Wedding Etiquette Forum

Recpetion intros- brides parents divorced, dad remarried.

2»

Re: Recpetion intros- brides parents divorced, dad remarried.

  • banana468 said:
    CMGragain said:
    Traditionally parents meet the guests in the reception line, so there is no need for introductions.  If the parents are hosting the wedding, it is really odd to have a grand announcement, as if the guests didn't know who they are.  Remember, the HOSTS are inviting the guests, not the bride and groom.  This was never done traditionally, and I have never seen it done at the weddings I have attended.
    If the parents are hosting the wedding, they MUST greet each guest personally, and thank them for coming.  The bride and groom need to do this, too.  This is why reception lines, if properly done, are so nice and efficient.
    Receiving lines are often done at the end of the ceremony.   I have never attended a wedding with a receiving line at the reception.   Table visits are done at the reception.  

    We had our receiving line at the church.  
    Oftentimes nowadays, the Bride and Groom are actually hosting their own weddings, not their parents.

    Our receiving line was done at our reception, prior to dinner.  We could not have one following our ceremony because of regularly scheduled Saturday Evening mass.  Table visits wouldn't have worked due to how the tables were set up in our venue, and we likely would have missed ppl.

    "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."


  • SP29SP29 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    banana468 said:
    CMGragain said:
    Traditionally parents meet the guests in the reception line, so there is no need for introductions.  If the parents are hosting the wedding, it is really odd to have a grand announcement, as if the guests didn't know who they are.  Remember, the HOSTS are inviting the guests, not the bride and groom.  This was never done traditionally, and I have never seen it done at the weddings I have attended.
    If the parents are hosting the wedding, they MUST greet each guest personally, and thank them for coming.  The bride and groom need to do this, too.  This is why reception lines, if properly done, are so nice and efficient.
    Receiving lines are often done at the end of the ceremony.   I have never attended a wedding with a receiving line at the reception.   Table visits are done at the reception.  

    We had our receiving line at the church.  
    Oftentimes nowadays, the Bride and Groom are actually hosting their own weddings, not their parents.

    Our receiving line was done at our reception, prior to dinner.  We could not have one following our ceremony because of regularly scheduled Saturday Evening mass.  Table visits wouldn't have worked due to how the tables were set up in our venue, and we likely would have missed ppl.
    We also hosted our own wedding.

    We did our receiving line out of the ceremony.
  • banana468 said:
    CMGragain said:
    Traditionally parents meet the guests in the reception line, so there is no need for introductions.  If the parents are hosting the wedding, it is really odd to have a grand announcement, as if the guests didn't know who they are.  Remember, the HOSTS are inviting the guests, not the bride and groom.  This was never done traditionally, and I have never seen it done at the weddings I have attended.
    If the parents are hosting the wedding, they MUST greet each guest personally, and thank them for coming.  The bride and groom need to do this, too.  This is why reception lines, if properly done, are so nice and efficient.
    Receiving lines are often done at the end of the ceremony.   I have never attended a wedding with a receiving line at the reception.   Table visits are done at the reception.  

    We had our receiving line at the church.  
    Exactly my point.  Once the guests have met the family and the bridal couple, there is no need to introduce them again.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • CMGragain said:
    banana468 said:
    CMGragain said:
    Traditionally parents meet the guests in the reception line, so there is no need for introductions.  If the parents are hosting the wedding, it is really odd to have a grand announcement, as if the guests didn't know who they are.  Remember, the HOSTS are inviting the guests, not the bride and groom.  This was never done traditionally, and I have never seen it done at the weddings I have attended.
    If the parents are hosting the wedding, they MUST greet each guest personally, and thank them for coming.  The bride and groom need to do this, too.  This is why reception lines, if properly done, are so nice and efficient.
    Receiving lines are often done at the end of the ceremony.   I have never attended a wedding with a receiving line at the reception.   Table visits are done at the reception.  

    We had our receiving line at the church.  
    Exactly my point.  Once the guests have met the family and the bridal couple, there is no need to introduce them again.
    Which is fine.  Ours was more of a tradition than anything else.  Parents came out and then we did.  It was a sign that cocktail hour was over.   Not necessary but what we did. 
  • scribe95 said:
    Obviously this is a preference thing. It's absolutely fine if people don't want to do it but those of us who did do the introduction didn't do anything wrong or stupid, which is the tone of some of the posts. 
    I feel like you're reading a lot into these posts...I don't think any of them have come across that way at all.

    The OP seemed to not want to do introductions the way her father would prefer, so PPs were pointing out that not doing introductions is a viable option, they are far from necessary, and many people don't do them...


  • scribe95 said:
    Obviously this is a preference thing. It's absolutely fine if people don't want to do it but those of us who did do the introduction didn't do anything wrong or stupid, which is the tone of some of the posts. 
    I feel like you're reading a lot into these posts...I don't think any of them have come across that way at all.

    The OP seemed to not want to do introductions the way her father would prefer, so PPs were pointing out that not doing introductions is a viable option, they are far from necessary, and many people don't do them...
    I definitely got the impression from CMGr that it "once the guests have met the family there's no need to introduce them again".   That's fine.   But it's what we did and I don't think it's bad to have done it.

    That said, if my parents were split I wouldn't have forced them to walk together.  And in any wedding I've attended where parents are no longer married to each other, they didn't walk together either. 
  • scribe95 said:
    banana468 said:
    scribe95 said:
    Obviously this is a preference thing. It's absolutely fine if people don't want to do it but those of us who did do the introduction didn't do anything wrong or stupid, which is the tone of some of the posts. 
    I feel like you're reading a lot into these posts...I don't think any of them have come across that way at all.

    The OP seemed to not want to do introductions the way her father would prefer, so PPs were pointing out that not doing introductions is a viable option, they are far from necessary, and many people don't do them...
    I definitely got the impression from CMGr that it "once the guests have met the family there's no need to introduce them again".   That's fine.   But it's what we did and I don't think it's bad to have done it.

    That said, if my parents were split I wouldn't have forced them to walk together.  And in any wedding I've attended where parents are no longer married to each other, they didn't walk together either. 
    I certainly agree they aren't necessary, and split families is likely a factor.

    I might indeed be being sensitive but there were comments about it being time better spent on cutting the cake (uh, it takes 30 seconds); that it's a waste of time; that it's not a red carpet; that it's lame and unnecessary because every one should know them. 
    Fair enough! It's also very possible I was being undersensitive (is that a word? I feel like it should be) to critique and saw it as mere suggestion.

    Not being necessary definitely doesn't make something lame, at least in my eyes! Lots of unnecessary things make for beautiful, memorable wedding moments. I'm sure your intros were awesome :)


  • These comments could be directed at me...I think introductions are lame, unnecessary, and a waste of time. Is there anything actually wrong with doing them? No.  Why people want them is probably something I'll probably never understand, because I find them so unnecessary and don't see why someone wants something that unnecessary. There's also nothing wrong with having a a huge, gender-divided, equal-numbers bridal party in exactly matching dresses, and nothing wrong with a bouquet toss and garter toss, and lots of other things that are often done at weddings. But I personally think those things are lame, unnecessary, and a waste of time as well. 

    Just because they're not wrong doesn't mean that I, and many other people most likely, don't find them lame, unnecessary, and a waste of time. Not everyone likes the same things. To each their own!

    My only hope that is people actually consider what they WANT to do, and don't do things just because "it's what's usually done". All too often brides aren't thinking things through and are just going through the motions.
  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited April 2016
    Just a postscript to my remarks, I didn't say that it was WRONG to introduce the parents at the reception.  I said that it was not necessary.

    If you must do it, this would be the order of precedence:

    Ms. Mary Bridesmother, escorted by ..............
    Mr. John Bridesfather, escorting his wife, Ms. Jane Stepmother
    Mr. and Mrs. George Groomsfather
    The Bridal couple, Mr. and Mrs. Newlyweds. (or Mr. Fred Groom and Ms. Sally Bride, if you are not taking his name)

    There is no need to explain how everyone is related.  Your guests should know this already.  Just announce their names/titles.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • edited April 2016
    As a guest at a wedding, I'm interested in knowing who the parents are. If I get the opportunity later, I'll introduce myself to the parents and if they are hosting, thank them for including me or remark on the lovely 'fill in the blank.' 

    We parents and grandparents were introduced from our dinner table at DD and SIL,s wedding. Much of  SIL's family is from the west coast and other countries. We hadn't met them before the wedding. Our family members hadn't met his parents. The introductions took two minutes, no fanfare. I've never been to a wedding where the parents weren't introduced.

    That said, OP, your father should be introduced with his wife. Your mother should be introduced with her escort, whether that is a family member, friend or date. Or, she may walk in alone, if she chooses. Also, father and wife should be seated together at the ceremony and reception.
                       
  • CMGragain said:
    banana468 said:
    CMGragain said:
    Traditionally parents meet the guests in the reception line, so there is no need for introductions.  If the parents are hosting the wedding, it is really odd to have a grand announcement, as if the guests didn't know who they are.  Remember, the HOSTS are inviting the guests, not the bride and groom.  This was never done traditionally, and I have never seen it done at the weddings I have attended.
    If the parents are hosting the wedding, they MUST greet each guest personally, and thank them for coming.  The bride and groom need to do this, too.  This is why reception lines, if properly done, are so nice and efficient.
    Receiving lines are often done at the end of the ceremony.   I have never attended a wedding with a receiving line at the reception.   Table visits are done at the reception.  

    We had our receiving line at the church.  
    Exactly my point.  Once the guests have met the family and the bridal couple, there is no need to introduce them again.
    I'm not wild about "announcements" either, but the thing is, sometimes guests haven't met some of the family and/or the bridal couple. For example, my friends may not know my parents and vice versa, and I don't know all my parents' friends. And most people from my side wouldn't be acquainted with my FI's side before the wedding and vice versa. And there may not be time for them to get acquainted before the wedding.

    And not everyone does a receiving line.  The couple and hosts can greet guests at the tables or otherwise circulating.
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards