The
purpose of a receiving line is to allow the hosts and other members
of your bridal party to officially welcome and be introduced to
all your guests. Although some couples, and sometimes their parents,
eschew the idea of a receiving line because of its formality and
the time it takes for the guests to pass along it, a receiving line
is the only way to guarantee that everyone is personally welcomed,
albeit briefly. The alternative of planning to welcome all your
guests individually throughout your reception often does not happen
in practice leaving some guests unwelcomed. Therefore, unless you
have few guests, a receiving line is highly recommended.After your
wedding ceremony, your guests will make their way to your reception venue, where it usual to provide pre-reception drinks
upon arrival. When all your guests are assembled and suitably refreshed,
they will pass along your receiving line as they make their way
to their tables. Regardless of who is paying for your wedding, the
traditional receiving line takes the following form of female alternating
with male:
| 1 |
The
Bride's Mother |
| 2 |
The
Groom's Father |
| 3 |
The
Groom's Mother |
| 4 |
The
Bride's Father |
| 5 |
The
Bride |
| 6 |
The
Groom |
| 7 |
The
Chief Bridesmaid |
| 8 |
The
Best Man |
The
advantage
of this receiving line is that the first two people are from both
families so that your guests are quickly recognised and easily introduced.
For example, the bride's mother can introduce each guest from the
bride's family to the groom's father and vice versa.
| 1 |
The
Bride's Mother |
| 2 |
The
Bride's Father |
| 3 |
The
Groom's Mother |
| 4 |
The
Groom's Father |
| 5 |
The
Bride |
| 6 |
The
Groom |
| 7 |
The
Chief Bridesmaid |
| 8 |
The
Best Man |
Although this receiving line appears more logical
(the hosts greeting the guests first) it does mean that guests from
the groom's family are not able to be introduced to the bride's
mother and father. However, this problem is overcome if you are
using a master
of ceremonies
who will announce the names of your guests just
before they are greeted by the bride's mother.
A
popular variation on the above receiving line (where the bride's
parents as hosts are first in the line), is the traditional Jewish
receiving line:
| 1 |
The
Bride's Mother |
| 2 |
The
Bride's Father |
| 3 |
The
Bride |
| 4 |
The
Groom |
| 5 |
The
Groom's Mother |
| 6 |
The
Groom's Father |
This
can, of course, be modified to include the chief bridesmaid and
best man at the end of the line
If
you have many guests, the time taken for all your guests to pass
along the receiving line can be quite considerable. Therefore, you
may consider having a much shorter receiving line such as the following:
| 1 |
The
Bride's Mother |
| 2 |
The
Groom's Mother |
| 3 |
The
Bride |
| 4 |
The
Groom |
In
the case of divorced parents, who do not wish to stand next to
each other, the following modified version of the traditional
receiving line, where the parents alternate, provides a simple
solution.
| 1 |
The
Bride's Mother |
| 2 |
The
Groom's Father |
| 3 |
The
Bride's Father |
| 4 |
The
Groom's Mother |
| 5 |
The
Bride |
| 6 |
The
Groom |
| 7 |
The
Chief Bridesmaid |
| 8 |
The
Best Man |
Where
parental relationships are even more complicated, you may wish
to just have yourselves form the receiving line, especially if
you are hosting, and paying for, your wedding.
It is clear from the above permutations that the receiving line
can be very flexible. Indeed, your preferences, your parental
relationships and the number of guests you have, will determine
the receiving line that you are most comfortable with.
If
you still have any questions about the receiving line at your
wedding reception,
please post your question on our Wedding
Forum for our
experts to answer.
