receiving line?

comeongetdown

is anyone doing a receiving line?

i was against it at first, but i think if we do a bride & groom only receiving line it'll be the best way to be sure we at least say hello to all of our guests.

our ceremony starts at 4, should be over by 4:30ish and the reception starts at 6.  we plan to do our entrance around 6:30.  does it sound like 2 hours would be enough time to do the receiving line and pictures?  i should probably email the photog...

KateBCH

How many guests are you expecting? Now that the RSVPs are rolling in, we're only expecting 110ish, so I think we'll have time to thank everyone personally during the reception, so we're skipping the receiving line. If you're worried that you won't get around to everyone, a receiving line might be a good idea.

comeongetdown

we've got 92 plus the kids.  i'm just worried that i'll spend the whole reception making sure i track down all the guests instead of actually enjoying the reception. 

spalko

My mom really wanted us to have one and I am set against it. I think if you have a larger wedding than they tend to take too long because some guests like to linger and talk while others give hugs and congrats and get to the party. In the end, I finally convinced my mom that greeting 150+ guests and taking picutres all in an hour isn't realy do-able and she finally saw where I was coming from. I think we'll have enough time to greet everyone at the reception without running around all crazy like.

arisia

I've been a guest at a wedding with one and it sucked. There were about 150 guests and we were at the end of the line. We ended up standing for about 40 minutes on uneven pavers. If you do one, be prepared for lingering guests and budget more time than you think.

AurorasEnvy

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_may-2012-weddings_receiving-line?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:f0ca0bc1-9255-4120-8042-b40e7f3e99c5Discussion:ce1bcf06-f683-412b-8cd8-20e29ee4d913Post:a54b9bdc-be90-4c4b-a0f5-672d7d53f484">Re: receiving line?</a>:
[QUOTE]we've got 92 plus the kids. <strong> i'm just worried that i'll spend the whole reception making sure i track down all the guests instead of actually enjoying the reception. </strong>
Posted by comeongetdown[/QUOTE]

<div>This is exactly why I am doing a receiving line consisting of only my FI and myself.  We are going to stand about 50 yards from the chapel doors so that the line doesn't "bunch up" and trap people inside.  That way, whoever wants to wait to talk to us can and people who don't want to aren't forced to.  I've read a lot on the wedding recap board over the past year and a half that table visits don't work out so well because it takes a lot longer to get around to everyone - when there is a receiving line, people know that there are X amount of people waiting behind them so they are going to keep it short & sweet.  With table visits, there isn't that sense of urgency because I'm sure a lot of people assume that you are just coming over to them to chat.  I've also never understood when you are suppose to "table visit" - obviously to reach everyone you'd have to do it before dinner is over and the dancing starts.  I just don't relish the idea of scarfing down my dinner and spending my reception fun time doing something I'm obligated to do.</div><div>
</div><div>Overall, I think the receiving line will be faster & more streamlined, and I'll be glad to have the greetings out of the way.  Anyone who doesn't want to wait we'll catch at the cocktail hour.  I guess I always feel awkward after a ceremony when I can't say anything to the bride & groom - there's that fresh feeling of excitement and congratulations when you talk to them immediately after which I feel isn't as great 2-3 hours later.  Maybe I'm weird!</div><div>
</div><div>I think you'd have plenty of time - I would keep the RL to just you & your FI, maybe your guys' parents, but I hate it when they have the wedding party as part of it.  Maybe during the RL your bridal party could have their photos done to streamline things?</div>

SunshineShades

We have 97 guests and are thinking of doing a receiving line of just FI and I. We may just see how time goes though. If I find we are running low on time we'll just skip the receiving line and go around to tables.

kimberlykh

We are not doing one. As a guest, I find them long and boring while waiting. Then when I finally get to the couple I feel rushed to say hi and get out of he way.

leahstinson

we ar attending our cocktail hour so we are not doing a receiving line. just not sure how we'll handle the after ceremony portion. i think i'll just have my DOC tell guests to head to cocktail hour except for a couple family members for pics

bpphoto785

We are doing one because our ceremony and cocktail hour sites are the same location so a receiving line will give the staff time to change over. 

We also plan to make rounds to tables during the reception, but it will be nice to know that between the receiving line and reception we probably won't miss anyone. 

mancila60

I have never heard of this until TK and honestly I don't see the point of it. When I go to weddings if I want to talk to the bride and groom I go find them myself and say heloo or goodbye or whatever I may need to say. I don't think they are beneficial and seem more of a pain. Also it seems like it would be more annoying than anything.

toothpastechica

As a guest I have always hated receiving lines, they take a long time and its all pleasentries anyways, you never say more then "aw you look gorgeous" and move on, its not a time to chitchat, so I dont really see the point, I think if guests are concered about having a moment with you, there is ample time at the reception (while waiting for dinner, while your going around to tables, on the dance floor etc) to exchange pleasentries. Personally Id rather have 3 minutes to talk to the bride and groom at the reception then 30 seconds to say "hey your gorgeous" and move on because theres 50 people waiting. Thats my view on it. (PS we are NOT having a receivling line)

amandad18

What Aurora said, exactly.

We're doing most of our pictures before the ceremony, so we won't have to worry about them after. Our cocktail hour is from 4.30- 5.30, so I figure we will be able to easily be able to do a receiving line for 130ish in an hour. 

S0095042

we've decided to go a head and do one with only the bride and groom and the WP moving people along. We didn't want to stop by every table at the reception just incase we manage to forget one - plus we're only having about 100 guests and we needed to kill some time between the ceremony and reception

mandi921vh

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_may-2012-weddings_receiving-line?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:f0ca0bc1-9255-4120-8042-b40e7f3e99c5Discussion:ce1bcf06-f683-412b-8cd8-20e29ee4d913Post:a54b9bdc-be90-4c4b-a0f5-672d7d53f484">Re: receiving line?</a>:
[QUOTE]we've got 92 plus the kids. <strong> i'm just worried that i'll spend the whole reception making sure i track down all the guests instead of actually enjoying the reception. </strong>
Posted by comeongetdown[/QUOTE]

<div>This is why we chose to do a receiving line as well. It will be FI and I and all of 4 of our parents.</div>

caitlinc09

At my sister's wedding of approx. 85 people, her and H did table visits during dinner and it seemed to work out okay. But since we are probably having about 135 I'm not sure if we'll have enough time. Guests also took awhile to get/eat dinner because it was a pasta buffet type of thing where you went up one table at a time and they sort of did a build your own pasta dish and warmed it there for you, so I am sure this made dinner longer and gave them more time. 

We are having a buffet dinner with a carving station, which I know doesn't take AS long as that, but it will still add somewhat of a delay and give us extra time. 

We are also doing a lot of our pics before the ceremony with a first look, so we won't spend a huge amount of time outside doing those after and we plan to attend our cocktail hour as well so we can get a jump start on greeting. 

Our ceremony space is just the outdoor area right next to the building where cocktail hour and reception will happen and honestly I don't think there is any room for a receiving line if I wanted to do one!

LOMLBOAT

I'd never seen it done before, but my FI says it's an Italian thing.  We are going outside, popping the champagne and then just milling around with everyone.  We won't be doing a receiving line exactly, just hanging outside the Church with champagne, greeting people if they come up to us, taking pictures with people.  We'll do that for about a 1/2 hr, then take pictures, then go to the reception.  We have about 3 hrs in between the end of the ceremony and start of cocktail hour.  So we'll have enough time to greet people, take pictures, get to the reception and still have time to see/talk to people during the cocktail hour so we won't have to go around to everyone's tables.

Bett2012

I've never been to a wedding without a receiving line. We will be doing a receiving line and table visits.... we have some people from our church that will be coming to the ceremony (open to the church congregation, like all church ceremonies) and not the reception, so we want to see them, even if it's quickly, but we want to have a bit more time with our guests too... so we're probably going to do both.. it will take the pressure off of the table visits though if we've already seen everyone.

Our ceremony will end by noon, cocktail hour starts at 1, dinner/lunch at 2, and 150 guests. Our photographer said it was lots of time to get pics and he actually likes it when people do receiving lines (with just the B and G) since there's alot of raw emotion that he can capture as people come through.  That made me feel more at ease about a receiving line because it's kind of killing 2 birds with one stone... before that I thought it would be taking too much time away from pics since our reception is 20-30 mins away from our ceremony too.

bottom line: Talk to your photographer!

leahstinson

we ar attending our cocktail hour so we are not doing a receiving line. just not sure how we'll handle the after ceremony portion. i think i'll just have my DOC tell guests to head to cocktail hour except for a couple family members for pics