While in theory, this seems like a good idea and it’s certainly a nice
thing to do, actually doing it can single handedly ruin your reception.
Look at it this way: let’s say you invite 250 people to your wedding and your venue sets up 25 tables each with 10 chairs to comfortably accommodate everyone. If you walk around to each table, allowing only two minutes per table to greet everyone (which breaks down to an implausible 12 seconds per person) it will take 50 minutes to welcome your guests. When you allow for the reality of much longer conversations, that time can easily double.
That’s almost two hours of your precious reception time spent on obligation instead of enjoying yourself. Add to this the time necessary for formal events such as the cake cutting, special dances and bouquet toss, and your reception is over in a flash and you haven’t even hit the dance floor.
The truth is that you don’t have to visit tables at all. But if you do choose to greet your guests individually, here are some tips that will keep this task from dominating your special day.
Use assigned seating and keep track of the tables where your older guests and family members will be seated. These are the people who are most likely to throw a fit if you don’t spend individual time with them.
Since the day will be a whirlwind of activity, write down where your relatives and older guests will be seated beforehand.
Make sure you eat dinner as soon as it is served, and then immediately head straight for those tables to make those essential greetings.
As far as your friends are concerned, you can greet them on the dance floor, at the bar or at the after party. Otherwise, you will be visiting tables until the very end of the reception and miss out on all of the fun that comes with it.
Planning a wedding isn’t easy; it takes time, effort, and a whole lot of patience. With these ten insider secrets under your belt, your planning will be off to a great start.