"How to Smoothly Guide Everyone: Tips to Prevent Long Lines at the Reception!"

2020.06.01 published

Wedding Ceremony Common Occurrences: Long Guest Lines at the Reception!

Before the ceremony and reception, each guest visits the reception area.

☑ Handing over the monetary gift

☑ Signing the guestbook

☑ Receiving the seating chart

This is the usual process.

One common occurrence at wedding receptions is the long lines of guests waiting for registration!

Weddings can gather several dozen to more than a hundred people. Even though guests are split between the bride and groom’s sides, it’s quite common for there to be a major traffic jam near the reception area.

@ikemegu1988

Many of you might have experienced a situation where,

you planned to arrive slightly early to a wedding, but ended up taking a long time just to get to the reception.

You might have had to attend the ceremony without being able to go to the bathroom.

Such experiences are not uncommon.

How Can We Eliminate Long Lines?

Of course, no guest gets grumpy just because there are long lines at registration, nor does anyone tell the bride later, "The reception line was really long."

However, no one wants to make their important guests wait.

Here, we’ll share some tips to help prevent long lines from forming at the reception.

If you’re preparing for an upcoming wedding, please reference these tips♩

Preventing Long Lines! Tip for Smooth Wedding Reception 1: Prepare Four Guestbooks

☑ If you have a large number of guests (60 or more)

☑ If you’re expecting many guests arriving at once via shuttle bus

In such cases, it's recommended to prepare four guestbooks.

It’s common to have one guestbook on the groom's side and one on the bride's side, but with such a setup, only two guests can register at the same time.

By preparing two for each side, totaling four, you can complete the registration process twice as fast, significantly shortening the time that guests have to wait in line.

@a.e3.pre87

Even if you increase the number of guestbooks to four, you don’t need to increase the number of people handling registration.

Just say something like, “I know it might get a bit busy with a lot of guests, but I appreciate your help,” and make sure to thank them afterward◎

Preventing Long Lines! Tip for Smooth Wedding Reception 2: Ask Guests to Only Sign Their Names

The most time-consuming task at the reception is signing the guestbook.

Guestbooks often require guests to write:

☑ Name

☑ Address

☑ Contact information

Filling out all these details can take several minutes.

Guests might also feel the need to be careful and end up taking their time, resulting in a long line behind them.

Therefore, it’s best to choose a guestbook that only requires names to be written.

If guests just need to jot down their names, it won’t take too long＊

If you've already prepared a guestbook that has sections for addresses, you can simply remind guests, “It’s fine if you just write your name.”

@truwed_na

If you want to collect guests' addresses and contact information, it's recommended to include guest cards in your invitations.

Guests can fill them out at home and just hand them over at the reception, making the process very smooth.

Many guests enjoy adding messages or illustrations, making it a lovely keepsake♡

Don’t forget to prepare some extra guest cards for guests who may forget theirs on the day.

@chao.wedding

Preventing Long Lines! Tip for Smooth Wedding Reception 3: Prepare Instruction Sheets for Guest Participation Activities

There might be brides who plan to ask guests to contribute to a message board or vote in a dress color guessing quiz.

Typically, these instructions are provided at the reception, but the time spent explaining can contribute to long lines.

If you're going to have activities that require explanations at the reception or welcome area, make sure to have instruction sheets ready.

By having guests read the instructions ahead of time, there’s no need for lengthy explanations when registering, leading to a smoother process◎

@rei_wedding1223

Preventing Long Lines! Tip for Smooth Wedding Reception 4: Decorate the Welcome Space to Entertain Guests

The final tip is to add decorations that can help guests pass the time in the welcome area♡

There will be guests who check out the welcome space before registering, and others who look around after handling registration, which helps ease congestion at the reception◎

@misshi1014

Even if a long line forms, guests will feel like, "I’ll just look at some photos while I wait a bit longer."

This way, guests can enjoy their wait time, making it a nice idea to implement.

@ayayakko0812.1103

Ensuring a Smooth and Pleasant Reception

The reception is a spot that all guests must visit at the wedding.

It’s the bride's duty to ensure that everything runs smoothly so guests don’t have a challenging time during registration♡

Just as much as you pay attention to the decorations in the reception area, it’s important to consider the comfort of your guests and how they feel as they go through the process.

➡️ A template that makes it easy to prepare your reception list by only adding guest names♡

@suzu.wedding