How did you greet your guests?

NuggetBrain

We're trying to figure out the logistics of greeting our guests early.  Noodle's leaning towards a receiving line, and I'm leaning towards greeting them by rows as they leave the ceremony, but both of us are not committed to both and are trying to find something we can both get behind.  So how did you (or are you) greeting the guests at your wedding?

Lyss5782

Im not doing a receiving line--and we are doing a cocktail reception so we dont have everyone at tables.  We're just going to hope to get around to everyone at the reception...

anna.oskar

We did a quick receiving line just to make sure we got to everyone and then did table visits at the reception.

ThePinkSuperhero

We're going to do a "receiving line", though I don't know if they call it that when it's just the bride and groom (his parents definitely won't want to talk to people, and my parents probably won't either).  Our reception is down stairs in the back of the church, so as people come out, we'll be there to shake hands, give hugs, take pictures and direct people downstairs.

NuggetBrain

I should mention too that this will only be in the event that it doesn't rain.  If it does, our ceremony will be moved to the reception site, and we'll just mingle during the cocktail hour to greet people.

ring_pop

We did table visits. We did a few tables at a time between courses, so it wasn't so overwhelming as greeting everyone all at once. We also liked it as it gave us a few minutes to chat with everyone, as opposed to the usual "Hi, thanks for coming, next..." Also, table visits are much more common and expected in my culture.

JK10910

I think we're planning on doing table visits.  I always hated going through receiving lines, so I don't really want to make my guests do that.  Also, we're only having a short time between ceremony and cocktail hour start in the event we have to have the ceremony inside because our backup is the reception venue. 

Basically we want to get out of there and grab a few quick pictures at the scenic overlook by our reception site, and get the guests to the reception site asap so they aren't standing around the park in their wedding clothes.

beatlesgirl25

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_did-greet-guests?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:f165ac55-55ab-4042-8044-f74732607c86Post:de8074e4-86bc-431e-ac4b-a9d2a20f14a2">Re: How did you greet your guests?</a>:
[QUOTE]We did a quick receiving line just to make sure we got to everyone and then did table visits at the reception.
Posted by anna.oskar[/QUOTE]

We did the same, that way we could touch base and see faces before running off for pics, and then we took our time chatting up every table during dinner.

rhodesign

We mingled at cocktail hour and did a few table visits. We kinda mixed it all up. We still didn't get to everyone (not together at least) but we did our best. We split up at times and visited so I think between the two of us we got to everyone, but most people approached us even if we didn't get to see them.

AmoroAgain

We greeted people by rows as they were leaving the ceremony, and then we took a group photo.  However, I think the trouble with any type of receiving line is that the larger the number of guests, the more ponderous this thing can become.  The good thing about the size of wedding we had, is that it gave us time to greet everyone after the ceremony, as well as being able to speak with them during the reception.

kristinanddan

We did a receiving line after the church, mingled during the last half of the cocktail hour, and did table visits.

tenofcups4me

We attended our cocktail hour and spoke with everyone during that time. We also did table visits because in my mind that's "required" of a host, regardless of whether there's a receiving line or any other way of greeting guests.

I despise receiving lines, and greeting by rows to me is just another form of a receiving line.

danieliza1127

We did a receiving line.  It worked really well for us because the guests had to leave the terrace to go inside to the cocktail hour anyway, so we stood there with our parents only and greeted everyone.  it was fun. 

I do wish that we had done table visits as well though because there were definitely people I greeted in the receiving line that I never talked to again the rest of the night, and I felt kind of bad about that, even though it's normal and somewhat to be expected.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

We're only doing family photos after the ceremony, so hopefully during cocktail hour. Otherwise, during dinner. With 75 people, I think logistically it's nicer than a recieving line. I'd probably only do that if I had 200+ people to greet.

banana468

We did both a receiving line and table visits.  The receiving line allowed for only a short hug and kiss with each guest.  The table visits gave us more time to talk to them. 

beatlesgirl25

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_did-greet-guests?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:f165ac55-55ab-4042-8044-f74732607c86Post:1b6b82af-d688-45e4-a437-0a513655d573">Re: How did you greet your guests?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: How did you greet your guests? : We did the same, that way we could touch base and see faces before running off for pics, and then we took our time chatting up every table during dinner.
Posted by beatlesgirl25[/QUOTE]

Oh, and I should also specify that it was just H and I doing the receiving line, and we had 70 guests who had a 10 min lapse between ceremony and cocktail hour (for terrace breakdown/setup), so that's a big part of why we did a receiving line in addition to table visits. I am typically not a fan of these, especially when I'm stuck inside a church for 30 min while 200 people must shake hands with the entire WP, parents, grandparents, and the B&G before they can leave.

3plus

We' will probably do a receiving line of sorts.  I imagine that FI and I will greet guests as they leave the conservatory and head into the room that will hold the cocktail hour.  I expect to be able to mingle also during the cocktail hour as well as dinner.

fangsiting

We're starting off with a cocktail hour before vows, so we'll be mingling with guests during that time.  If we don't get to speak with everyone during that time, we'll visit tables during the reception, too. 

buttaflai

We did table visits with the parents. We grouped it so that parents A can also visit with their guests and then parents B walked around with us when it was time for their guests.

RaiKai

We will have a refreshments table set up in the ceremony room, so that guests can come in early, grab some punch (or whatever) and have a seat. We will be mingling/greeting them as they come into the ceremony room.

TheSaltyPeanut

I'm not a fan of releasing guests... like pp said, the venue can get stuffy and most guests and just antsy to stand and move around/leave.

We did a receiving line and despite having 200+ guests, it did work out well.  Our DOC did a really great job of getting people through and specifically told WP to mingle and not just stand there in a line.  It ended up where most of our age friends dispersed and the more older guests greeted us through the line.  We caught up with everyone else at the reception.

Nebb

We had a private ceremony with just immediate family present and "greeted" them after the ceremony was done and we milled around before photos. We arrived at our reception site about half an hour before it started so that I could check things out and my husband was outside smoking and greeting people when they arrived and I greeted them once they came inside. It worked well for us.

Pirata13

We are doing the receiving line because we have plenty of time before we have to be out of the church. Plus we're concerned about missing people at the reception so we prefer to do it at the church. And we are not including the whole bridal party, just FI & I and maybe our parents if they want to participate.  I expect a lot of people to mingle at the church or outside a little with the BP and others. 

NuggetBrain

The only thing that bothers me about table visits is I know I hate being spoken to while I'm eating dinner.  That and I've seen some really awkward table visits at weddings where the bride and groom spoke more to some people at the table, and just said "hi" to others.

megk8oz

The plan is table visits (We might want to actually "finalize" a plan soon, lol).

A big part of this is we're having the ceremony and reception at the same place and pretty much the only "logical" place for a receiving line is in this tiny hallway were it's just going to get clogged with people if we try it.

I don't really want to do table visits, but I don't really see a way around them ... we don't even have 100 people attending, so at least I shouldn't end up spending the entire night trying to greet everybody.

Theresa626

My church doesn't allow a recieving line so I'm going to do one at the cocktail hour.  I really really don't want to do table visits.  The food is really important to me because I'm such a foodie and i have had a million people tell me they barely got to eat or had to stuff their faces quickly so they could go visit every single table during dinner.  OR some people ate and then visited during dancing and didn't get to dance.  Both of those scenarios are my absolute worst nightmare.  i don't want to spend a ton of money on a nice wedding that I dont enjoy at all. I want to relax and have a good time without stressing out about having to make small talk with a hundred people  when I absolutely  despise making small talk.  I know all these people traveled a long way and I definitely want to greet them but I am terrible at small talk and I really don't want to make small talk with anyone.  It is fearful.  I just want to say hellio thank you for coming. 

Jane_Birkin

i don't like the formality of a recieving line, and our venue is not really set up for that anyway, so table visits it is! we are also takign photos beforehand so we will be able to mingle during the cocktail hour.  i am nervous about not hitting all the tables to greet people but i'll just have to be disciplined about it.  

TheBeckmeister

I heard a suggestion to greet people as they wait in line for the buffet (if you're having one), though I'm not sure when YOU would be able to eat then.  I think it would give you just a little more time to greet people, because it takes longer to pile food on a plate than just walk out of a church.  Just a thought!

iamjoesgurl

We did a receiving line and it went very quickly.  It was just us and our parents.  We were all spread out enough that there were no bottlenecks.  We also tried to talk to guests at each table during the reception but there was too much going on and most of our guests were up and either dancing or walking around talking to each other so I was really glad that we at least saw everyone during the receiving line.

PsyDet 2155

I've been to a few weddings that did the "release" in the pews and it ended up being ackward and crowded.  Plus it kind of screwed up their whole "exit" from the church shot that people were waiting out there in the sweltering heat for.  Table to Table during dinner or cocktail hour seems like a great idea.  It's a place where your guests are relaxed and excited for the reception!

ggmae

We greeted them during dinner and bounced around from table to table. There were only 13 tables or so, and we probably spent 3 minutes at each, so it worked out. I didn't get more than a bite to eat though! I wish I had been able to actually enjoy the food that we paid an arm and a leg for!