This tradition takes up a lot of time at the wedding and usually delays dinner, leaving your guests hungry and a little grouchy. While the intent of the receiving line is to ensure you spend time with each guest, the time is not quality and guests tend to leave feeling like just a number as they are herded through the line of hellos and hugs.
If you have 150 guests and allot 30 seconds with each guest to hug and say hello, you're looking at an hour and fifteen minutes just to get everyone through the receiving line! That time is much better spent mingling with guests during the cocktail hour, where they can catch up with friends and family while sipping champagne and munching on canapes. This setting also makes your conversations with them more relaxed and much more real than the formalities a receiving line allows.
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Amen! Along with seeing the garter toss go to the wayside, especially when the groom insists on using his teeth to remove said garter.
I Agree! Looking forward to the day there are no more receiving lines!
Amen! I couldn't agree with this more!
I completely agree!!
Amen!!!
I absolutely agree!! The garter toss can go out right along with them! :)
I completely agree! There is no need for this antiquated tradition. Take a moment at each table and lavish personal attention on your guests after dinner or during the party. It goes a long way!
Totally!! We can't stand them.
I absolutely agree! From both sides (being a vendor and having been a guest at weddings)receiving lines are impersonal and a complete mis-use of time. Who came up with the idea anywho?
My new husband and I opened the doors to the dinner part of the reception and greeted everyone quickly as they walked in. Meanwhile the band played an upbeat tune.
Just having the two of us, and the music bopping, cut the "receiving line" time down to about 10-15 minutes. It felt MUCH more casual and fun, and there was no cringe-inducing "and now introducing for the first time...!!!" announcement where I walk in waving my bouquet about over my head.
What's the issue with bouquet tosses?
I'll second that.
Amen! I totally agree too.
You know, I've never had a receiving line at any of the 40+ weddings I've photographed. None. I hadn't even thought about it until the other day when someone mentioned them - they just don't seem to happen here. Maybe it has reached the point of extinction in places.
Garter Toss - that is the one that always gets me. The guys always look *so* excited about it. I don't mind it, but as people get married later and have more married friends, the garter & bouquet toss just don't seem to mean as much.
I have never been to a wedding with a receiving line.
I decided to have one at my wedding but altered it a bit. We had a cocktail hour outside of the dining room, where everyone including myself and husband all mingled.
About 30 minutes before dinner, our guests were led into the dining room, each guest was greeted by my parents and my husbands only. This only took about 20 minutes.
I thought this was an easy and quick way for both sets of parents to meet each others friends and family.
When everyone was in the room thats when the wedding party was introduced, etc.
While people were eating my husband and i went over to each table and talked with each guest.
It worked out really well and my parents didnt feel pressured to walk around to each table and thank everyone for coming, they had already done it at the door.
I concur!
One more reason to have a small wedding! We had 50 guests and had no need for a receiving line. We mingled with all of our guests throughout the evening.
This is one antiquated tradition I have never had to deal with at any of my events. Thank God! I really do not see the point of it. It's time consuming and as you mentioned, it is one sure way to gaurantee delays.
Yay Liene! Thank you for speaking out about this. I have found that most of my couples do it just because they think they have to... and other times because they hadn't thought forward to where they would go after they walked out of the ceremony together, and ended up getting caught in the awkward flow of guests exiting the building.
I'm linking to this.
I'm not adamantly for or against this tradition. I think that some form of greeting guests is a decent courtesy that should be accounted for and planned into the day.
Some guests have flown across country to spend time with the bride and groom, and it would be a shame if they didn't get a moment to shake their hand and say hello without feeling as thought they're interrupting the couple's time with someone else. Some couples are graceful about "working a room" with eloquent social skills of bowing out of a conversation that has run its course in order to greet another guest, but some couples are much better suited to the line 'em up style of meeting and greeting their guests.
In a wedding of 400+ people, it's nearly impossible to work an entire room during cocktails or over dinner. In a wedding of 30, it may not be necessary at all since the entire evening will be spent with the same small number of guests.
So, should we really throw the baby out with the bathwater? Or should we just choose the best method to handle the situation in a way that optimizes the couple's social skills, creates a graceful welcoming for the guests, and works comfortably within a reasonable timeline for the vendors?
A 400+ guest wedding would mean allotting over 3 hours for a receiving line. If the bride and groom want a 3 hour receiving line, that is their prerogative, but I feel it would be inconsiderate of the guests. I agree that face time at a wedding is important, and is why I encourage couples to invite a number of guests they can realistically interact with, even if just for a few moments.
Okay after reading all the comments, then I need suggestions.
I wanted to have a dinner with close family and friends about (150) people. However, I live in Utah and my fiance family is LDS and they are wanting to invite half the neighborhood, not to mention my parents co-workers, and my church family (I am one of the first active members getting married in the church for very long time so the congregation is very excited to come).
After much debate, I have decided that I won't mind having a receiving line so I can say hi to all the people who have been there for my fiance and I throughout our lives.
However, I still want a dinner.
Any suggested timelines on handling separate guest lists for receiving line/desert and a sit down dinner? The wedding is in August and it won't start cooling down until 5pm
I definitely would like to bypass the receiving line, but I still like the confetti/bubbles/etc throwing as the bride and groom leave the church. Any ideas on how to incorporate both?
How does one determine how much time is needed between the ceremony & the reception. Is 3.5 hours too much time? Can one do a formal receiving line at both the church and reception?
I get married tomorrow. I'm still not sure if I'm going to have a receiving line. The wedding starts at 5PM, will be over very quickly and the last thing I want is for my guests to show up to the reception 30 minutes early and have to stand around... Decisions, decisions...