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My future mother-in-law is single and has never married, and my parents are divorced but both remarried. Because our reception quickly follows the ceremony, I figured we could just do introductions as the wedding party came into the reception room instead of a proper receiving line. But what do I do about announcing parents? I don't want to draw attention to his one parent compared to my four as it seems kind of awkward. And if we do introductions of the wedding party, what should the DJ call my stepparents?
My only other solution was to form a receiving line so the guests could greet us without a big production or too much explanation. And unfortunately, my parents can't be civil enough to stand together without their spouses. So I think I must include all of them.
I'm basically looking for ideas on how to handle this gracefully. I've been thinking about just ruling out introducing the parents all together, but since my fiance is an only child, this is his mom's only chance to do this and I don't want to take that away from her. --esofnp
Dear esofnp:
We understand your problem, but we think there are a few good solutions. Your options, as we see them:
1) Have a receiving line that doesn't include parents.
2) Have a receiving line either directly after the ceremony or at the beginning of the reception that includes parents plus their spouses.
3) Ditch the receiving line. Have the DJ announce each parent as they come in. Have them announced simply as "the couple's parents" and then Mr. and Mrs. so and so, followed by Mrs. so and so, etc. You don't have to announce how exactly every parent is related to the couple.
4) Skip the receiving line and the introductions. Instead, have a parent's dance where all the couple's parents are invited onto the dance floor (the groom's mom can make arrangements for a dance partner ahead of time). It's up to you whether you want the DJ to name everyone who's dancing and their relationship to the two of you. "Parents" or "parents and stepparents" in general is probably enough.
5) You can have the biological parents walk down the aisle during the processional. Then, as part of a written ceremony program, it can say who each parent is. That way, you avoid having to identify stepparents. (Your dad walks you down the aisle; your mom is escorted down by a groomsman; your groom's mom either walks him down or is escorted by a groomsman.)
Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide!
The Wedding Women
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