The thought of the horror on my son’s face if the older generation participated in YMCA or Shout just made me giggle. Your crowd must be a lot more accepting of the older generation>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
::::::::shudder:::::::::: I sincerely hope we do NOT do these.
@VaBluebird why? They are fun…and take roughly total 8 minutes of time.
We won’t be doing the hora…or the bunny hop.
We had YMCA at the weddings I attended and all the everyone interested was welcome to participate–tots thru grandfather of bride in wheelchair. Everyone had a blast!
@thumper1, honestly, they are just soooooo outdated, IMO. We shall see.
I think that we the oldsters are much more fun than the youngsters 
We had “Shout” and “YMCA” but I absolutely refused to have the Hokey Pokey!
My thought on doing the YMCA makes it feel like a Bar Mitzvah not a wedding. For those who didn’t go to a bunch of Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties with a DJ doing the YMCA and the Electric Slide and Macarena they are probably fun.
I love a good hora.
SIL’s step dad is a musician and is going to play the guitar for son/mother dance ( a song he wrote) as well as our mother daughter dance. I am so touched by this personal touch.
One of the best weddings I ever attended had the Hokey Pokey. However, It was my youngest daughter’s 4th grade teacher and she invited the entire class and their mothers. Fancy reception at fancy downtown Dallas hotel. Bride hitched up her designer gown and danced the Hokey Pokey with her students. It was unforgettable.
At S1’s wedding, we did the hora and Shout, but absolutely no Macarena. Everyone got up for those 2 dances.
Argh, none of that stuff at our wedding. One of my favorite moments was when I told the band to STOP playing new York, New York and play Someone to Watch Over Me instead. The band clapped. 
We won’t be having New York New York…guaranteed. No Hokey Pokey either. NO hora.
But shout, YMCA, electric slide…those will be early so all of us oldsters can get out on the dance floor!
At my daughter’s wedding last October, we had about 125 guests between the ages of 23-33. Everyone else was 55 and up. The DJ company played a ton of line dances old and new as well as newer music that apparently has highly choreographed dance moves that follow the story line that all the younger crowd knew. Everyone was up on their feet all night long, young and old. The line dances added to the festive atmosphere and party synergy. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the bride (who is a group fitness class instructor and party event MC) more than once took over the microphone and led the crowd through the moves, lol.
When my cousin got married around 20 years ago, the hit of the reception was the chicken dance. Everyone had such a good time doing it (there were a lot of kids there). I think silly dances are fun!
By the way, bet none of y’all are going to have ululation at your kids’ weddings … we will! 
My older family believes it’s good luck to dance at a wedding. Go for it.
How much control does one have over the songs a DJ/Band places? I could see my kids wanting to dictate the entire playlist.
We are having a five piece band. They have hundreds of songs on their playlist, and will learn anything special tie wedding couple wants.
The wedding couple can pick anything they want…and the band will play it.
Same for the cocktail hour. We are having acoustic musicians…and they will play anything the wedding couple wants.
There will be quiet recorded music during dinner…and the band provides this as well. The wedding couple gets to,choose that too.
So @doschicos they have a LOT of control!
Any DJ or band worth their salt will accommodate the bride and groom’s desires for what gets played and what does not. They will also offer suggestions for how to pace the music and make selections that will help the affair flow from one part to the next and even for songs that are not appropriate. It would be crazy not to give serious consideration to their suggestions. You are paying for their expertise as event professionals and the good ones have played hundreds of affairs and know what they are doing.
My friend/boss was in a wedding band with some of his high school/college friends. They had all grown up and become lawyers and accountants and cops, but they liked the band, so they did one wedding per month, and also did a Christmas party/dance for a group of disabled adults. No new songs, no requests, you got what they knew. Take it or leave it. They had plenty of business so if you wanted something different, they’d just move on to the next request, no hard feelings.
Oh yes, we had the chicken dance also. Great video with grandparents, etc up dancing to it. I can’t remember what the song was at my sister’s wedding, but two of my daughters were heading to the restroom and one grabbed the other’s waist from behind. Next thing they knew they were leading an impromptu conga line and the bathroom trip was postponed.