This is a spin-off from another bride-to-be who is nervous about talking to all these people she never met before at her wedding...
We are also having a lot of people I don't know - and not for nothing, at my e-party, there were hundreds and hundreds of people - I didn't eat, drink, dance, or see my FH the whole time - just spoke to people. I want to have FUN at my wedding!
Yes, I will follow etiquette and walk from table to table, but can't I just say - hello - hi - thank you everyone for coming! Thank you... and then move on to the next table? How in depth do I need to go with the table to table talking????
103005FallBride
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
We tried to say Hey...Having a good time?..Thanks for coming... BUT we were stuck for such a long time. Everyone feels you should spend the entire time with them... Honestly...we never even made it to one side of the room...there was no time.
Danigrl28
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
For my wedding that is exactly what I did. I said hello to some people at cocktail hour and everyone else at the recption. I just said hello, thank you for coming and hope yo are enjoying yourselfs. Actually I did my side and Anthony did his side.
AlwaysSnow
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
We didn't walk around. We had the same issue with the e-party and after talking it over we refused to miss our wedding just to satisfy others. Instead we walked around during the cocktail hour and saw people then. It really made things so much easier.
ETA: we also had a receiving line at the church.
Reesa
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
We went from table to table & said hello to some people on the dance floor. The Maitre D's assistant actually pulled me away a couple of times from conversations to make sure that I ate something--you can always try that and have them keep an eye in case u get stuck for too long.
futrmrsblt
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
If you do the receiving line, AND mingle during the CH.. you should be able to go through it quickly...
thats my plan... CH hi thanks for comings.. and wandering when we see time to do it
Shannondon
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
Its really hard because the people that you have not seen in a while want to 'catch up'. I know people have mixed feelings about this especially if your getting married in a church but FH and I are seeing each other before the ceremony. We are going to take the family pictures before the ceremony this way we can enjoy the cocktail hour and reception without having to be bothered with the pictures. It also gives us time at the CH to say hello to everyone. His brother got married last year and the people did not leave them alone. They were talking to them on the dance floor!! and then they all stood there for 45 minutes on line to talk to them. They regret staying hidden until they were announced in. You gonna have to say hi quick. Just thank them for coming and move on!!!
lrs2005
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
what we did was walked arround together to every table and thanked everyone for coming. We would ask them if they were having fun, enjoying the food, music. Commented on how nice they looked and how happy we were to see them and have them there. We would do three tables at a time, then come sit down at our table have a bite to eat, dance for a song, and then do three more tables. We got to every table (19 of them) but I wished we were able to spend more time with our friends and danced more. I will say my dress weighed about 40 lbs, so it was a lot harder to dance in than I thought it would be. I loved my dress, but gosh was it heavy.
The one piece of advice I received and give to friends is every 30 minutes step back with your DH and look arround at everyone enjoying themselves. I can really remember those moments, had I not everything else was a blur.
ETA: I think we spoke to like 10 people during the CH cause we were mobed. I wish we had stationed our friends right outside our yehud room to see them - cause we were stuck saying hi to friends of our parents that we had each met one or two times before.
Suzannebride
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
I thought I have read that etiquette-wise, if you do a receiving line you don't have to go around to every table at the reception. So I am going to do the receiving line!
sugarkube4
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
I'd like to make it to my cocktail hour to get some/most of my hellos/thank yous out of the way.. I am boogeying at my wedding Thank You!!
jeanla4c
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
Posted by 103005FallBride
We tried to say Hey...Having a good time?..Thanks for coming... BUT we were stuck for such a long time. Everyone feels you should spend the entire time with them... Honestly...we never even made it to one side of the room...there was no time.
Same here but we did the receiving line so got to talk to everyone at least for a little...never leave your FH side--go together so no matter what happens you'll be together!!!
October Bliss
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
I had this discussion with my mother a few weeks ago (with some input from the peanut gallery [other family members]). They made a point of asking what was all this nonsense with the bride NOT coming around to each table to thank the guests. (they had just been to a wedding and the bride & groom never came to their table to say thank you).
I tried explaining that all the wedding magazines etc, tell brides NOT to do that b/c they don't enjoy their wedding if all they do is table hop, and that guest will come to the bride if they want to talk to her. They insist I must table hop and say thank you to every guest. I told them that was why FH & I were attending CH - to say thanks to the guests.
There was a suggestion from another bride that I might try to incorporate. She said talk to the Maitre'd and make sure are served dinner 5-10 minutes before the guests. Sit and eat, and then while everyone else is still eating to make the rounds. This way you can do it quickly, because people want to eat, the eat, because they are served first, and you say thanks to everyone at the same time.
FallBride05
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
Posted by 103005FallBride
We tried to say Hey...Having a good time?..Thanks for coming... BUT we were stuck for such a long time. Everyone feels you should spend the entire time with them... Honestly...we never even made it to one side of the room...there was no time.
Same thing with us. We literally had no time, because we had to take our family pictures during the reception (long story), so that ate alot of our time. We had 25 tables to visit, I think we may have only made it to 8 or 9 and couldn't even get to one entire side of the room.
FallBride05
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
Posted by October Bliss There was a suggestion from another bride that I might try to incorporate. She said talk to the Maitre'd and make sure are served dinner 5-10 minutes before the guests. Sit and eat, and then while everyone else is still eating to make the rounds. This way you can do it quickly, because people want to eat, the eat, because they are served first, and you say thanks to everyone at the same time.
We did this. actually the CHCC automatically had our dinner plates at our table for us after our first dance and the hora. Except, this tactic did not work for us, because people kept coming up to our table to congratulate us, give us an envelope, say hi...etc... We literally did not eat the entire day. They packed our dinners up for us and we ate them when we got home that night.
ksl268
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
I think we are going to try to skip the table to table. I know it's in poor taste to skip this but we really want to enjoy ourselves. We will be at the cocktail hour which should give us a some time to say hello and greet guests.
TheBigDay
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
personally, you pay soooo much money for your wedding, you of all people should enjoy it.. i am not doing table to table... i will mingle during cocktail hour and then enjoy myself... personally wheni go to a wedding i dont want the bride/groom coming to my table, i know they really dont want to be making small talk... and i would rather see the bride an groom enjoying their wedding celebration rather than tend to me...
soontobemrsc
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
OK I'm the horrible bride who is not doing a receiveing line after the ceremony (we want to rush to take pics so we have at least some pics together in the daylight) and we are not going from table to table.
To be honest, I spoke to everyone at my engagement party...on the dance floor. That's just the kind of friends and family we have. Even my step mother's 90 year old mom was boogie-ing on the dance floor!
We may walk around the cocktail hour a little bit but other than that, we're just going to enjoy our day and anyone who want's to shoot the sh*t can come see me on the dance floor!
SomethingBlu
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
Posted by jeanla4c
Posted by 103005FallBride
We tried to say Hey...Having a good time?..Thanks for coming... BUT we were stuck for such a long time. Everyone feels you should spend the entire time with them... Honestly...we never even made it to one side of the room...there was no time.
Same here but we did the receiving line so got to talk to everyone at least for a little...never leave your FH side--go together so no matter what happens you'll be together!!!
Ditto and the last part is crucial!! DH and I got separated and it took forever to 'get back' since his family was hounding him and my family was hounding me. This is great advice!
NinaChris07
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
I think its very rude to not say hi to everyone that attends your wedding (and usually spend alot of money to buy or give you a monetary gift)... That doesnt mean go table to table, but at some point say hi and thank you to everyone....
Yes you are supposed to enjoy your wedding, but imagine giving a few hundred dollars to a bride and groom and not even having them say hello to you...
pigs222seal
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Re: Table to table etiquette?
Posted by AlwaysSnow
We didn't walk around. We had the same issue with the e-party and after talking it over we refused to 'miss' our wedding just to satisfy others. Instead we walked around during the cocktail hour and saw people then. It really made things so much easier.
