How should you leave your wedding reception?

Farewelling you at the end of the reception is the culmination of the celebration.

At Australian weddings the traditional way to leave the reception is straight after a farewell circle.  This is where the guests form a circle and the bride and groom farewell each person individually.

It is a nice touch, but can take a long time if you have a large number of guests – time you could otherwise spend on the dance floor!  It can also be quite boring for your guests if it takes too long.

An alternative is to have your Master of Ceremonies organise your guests to make an archway which you then walk through.  This is quicker than the farewell circle, although it can still take some time for your guests to be organised into the archway.

The quickest way to depart is to have everyone say three cheers immediately after a last dance.  This maximises dancing time, but can be a bit abrupt.  In this case you should have the opportunity to farewell the people closest to them separately after they have left the other guests.

There may also be cultural considerations.  For instance, in some cultures the married couple will be the last to leave after farewelling their guests at the door as their guests leave.

So there are lots of options!