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Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
lkevan
member
Receiving Line or Table Visits After We've Been at Cocktail Hour?
Hi everyone! I'm struggling with deciding how to greet our guests.
We'll be attending the cocktail hour, so one option is to greet arriving guests as a receiving line at the reception venue. But I'm not sure I love the idea of having to stand there and likely miss the whole cocktail hour - plus making our guests wait in a line just to talk to us for a few seconds!
I was considering table visits at the reception, but is that strange when they've already mingled with us at cocktail hour? And I'm nervous that some people find that interruptive when they are eating... Just seems like there's no real good answer!
Open to any thoughts and suggestions whatsoever!
Note: we have about 210 guests.
We'll be attending the cocktail hour, so one option is to greet arriving guests as a receiving line at the reception venue. But I'm not sure I love the idea of having to stand there and likely miss the whole cocktail hour - plus making our guests wait in a line just to talk to us for a few seconds!
I was considering table visits at the reception, but is that strange when they've already mingled with us at cocktail hour? And I'm nervous that some people find that interruptive when they are eating... Just seems like there's no real good answer!
Open to any thoughts and suggestions whatsoever!
Note: we have about 210 guests.
Re: Receiving Line or Table Visits After We've Been at Cocktail Hour?
While you're at cocktail hour, you can still greet people and thank them for coming. Of course. The table visits will just be to ensure you don't miss anyone.
If you do a receiving line at the entrance to cocktail hour (versus as people leave the ceremony, as is often the case), I would have passed apps and passed drinks to serve people in line as they wait to talk to you. Because moving 210 guests through a receiving line with enough time for them to enjoy the food/drink you're hosting for cocktail hour will be challenging.
@OwningAHome1981, that's strange! I can't imagine not being greeted by the couple. Although it definitely takes some of the pressure off them!
People just try & catch them when they're eating or dancing to say hello. I went to only ONE wedding where they did a receiving line @ the church... it was a super religious wedding though. It was a little strange b/c I had never seen it before. The whole family was hugging all the guests. I'm not big on hugs from people I don't know. It was a wedding I went to with a female friend whose husband couldn't attend and I was single @ the time so she brought me as her date. I thought it was uncomfortable, TBH.
However, I can agree that when you have a large guest list, a receiving line could take a long time and table visits are probably better. Table visits won't be weird, and because people are eating it will be natural that you won't stay long. A simple "Hi, thanks for coming, good to see you" will keep you on track.
My daughter had one for 130 guests, and it took less than twenty minutes.
I didn't have one at my own church wedding simply because my FMIL refused to stand in the line with "that bitch" (MOB). It was a lot more work to be certain that I had spoken to every person there, many of whom I did not know personally.
I would think it would feel awkward for you to be drinking with guests during your cocktail hour when you had not yet spoken personally to all of them. It's not like you can blend in.
I have seen only table visits done at the weddings I've been to. I can't remember attending any with receiving lines.
I think that as long as you do at least one, it's okay if you do both. The important thing is that you need to greet your guests and thank them for coming.