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Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
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Receiving Line
I am debating the receiving line vs. table visits. If I do a receiving line I am thinking about not having the parents or bridal party do it as I have always found that awkward when leaving a wedding and I do not know the friends of one of the parties. I figure the parents can mingle at the cocktail hour after the pictures with them are finished.
1. Is it ok to do a receiving line of just the bride and groom?
2. How do you make sure you hit all of the tables if we do table visits instead?
My wedding is outside on the water and the reception is right there. People will literally walk 100 feet to the reception.
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Re: Receiving Line
I only personally knew about a dozen of the 135 guests at my daughter's wedding, which we hosted. The reception line was the perfect way I could fulfill my duty as hostess and greet all the guests in a short time. I made table visits later, but I liked knowing that I had spoken to everyone as soon as possible.
I didn't have the WP in it for time and efficiency reasons, like you mentioned.
We did also do table visits at the reception, but mostly just each to our friends/family -- I chatted with my friends, he chatted with his.
I only personally knew about a dozen of the 135 guests at my daughter's wedding, which we hosted. The reception line was the perfect way I could fulfill my duty as hostess and greet all the guests in a short time. I made table visits later, but I liked knowing that I had spoken to everyone as soon as possible.
Curious about this...if you're doing a receiving line, how do you discourage those who do try to start extended conversations? Like you say, it's bad etiquette, but there are people who don't know this or who will go on and on and hold everything up because either they're just too excited or too effusive naturally, or they haven't seen you in a long time and forget that this is not the time to do extended catch-up.
CM- I hate situations like that, I would probably say "can we catch up later" or something like that but it is hard to do when you don't know the person!
The last wedding I went to with a receiving line took FOREVER. Literally...forever....not kidding. Everything with the wedding was pushed back an hour and a half because of it. we didn't get to the venue to start cocktail hour until the reception was supposed to start. Then we had to wait over an hour for dinner still because that obviously pushed back the bridal party's photo timeline. They also had no food at their cocktail hour....so I had to beg the caterer for a roll because I was dying of hunger. But that's another story.
Either way unless there is a way to be super quick about it I don't see why guests should have to wait around and suffer through that.