# Wedding Poll: What Reception Traditions Are Exclusive / Common In Your Area? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wedding-poll-what-reception-traditions-are-exclusive-common-in-your-area/252879 "2004-06-30T13:57:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wedding-poll-what-reception-traditions-are-exclusive-common-in-your-area/252879/21 "2004-07-01T22:33:23Z")
> [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](#): > > At home (in Nebraska) there is this tradition that the bride will leave the reception for awhile, as will the groom. They are generally “kidnapped” by the members of of the wedding party (the bridesmaids “kidnap” the groom, the groomsmen “kidnap” the bride) and they’ll go to a few bars or something. These fancy-dressed people kind of pile in to the bar in to buy a shot and have a fuss made, and then haul ass to the next place. Eventually they all come back to the reception. > > I don’t know how this arose and it’s pretty dumb, but it’s not uncommon. I’m from a small town, and have seen it done in more than one small town. That’s common here too. We did it, and I’ve done it in all the weddings I’ve been in. My groomsmen made me crash a party in my wedding dress, drink Jagermeister shots, and sold kisses on my cheek (not those cheeks) for $1. One old man kissed me square on the lips and my best man almost beat him up. The guys were nice enough to carry me over a river of anti-freeze running along a curb. The groom usually gets kissed on the cheek by all the bridesmaids (who will be wearing bright lipstick). We do the dollar dance here, and it’s customary to auction off the garter. We didn’t auction the garter at our wedding because it seems to take up too much fun dancing time, so the groomsmen sold cards, which they ripped in half and put into a hat. The winner got the garter. We did do the dollar dance though. I like it because it gives the bride and groom a chance to dance with everyone, and it’s so hard to talk to all of your wedding guests otherwise. We generally have cash bars here. There’s almost always a happy hour when the groom’s family pays for the tab. There’s also a free keg. Since this is a very small-town area, most of the weddings are in churches (ours was outdoor), and the receptions are in community centers. We had our reception at a restaurant that has a nice banquet room with a dance floor. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wedding-poll-what-reception-traditions-are-exclusive-common-in-your-area/252879/22 "2004-07-02T00:49:40Z")
**I’ve seen couples spend-away a decent down payment on a house in order to dazzle and impress their guests for a day.** I hear ya. Why spend all that money putting on a 4-hour show for other people when you could, oh, buy a [Lexus](http://www.lexus.com/)\* instead? \*=my lust du jour ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wedding-poll-what-reception-traditions-are-exclusive-common-in-your-area/252879/23 "2004-07-02T14:48:40Z")
> [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](#): > > At home (in Nebraska) there is this tradition that the bride will leave the reception for awhile, as will the groom…These fancy-dressed people kind of pile in to the bar in to buy a shot and have a fuss made, and then haul ass to the next place. Eventually they all come back to the reception. OK…so instead of drinking and being fussed over by your friends and relatives, you drink with and get fussed over by total strangers. Makes sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wedding-poll-what-reception-traditions-are-exclusive-common-in-your-area/252879.md?page=1)