New Trend: Southern-Style Receptions

In 2021, I took my business bi-coastal. The people and city of Atlanta have so graciously welcomed me as their newest resident, supported my business and allowed me to grow in ways I could have never imagined. The opportunity to work with more couples in the South has been super rewarding and introduced me to some new ideas. 

One new trend emerging is the popularity of what people are calling a “southern-style reception”. A southern-style reception is a more informal celebration that doesn’t include a sit-down dinner. Instead of each guest having an assigned seat at a table, there is more casual seating (think high top tables and lounge setups of sofas) and a few dinner tables. Seating is reduced by around ~30%. Dinner is typically buffet style and guests are able to dine at their leisure over a few hours. 

One pro to this reception style is that the lack of structure lends itself to a more natural flow of conversation among guests and allows the party to develop more organically. Additionally, the reduced tables can make more space for a larger dance floor. 

One challenging outcome I’ve witnessed is that guests will all try to dine at the same time. It’s human nature that once food is placed out and people see others dining, they will naturally migrate to the food. When this happens, there isn’t an adequate number of seats available. While this is only a short term problem, it can cause a bit of confusion and cause some guests to eat standing up or rush through their meal. 

There’s no wrong way to host a reception. After all, this is your wedding. I’m excited to see more clients forgoing some of the traditional wedding formalities and embracing new concepts.