I don't think we do that in England...

... seems to be my fiance's favorite phrase throughout this whole planning process.

So here's my question...  at the reception in England is there typically a Groom & Mother dance?

Has anyone else come across similar instances in the planning process?

Sometimes its frustrating... but now it is starting to get funny...

well, my wedding was in the states, so we did things i wanted to do from states weddings *but no garter garbage*

so no, it's not common to do a son, mom dance....but mine did....cause we were in america

people liked my wedding from england cause....it wasn't english!

I haven't heard of a MIL/SIL dance, but that being said, both cultures should be prepared to compromise so that the wedding can be special for both of you.   

well, my wedding was in the states, so we did things i wanted to do from states weddings *but no garter garbage*

i didn't want to do the garter thing either... but we were down at Portsmouth and he took me by Fratton Park and we found a garter with the Pompey crest on it... so we HAD to get it... it was too funny...

he's going to be in town in a few weeks and i hope that it will be easier to sit down and plan out the ceremony and little details and differences...

it should be a great event... i can't believe it is less than 90 days away! OMG!

I bought a super pretty garter that matched my dress, etc. but didn't tell him about it - let him take it off in private later. I would never have let him take it off in public and thow it to his drunken hooligan friends! 

please note, i DID wear a garter down the aisle, it was my something blue!

and i gave it to him in the limo on the way to the reception. 

LOL!!!  Richard said the same thing, but since we were getting married in the US I told him to live with it!  He ended up loving every bit of the wedding and his mother loved that she got to have a dance with her son!!!  (Note we combined the Father daughter, mother son dances)  I say make it your own and start something new if you want too!!!!

I wore my mothers garter also blue from her wedding.  There was no throwing of anything done at the wedding, I always hated standing there sometimes just with teenage girls!!!!  Ick!

Just barely begun planning ours (to be held in Coventry UK) but our outlook is to mix and match the traditions to make the day we want.  In the end it's not that important what the cake's made of or where the bridesmaids walk, it's that we're marrying the one we love! 

any other traditions that are English to share?

I mentioned the mother/son dance to steve and he said he won't do it! I was disappointed, but I think he might come 'round when the time comes.

Well, the English wedding cake is a fruitcake....we did that for the groom's cake (made it myself!).

A lot of English brides carry little silver horseshoes with their bouquets.

Apparently seeing a chimneysweep on the day of the wedding is good luck. 

I had a sixpence piece in my shoe - Past Times sells them.

hitched.co.uk sells sixpence as well

Well, the English wedding cake is a fruitcake...

I know!  Yeccch.  Neither one of us like fruit cakes all that much.  We had chocolate sponge with buttercream frosting & lots of summer fruits as garnish on top & about the sides.  Yummy!!  (With fruitcake, I can never forget the old US? joke:  there really is only one fruitcake in the world -- everyone regifts it to someone else at Christmas on down the line...)

Steve was clueless as to weddings over here -- so I pretty much planned it the way I wanted with his okay/veto on the details.  Neither of us wanted a dance/disco so we didn't have it.  Our do was very small -- just 20 of us in all including Steve and me.  We put our resources into the venue (a neat countryhouse style hotel) and having an elegant, sumptuous, wine-soaked sit-down dinner for everyone seated around one long oval table -- it was very sweet and intimate with lots of friendly animated conversations long into the evening.  Everyone commented on how wonderfully intimate and personal it was.

Note that over here (UK) brides are expected to buy the bridemaids their dresses...yes, a little tidbit I didn't know about until a UK friend was talking about the expenses of her wedding!

hitched.co.uk sells sixpence as well

I got mine at a coin shop while on a visit... it only cost me 10p!