From champagne towers to live illustrators and day-after pool parties, weddings these days are a lavish affair.
And from the traditional to the TikTok, there’s so many options for brides and grooms to make their big day truly special.
But if you want to make sure your nuptials are remembered for all the right reasons, there’s one trend that you should avoid.
According to Georgie Davis, a wedding planner based in Essex, and founder of Georgina Rose Events, it’s time to do away with ‘receiving lines’.
For those not in the biz, a receiving line is when the wedding ‘hosts’ (so that’s usually the couple and their parents) stand in a row, and guests line up to greet them.
It’s a chance for every guest to have a bit of one-on-one time with the BNOCs of the wedding, and for the newlyweds to personally thank each guest for being there.
It used to be pretty common, although the formality of the line up means it’s starting to fall out of favour.
Which, is good news for Georgie, who says they should firmly get in the bin.
Why? Put simply, they’re boring.
‘Receiving lines take half an hour and the conversation is the same the whole way down,’ she tells Metro.co.uk.
‘”You look nice.” “Thank you.” “You make a beautiful bride.” “Thank you.” “Thank you for coming.” “No problem.” “I like your dress too.” “It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other.”
‘It’s boring. Nobody likes it – including the people who are doing it. There are a million other ways to say to hello to everybody at the wedding that doesn’t involve a really weird line.
‘It’s like one of those football handing out award ceremonies. It’s just awkward.’
Instead, couples often choose to do a room sweep during the desert course for example, making sure they stop by each table to say hello. Or, you could make sure there’s plenty of opportunities for mingling with a different groups, such as a photo booth.
And, while lots of couples use cocktail hour to take those all important photos, it’s worth setting aside half an hour to have some time sipping and chatting with your loved ones.
Another piece of wedding advice from Georgie, who has even given wedding advice to famous newlyweds Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo, is to never, ever, do the speeches in between meal courses.
‘This sucks,’ she says. ‘Every time that everyone finally gets some food, can chat or go to the toilet, somebody else stands up to say something.
‘And, am I getting toast drinks in between each course? No, I’m not. You’re giving me one toast drink that I’ve got to make last for the whole meal.’
Georgie says this is a nightmare for your wedding suppliers too. ‘You’re expecting them to come in after every five minutes to re-mic everybody up, to reset the cameras, to give you a thumbs up to go for it, to make sure everybody is back in – it takes for ever.
‘Nobody enjoys speeches between courses.’
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