anymore, it's no reason to not participate in the fun if you're somebody who enjoys traditional things. And like i said in a prior post, a dollar is NOT a lot to ask for. And people don't HAVE TO give it. I, personally, am not going to be doing this at my own Wedding. But if somebody DOES want to, then I think they should. There's nothing wrong with adding some good old traditions into your wedding

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Posted by krislee316

tacky your guests are already giving you money and most likely a shower gift I think its a little much to ask for more

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All the out of state weddings I have attended, most guests do not give money and usualyl bring a gift from the registry. She may be having more out of state guests...