No receiving line or table-to-table?

We did both (the receiving line was kind of an accident. It just started because we took pics right outside of the chapel). Our wedding was also only 62 people big

We're doing a small receiving line when we come into the reception, just FH and I, you hug, they say congrats, end of. We'll do a thank you speech and do a general thank you to all our guests. Easy peasy

Receiving lines only work with small weddings.

We started of table to table and got through 5 out of 20 before the main course was served. Then my diabetic father had an episode and that took our attention, by the time I got back to the table everyone else was almost done and our food was cold. I happened to been standing by the bar when it reopened after being closed for dinner service and was able to chat with a lot of people there. It wasn't idea, but the best we could do in that situation, but we had fully intended on talking to all tables

You need to greet your guests. It is incredibly rude not to say hi and thank you for coming to each guest. The problem with mingling at the bar or in the dance floor is that you will inevitably miss people. Table visits or a receiving line are a more certain way to greet everyone. You should do one or the other.

I'm dreading the idea of a line (I'm just awkward in these situations) but, I think it would be faster than table to table. I'd like to be able to thank everyone face to face. So, we're going with that.

I hate receiving lines and with 250 that's crazy. Our plan is to mingle a bit during cocktail hour and then go table to table. I have been to weddings where people didn't do this and I thought it was so rude. You need to greet and thank your guests.

I'm going table to table and getting photos with everyone. Thats one way to kill two birds with one stone.

I notice when the couple doesn't make the effort to say hello!

Receiving lines are awful. It's not the worst thing in the world, but I do think it's rude when the couple doesn't at least make an effort to stop by all the tables and say hi. That's really the only way to get the most people. Not everyone hangs out on the dance floor or by the bar, and some people leave before dancing even starts.

Ok, it seems like the consensus might be that we should do a quick table-to-table. In the end I would feel weird not acknowledging everyone.

Off topic but your dog looks like my dog.

We are expecting 230-250 people to attend so a receiving line is out of the question. I was planning on going table to table. We are arriving at our venue early and I am planning on having our dinner served in the bridal suite so we can eat- giving us time to mingle and stop by each table during the dinner. I am also planning on spending more time at the tables with our older guests (grandparents, aunts and uncles) and less time with our friends and cousins who we will spend more time with at the bars and dance floor. We may also divide and conquer the tables a bit (I'll go to my aunt/ uncles tables and he will go to his families tables). This should help ensure we are able to say thank you to all of our guests for coming.

Actually, I was just talking to my mom about this last night. We are really hoping to get to our cocktail hour before it ends so that we can greet guests then, because we do NOT want to do table-to-table and miss our dinner. However, now I'm not sure we'll have enough time and also my mom thought it was a little weird that we would be at cocktail hour and then introduced at our grand entrance to the reception. I actually don't mind a receiving line, I think people move through it fairly quickly because they don't want to hold up those behind them, but because we're getting married outside in July we want our guests to be outside as little time as possible lol. My mom was of the mind just to skip it, she said we know who we would need to see at the tables (elderly guests, mostly) but everyone else we will be seeing/mingling/spending time with at the bar and on the dance floor, and I thought she made a really good point!

We didn't do either. We took some pictures right after the ceremony, and when we came back to the reception, people kept coming up to us. We mingled with people during the whole reception and I'm pretty sure we spoke to everyone. We didn't actually go table to table though.

We have a small chapel, so at the end of the ceremony are recession will go right out the door and we will be waiting outside when people leave to walk to the reception.

I don't think we will do either. We will see half the guests at the rehearsal/welcome dinner and we can thank and say hi to the others on the dance floor or during cocktail hour. There was a receiving line at my cousin's wedding and it was long and weird. And then to me it's also weird to go table to table and say repeatedly "I'm so glad you could make it, thanks for coming". I'd much prefer going up to someone individually instead of when they are as a group at the table. But I also plan to thank everyone for coming and hoping they enjoy themselves as a short short speech before dinner.

AnnaKay, you'll get your dinners first -- before the guests. After you quickly eat, go table-hopping.

More food for thought it seems and I'm now back on the fence. @Future!Mrs.Myers They do actually! What kind is yours? We think ours is golden retriever and border collie but really have no idea.

It's super rude to do neither. I notice when the bride and groom don't make an effort to greet everyone. I really appreciate it when then do. There is no way you will have a meaningful conversation with every person unless you only have 20 or 30 people at your wedding. That part people understand. But you must say hello and thank them for coming.

I went to one wedding where at the end of the ceremony after the couple, BP, and family left the couple came back and stood at each aisle saying hello and thats when that aisle exited until everyone was gone and went to cocktail hour. I thought about doing that or just a normal receiving line.

I was all about the table visits, but my DOC convinced me to greet my guests as they went from the cocktail hour to the reception. It wasn't a full on receiving line because people kinda wandered in at different times. Just me and Matt. There was only a real line as it got toward the end. We started about 15 minutes before the cocktail hour was over and it lasted maybe 30 minutes at the most.

Our backup plan was to hit up the tables of people we didn't get to see, but we actually were able to greet every single person this way. We had 175 guests there. I had never seen a receiving line like that before and, as the bride at least, I thought it went well.