mingling reception??
Please tell me this isn't a real thing. I was just informed about a "mingling reception." The way it was described to me was that it's ok to over-invite for your space because not everyone likes to eat or even sit at a wedding. . . some people just want to mingle and dance. The premise, as I understood it, was to have tables for about 2/3 of the guests. . . . it also seemed like there would be limited food at stations around the room. If someone was hungry they could get a plate, sit and eat. There would be no seating assignments or anything, just people coming and going. I almost choked on my dinner! Please tell me this isn't popular now.
The only good suggestion, IMO, was having beer and soft drinks in metal tubs around the room for people who just wanted to grab a drink and not have to wait on the bar line. That could be fun if it goes with the atmosphere of the wedding.
Re: mingling reception??
I would be so mad if I could not sit down. So. Mad.
But the drinks thing is a good idea! I hate having to wait in line at the bar when I just want a Diet Coke.
ETA: Over-inviting for your space is not only wrong for the above reason, but it is a fire hazard. DO NOT DO THIS.
"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."
Yup, I went to one of these. But I dont know if it was on purpose or just poor planning. H and I had nowhere to sit and when we finally made it through the buffet line, literally all the food was gone. H and I basically shared a half a plate of food. We also had to ask other guests if we could take their seats to eat (and the table hadnt been cleared, so we were eating amoung other people's dishes)
The bride emailed me a few weeks later. She had so much fun planning her wedding, now she wants to be a DOC. FAIL.
"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."
I've been to strolling receptions, and they're fine. I have always found place to sit. Bigger in the south.
I went to an awesome reception last weekend at a very cool nightclub (friends are in the music industry) and they had 5 bands, awesome food and not assigned seating or a seat for every last person -- and it worked perfectly. We sat and ate, danced, had absolutely no problems. And it left more room for dancing and mingling, which is what the couple wanted.
There are ways to make it work, and when done right it can be really fun.
Um, ok..... Lack of food and seating is issue at ANY type of reception. Period. I've been to sit down plated meal weddings where they screwed up the seating chart (left people off or didn't have enough chairs), and the plated meal had minimal food on it and people left to go out to dinner. It doesn't mean the reception style was rude - it DID mean the hosts did a shitty job of hosting.
I have gone to two of these...the grooms for both are brothers, and they work with my FI.
I hated them both.
The theory is that "oh not everyone will want to eat or sit at the same time, so you don't need tables and chairs for everyone." FALSE. At both of these events, FI and I had to eat standing up. Of COURSE everyone wants to eat at the same time. The ceremony is from 4-5pm with a 6:00 cocktail hour and dinner stations openeing at 7. EVERYONE IS STARVING BY 7.
At both of these events, there was nowhere near enough food to make a complete meal, and it wound up running out. This particular family is very "healthy" and their definition of "healthy" is "hardly eats anything" so I guess they were ok with that. Literally, we have been to dinner with them dozens of times, and on only ONE such occassion did a woman other than myself order a complete meal (that one time, the woman who ordered a meal was pregnant). Their move is for the man to order a real meal, the woman to order a side salad, and then for the woman to eat 1/3 of the man's meal while the man eats 1/3 of the salad. It's literally insane. THE ENTIRE FAMILY DOES THIS.
Back on subject, at one of these weddings, it was raining outside, and all of the indoor tables were taken, so FI and i stood at a cocktail table IN THE RAIN to eat our measley "dinner." We left the second after the "dessert" was "served" (in quotations because at one of the weddings, the only dessert was a stand of mini-cupcakes...barely enough for each guest to have one. Which is not really sufficient).
There should be AT LEAST one chair for each guest, and everyone should have a place to eat at the same time. PERIOD. Anything less is the stupidest way to save money on a wedding that i can think of. I refuse to believe that this is a "southern" thing, because I have lived in NC for the past 10 years and been to tons of southern weddings, and yet these are the only two where this happened. I think it's more of a "bad idea" thing. Or a "pretty rude" thing.
Yes!!! I'd at least like to be able to put my sweater/coat/purse down somewhere safe, and I'd like to be able to sit with friends or at least people I know at the wedding rather than make a mad dash for whatever places are still available. A wedding is not like a bar where you just stand around and hope for something to free up, it's a hosted event where the bride and groom need to plan for the attendance so their guests are comfortable and happy. Even if it's a non-meal reception, I still don't like potentially spilling messy food on my lap, or sitting at a per-occupied table with all of their left over stuff on it, yuck!
This is one of the top wedding planners in New Orleans, so if she says it all works out, then I believe her.
http://sapphireeventsnola.com/blog/2013/07/tuesday-tips-seated-dinner-vs-new-orleans-style-reception-sapphire-events-new-orleans-wedding-planner/
Just because it's a concept that is very alien to you doesn't make it wrong. They're a lot of fun.
Edit: Edit to say, if done right. The person who started this thread mentioned not enough food. But at a New Orleans Style Reception, there is plenty of food. The stations are open for the duration of the reception, so there's really no beginning/end point. Honestly, it is different than what other places may do, but that's Louisiana for you.
A cocktail style or mingling or whatever you want to call it reception isn't an issue, if done correctly.
"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."