Bride & groom didn't say hi to guests

I don't think I would have noticed this? I'm usually too busy mingling / drinking / dancing. Honestly looking back at the last few weddings I attended I don't remember the bride and groom coming to the tables, though I'm sure they probably did. I always run into the bride and groom on the dance floor - that's the part that I remember. We went around to every table, but it did start to get annoying because people would try to have long convos with us - and I'm like sorry - I need to go talk to my grandma, catch you later.

I will definitely greet my guest. Putting on my bridal flats when I do so.

Thank you ladies for your comments! This was very interesting! Most of us are agreeing that it was rude of them to not even say hello or give their guests a thank you! They didn't even try. They spoke to no one besides family. In my opinion, I definitely feel that the bride & groom should say thank you to their guests and make them feel welcome after they spent so much money and time and took the effort to be there for you on your special day.

At my cousin's wedding they didn't go around to tables or do a receiving line, but had the DJ announce to everyone to stop by their table on the way to the buffet to greet them. Not as bad as not coming around at all, but I mean, why couldn't you just get up and walk around?

Story Time:

I went to a wedding in April and the B&G were at cocktail hour chatting mostly with the bridal party and immediate family of the bride. I went over to say hello and congrats to the bride and was greeted with a hand to the face (think "Talk to the Hand") and an "I'm SO tired." She then immediately walked away. That was it. That was my interaction with her for the entire day and obviously it left a poor impression. The groom even apologized and I think he was a little embarrassed.

Please greet each of your guests and thank them for coming, it's what you guests will remember.

@Erin what in the world?! If I got a hand to my face I would not be giving them the gift that I brought. Rude. They shouldn't have had a wedding if they cant even say a simple thank you for coming to when a guest walks up to them!!! Wow.

I'm a total introvert, so my shower was good practice for this. It's definitely rude to not try and greet everyone. Our priest suggested doing a receiving line after mass, so we're going to do that and also try to get around to tables during the reception for anyone we missed (or anyone who didn't come to the mass). Hopefully, that will break it up a bit and give us a chance to sit and enjoy our dinner too.

I have social anxiety so I'm dreading going around and saying hello to everyone, but I know it must be done. Even if you barely know them, a quick, "Hello, thanks so much for coming! We're glad you came!" is sufficient. Doesn't have to be a lengthy convo...

"Why plan a party and not even get to enjoy it?" Don't. Invite. More. People. Than. You. Can. Handle. "Our parents are more the host than we are in our circle." Still your wedding and people want to talk to you. Don't. Invite. More. People. Than. You. Can. Handle. "I have social anxiety." Invite the people you are comfortable with and stop there. Don't. Invite. More. People. Than. You. Can. Handle. It really isn't that difficult. Proper hosting doesn't stop at food and drinks.

Our wedding was last Saturday. We had about 150 guests. After the ceremony, we went over to the cocktail hour bar and planted ourselves there (far enough away from the bar so we wouldn't cause congestion) so that we could greet guests after they got their first drink. We didn't want to hold people back in a receiving line as they left the ceremony. That seemed to work pretty well. We purposely finished our posed pictures before the ceremony so we could be present at cocktail hour and have extra time with guests, and I'm so glad we did. I think I was able to see 75% of my guests during cocktail hour. Plus some table visits and time around the dance floor, and at the after party, and I think I got to everyone. I may have still missed a few, and didn't get to spend as much time with some as I'd have liked, and I'm upset with myself for that. I didn't visit every table, just those with guests I hadn't seen during cocktail hour. I wish I could have gotten to certain guests again at their tables.

As far as how I spent my time, I spent almost the entire wedding visiting guests (minus dances with my dad and husband, and eating my dinner... even then people visited our table and I was so happy about that!). My husband and I laughed about how little time we got to spend together, because we were mingling separately. If that's what you've got to do, that's what you've got to do, I guess. Seeing guests was our top priority, and we still weren't perfect at it.

Brides and grooms, make a good game plan for this! These stories about brides and grooms who didn't even try to see all of their guests are horrifying to me. There are tons of good suggestions on this thread for doing your best to make it happen.

Yeah that's rude.

It would be nice if the B&G got to say, "Hi" to all, but sometimes it doesn't happen. They're overwhelmed, hungry and probably want to dance like everybody else. I can think of worse things.

Thats super rude! I wouldn't spend your entire night doing it but I would definitely visit some tables and talk to people! We did a first look so that we could mingle during the cocktail hour and ate quickly so we could visit tables and not have it take up our entire night

@Christy F. I would still be attending the wedding to see you and your husband. I would still be bringing you a gift. I would expect a hello. ETA: if your parents pay for your wedding and wanted to have a cash bar, it's still rude. The fact that they chose it doesn't make it any less rude or bad hosting. The same with over extending the guest list.

We said hi to as many people as we possibly could, but it's very easy to miss people. Even if you do table visits, there's no guarantee that every guest will be at the table. I think most couples do their best, but it might not always be 100% perfect.

Sorry to jump in here with a question, but when the bride and groom makes their rounds (as we intend to do), what is considered a polite amount of time to speak with them during dinner? As a PP said, I don't want to fully interrupt while they're eating, but I also don't want to just say "Hey, thanks for coming!" and leave... so, a minute? Two minutes? What's the fine line between too much and not enough? FH and I are very awkward with small talk, I need to give this some thought lol.

@Christy I live in Lexington but am getting married at Arcadia Farms in Stanford. I love the Bluebird, too! Have you tried Cue on Main in Danville, also? It's one of my favorites. Small world, indeed.

@ OnTheWayToMrsA - We literally just thanked them for coming, toasted them and had our photography take a photo of us with the table. We did exchange a few words but didn't stay long.

That was of course in addition to the rounds we made during cocktail and post dinner.

Yep, a few weekends ago I went to a wedding and nether the bride or groom (who were never together during the whole reception) said nothing to anyone. They just hung around their parents.

I've been to a few weddings where the bride and groom skipped table visits/receiving line/etc. Usually people just go up to the sweetheart table and say hi in that case. I didn't think it was rude or even think twice about it; I just went up to the sweetheart table and said hi at some point in the night. Those were also giant weddings though so table visits or receiving lines would've taken all night. I'm thinking it'll be much easier to talk to everyone with 115 guests.