Receiving line alternative?!

Yep, went to a wedding where the bride and groom greeted people pew by pew and that's how they were "dismissed" (lol that sounds weird). Worked great, but it was about 70 people.

We're doing all our pictures beforehand so we can greet and mingle during cocktail hour; we're also doing table visits at dinner.

I think that's a great idea. We are doing a first look and going to the cocktail hour, so we will say hello to all of the guests there.

Some people go around to each table at dinner and toast each table (during the reception).

We went around to each table at the reception passing out gum. We had 220 guests, so it took a while. We also had the photographer take a picture at each table with us, that way we got most of the guests in some pictures. Toward the end, we were rushed to keep things moving, so we literally showed up at the table, threw out some gum, snapped a quick picture, and left.

Pew by pew is a good idea though, as long as you can make it quick. We had another wedding after ours, so we couldn't stick around long enough (hence the greeting at the reception)

That sounds painful for the people in the last pew, just like a receiving line. Why not just do table visits?

Yeah we are doing most of our pictures before hand as well so we can enjoy the cocktail hour with everyone before dinner

I just had not heard of this before and it struck me as odd lol so I'm trying to get as much info on it as I can! thanks for the reply!

As a guest, I loathe receiving lines. I'd so much rather greet the person I know (bride or groom, rarely have I known both) during the cocktails or dinner. Couldn't care less about having my picture taken with them, and I doubt they care about having a photo taken with me unless we're very close friends or family.

I'm with AMW, receiving lines are the worst. I would say table by table at the reception is more than sufficient (just make sure you eat something first otherwise by the time you're done you'll be starving!) As with most everything else wedding-wise, it's your day so do what feels comfortable for you, there is no wrong answer!

I have the same issue. Recieving line for 200 people could take awhile. But so does going around to every table. Our time doesnt really allow us to chit chat at every table

Following!

I hate receiving lines. If you don't have time to say hello to everyone at table visits, then don't invite them. How would you feel if you traveled to go to a wedding, bought clothes and a gift and then the couple didn't even take the time to chat with you?

You can do some of that at cocktail hour too.

I'm actually the person that never says anything to the B&G on the wedding day. I don't try to get pictures with them, get their attention or talk to them. I feel like they have a million ppl trying to get their attention. I rather talk them later (after they get back). Clearly I like talking about weddings, so many times I will invite the person I know over for wine and we'll chat about the wedding.

I agree with Celia if you can't at least say hello to all your guests you probably shouldn't invite them. I have a co-worker who had 430+ people at her wedding... first of all i don't think i even know that many people and second i'd hate to have to pay for that wedding venue/catering! I was having trouble getting to 120 guests to invite.

We're not doing a receiving line. We're planning on getting to our venue ahead of time to do pictures with the bridal party and then mingling during cocktail hour. Anyone who we don't get to see then, we'll visit during dinner. My cousin had a receiving line at her wedding and didn't acknowledge everyone who came up to them. My parents actually stood there waiting to say hi and congratulations for about 15 minutes while my cousin ignored them and talked to friends instead. She also didn't go around table to table so my parents never even talked to her.

We did a receiving line of just DH and I. For 150 people it took 30 minutes.

I HATE HATE HATE the dismiss by table for dinner. It takes so long that the last tables are starving by the time it's done and the first table is done eating.

For receiving line it was a quick "congrats!" And "thank you for coming!" That way we at least talked to everyone. We had a 6 hour reception and were able talk to everyone again.

FH and I plan to join our family & friends at the tail end of cocktail hour and when the doors to the dining room open we will stand by the door and greet guests as they enter. However, we'll only have 50-60 guests and only FH and I will makeup the "receiving line." We're doing this mostly to ensure we don't miss anyone and so we can actually eat during dinner and take some additional photos since we're not doing a first look. We definitely plan to spend more quality time with our guests after dinner.

We did exactly what RATR described in the first comment. It worked great for us. That way we got to talk to everyone, guests didn't have to talk to parents they might not know in a normal receiving line, and we got to eat our dinner at the reception! (:

We went to the tables to greet our guests. Much easier than a receiving line.

We had about 200 guests. We did a receiving line sort of, but it was when people were heading from the cocktail hour to the reception. So it wasn't everyone heading one place at once, the way it would be with a receiving line immediately after the ceremony. We just stood at the only door from the cocktail hour area to the reception area so we knew we wouldn't miss anyone. People just kind of meandered on through whenever they wanted. There was never really a line because people could still get appetizers or drinks from the bar. I had never seen it done that way before but my mom thought it was a great idea so we just went with it.

Usually table visits work much better than a regular receiving line.