Portland Wedding Coordinator

Why a receiving line is a good idea

Photo: Jessica Spengler

Receiving lines. Do they bring to mind stuffy, overly-formal, laced up affairs from 1987?  Actually, a receiving line is a very good idea for several reasons.  Here's why: it's imperative that you personally greet each and every guest that comes to your wedding. They have taken off work, scheduled babysitters, and traveled from far and near to witness your big day. Don't leave your guests hanging and yourself in a tizzy, wondering if you got to this group or that group.

In addition, leaving the guest-greeting to a casual time, such as the interval between dinner and dancing, means that you will inevitably have to cut your meal short in order to go table-to-table. Let's think about that. Most of you have spent so much time planning the menu! Most of you say, "The reception - food, drink, dancing - is the most important part." Shouldn't you enjoy your first meal as husband and wife as well, instead of hurrying from group to group?

There are lots of different places you can fit a receiving line in your wedding timeline. Immediately after the ceremony; as guests move from cocktail hour into the dining room; or even a reverse receiving line where the bride and groom greet each pew in the church as they leave. Check with your planner to see which scenario is best for you. But by all means, make sure you greet each of your guests personally!

Hotel DeLuxe, chic Hollywood style

On Wednesday, we were so lucky to be invited over for lunch with Hillary, the catering manager at Hotel DeLuxe.  Long a Portland historic landmark as the Hotel Mallory, the hotel underwent a massive and stunningly beautiful renovation in 2006, transforming it into the elegant-chic venue we know today.  The pictures don't tell the whole story; the entire hotel just oozes with Old Hollywood glamour and romance.

The four event spaces, Gracie's (also a restaurant), The Screening Room, The Editing Room, and The Green Room offer a wide range of sizes for everything from a bridal luncheon or shower, to rehearsal dinner, to reception.  Anywhere from 15 people to 150!  They even will allow rental of "all space" so you can have a Screening Room ceremony, Gracie's for dinner, and back to the Screening Room for dancing. Just from walking the halls with Hillary, I found myself quoting classic movies like Casablanca and It's a Wonderful Life -- there's just something about the place that takes you to another time.

How to Create a Seating Chart « The Wedding Lens - Blog

How to Create a Seating Chart « The Wedding Lens - Blog.

Here's a blog post from our Twitter friends at The Wedding Lens that I always wanted to write!  I have additional thoughts about this topic, that I might send out in a special e-zine.  Of course, my mind goes more in the technical sense of how to actually do this in Excel, merge it to your cards, and that kind of thing.  But this post covers, and links to, some great thoughts about whether or not you should assign seats and whom to seat next to whom.

Continuity in planning

I recently met with a client who will be working with us for wedding day coordination. She began her planning with the thought that she wouldn't need her own wedding planner, since both her church and her venue provided on-site "wedding coordinators".  In fact, the venue's coordinator, in her estimation, was "meticulous" and "reassuring".

The problem?  In the year since she booked her church and venue, both coordinators have since left for other jobs, and she is now dealing with two totally new people; having to explain all of her wishes and instructions all over again.