is a wedding ever "too big" for a receiving line?

bridalmarch

FI and I really want to do a receiving line. We both have huge families (I have 25 fist cousins on my mom's side alone) and the only time everyone gets together is weddings and funerals. I know we'll socialize plenty at the reception but it just seems like a line is the best bet for at least seeing and thanking everyone personally. 

We're expecting between 150-160 from our 180ish guest list. Is that a logistical nightmare or would it be ok? 

lyndausvi

where do you plan on having his receivng line?

My sister had 267 at her wedding and had on with them and the parents leading outside of the church.   It went just as fast as another time I've had to leave from a regular mass.   

We had ours (140) as people were going to the bar.   They were heading that anyway. 

bridalmarch

I think at the church. FI and I are doing a first look and trying to get as many formal family pictures as possible done before the ceremony. So we'll do pictures, Catholic ceremony (not a full Mass, so a little less than an hour), receiving line, and finish pictures if needed while the guests make their way to the reception. 

The ceremony is at 2:00 and the reception begins with a cocktail hour at 3:30. It's about a 20 minute drive from the church. 

lyndausvi

I think that's fine.

It was pretty standard for us to shake hands with the priest as we left mass, so having a recieiving line as people leave seems natural to me.

DramaGeek

We did a receiving line with 330 guests.  We set it up so we were by the buffet, so people could chat with us while they waited in the buffet line.  It worked out really well.

StephJean83

I went to a wedding and the couple and WP exited the church, the couple then came back into the church up the side aisle and they "ushered" each row out of the church starting with the POB. They zigzaged across the aisle and greeted everyone and it didn't too much time vs having a formal receiving line. It was a nice way to congratulate the couple and for them to thank everyone for coming. I thought that was a cool idea.

ootmother2

The receiving line was outside the church and took about half an hour

Jen4948

Actually, I think that the bigger the wedding, the more imperative it is to have a receiving line.

Bridal couples do have the responsibility of greeting all their guests, whether by receiving line or going table-to-table to do it.  If you have a really large number of guests, then having a receiving line is probably the most efficient way to do this-once you greet a specific guest, they can then pass into the reception area and mingle, get a drink, or whatever else might be happening. 

The one thing you would need to think about if you have a really long line is that it is going to take up a lot of space outside the entrance to the area and it will take a while to say hello to every guest, so plan very carefully for the logistics of the line and don't take too long to greet guests while they're on the line.  If you need more than a moment or so to catch up with people while you're still at the reception, do it after everyone has passed through the reception line, maybe at their tables.