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What to Say at a Table Visit?

CaitFinsCaitFins member
5 Love Its First Anniversary First Comment Name Dropper
in Wedding Reception Forum
We decided on table visits!

That being said, how exactly does a table visit play out? What should we say? Do I speak to every single person individually, or is it "thank you *all*...," speaking to everyone at the table at once? Is it a quick hi, thank you, and bye, or is this also time for a bit of catching up?

I'm sorry - I've been extremely socially awkward lately, and I don't want to do this wrong!

But yippee - we're almost married!!




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Re: What to Say at a Table Visit?

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    missfrodomissfrodo member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    It'll be just like walking up to a group of people at a party: "Hi guys!  Thank you so much for coming!  How's the chicken?"  That will flow right into hugs/handshakes/kisses (depending on how your friends/family react at weddings) with each person at the table, so you typically spend a moment on each individual guest (kind of like how a receiving line works, with them congratulating you, wanting to see your rings, etc).  We'd chat longer with some guests than others, depending on how chatty our guests were or how long it had been since we'd seen them, then excuse ourselves to say hello to the next table.  If your FI is less socially awkward, maybe let him "lead" the table visits for you and do most of the talking?  
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    CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    "Hello!  Thank you so much for coming."  Same thing you would say in a reception line.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
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    Jen4948Jen4948 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Handle it the same as any other party you are hosting. Go up to a table, say hello, ask how everyone is doing, and let a conversation flow naturally.
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    downtondivadowntondiva member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    You just say hello, thank everyone for coming and see that they're having a nice time. Introduce your new spouse to anyone they haven't met. Keep it simple. 
    image
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    donethatdonethat member
    First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    edited August 2016
    All of the above advice is good.  Greet the entire table - welcome - thank them - introductions if needed - quick hugs, hand shakes or pictures, and then re-thank them.  

    Keep in mind, don't get into the "small talk trap".  

    If you have 180 guests (for example), and talk to each table of 10 for a minute* - that's about 20 minutes of table visits!  If you talk to each PERSON for a minute - that's 3 hours of small talk.  So, obviously, it simply can't be done.  :-)  
    Have fun, and if you think there is a chance you two will be too "polite" to keep moving, assign a wrangler to tap you gently on the shoulder and "make you" move on.  

    *  You know you can spend MORE than a minute per table ... ha ha ... it's just an example to make sure you're planning on how to manage the finite time of the reception!  

    Have fun, and enjoy yourselves!!
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    thisismynickname2thisismynickname2 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    This isn't something to stress about. Everyone wants to talk to the happy couple. When you walk up and wave to the table, everyone will greet you and the chattiest of Kathies will engage you in conversation. Let the good times roll.
    ________________________________


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    ei34ei34 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    I'm a very social person so I had a hard time keeping the table visits brief.  Everyone got a kiss and hug.  I wanted to just hang out and chew the fat with a lot of the guests...it was a drag that we had to keep it moving, since we had 175 guests.
    Conversation really makes itself- "I love your dress!" "how's your dinner?" "how are you enjoying New York so far?" etc.  DH is much more reserved, he went more the "thanks so much for coming" route.  One tip is if you don't plan on going to each guest at a table, at least make eye contact with everyone as you thank them for coming.
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    kvrunskvruns member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    this is actually why we did the receiving line, because I was afraid of table visits either feeling weird or taking 15 min each. So we did the quicker hello in the receiving line and then once we finished eating we also did table visits where we could linger some more without holding up the timeline of anything else. 
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